Championing psychological health and safety – Actionmarguerite

When it comes to creating safe workplaces, Actionmarguerite has a track record of being forward-thinking innovators.

Last September, they were the first healthcare organization in the province to become SAFE Work Certified by the Manitoba Association of Safety in Healthcare (MASH), Manitoba’s newest industry-based safety program.

“We’re a pretty motivated group, so when SAFE Work Manitoba approached us about certification, we thought we’d take them up on it,” says Sheila Bayda, Chief Human Resources Officer at Actionmarguerite.

Spawned by some of the challenges that had been brought on during the pandemic, Actionmarguerite set out to enhance their health and safety efforts in order to support their staff. With more than 1,000 employees spread across five personal care home sites – among which include nurses, educators, health care aides, housekeepers, food services and therapists – the needs are as perse as their workforce.

“Becoming SAFE Work Certified was challenging because we had to look at every angle of our workplace: hazard assessments, job inventories, and safe work procedures,” explains Sheila. “We did a lot of work in building the foundation and we still have more to do to stay certified.”

Tonya Nelson, Director of Safety Programs at MASH, says that working with Actionmarguerite during the certification process was a pleasure.

“Actionmarguerite fosters a collaborative and supportive work environment, and it was evident from their commitment and focus that they would be successful in obtaining SAFE Work Certification through MASH,” she says. “It was wonderful to see everyone working together toward the same goals and encouraging one another to create a safer work environment.”

After passing an external audit and creating an action plan, Actionmarguerite continues to evolve their efforts. Beyond physical safety, the psychological well-being of their staff is a key priority.

Sarah Schiller, Actionmarguerite’s newest Occupational Health and Safety Officer, has continued building on the momentum created by former Safety Officer Susie Nel Piad. Susie was instrumental in launching programs aimed at enhancing mental wellness like Safety Talk emails, on-site massage therapy, yoga classes and seminars, all in response to staff feedback.

“Every week, I go out to our different sites for Mental Health Mondays, which features different topics and provides strategies and tools to support our staff,” says Sarah. “Staff also take part in a pre-shift warm-up every day, which helps to create a sense of community by bringing everyone together. Since they began, we’ve seen a decrease in musculoskeletal injuries at our St. Vital site by 19 per cent.”

With part of Sarah’s role centered on ensuring that staff feel seen and heard, recognizing persity is another critical component to their psychological health and safety strategy.

“We have a large number of staff who are new to Canada, and we need to provide them with resources and different ways to communicate,” says Sarah. “It’s important for us to respect their persity, whether it’s language, culture, religion or sexual orientation.”

Judging by the feedback from staff, the framework of support that Actionmarguerite has developed is leading to positive widespread change.

“Our staff have been really open and are happy that I’m here to support their safety and well-being,” says Sarah, adding that a joint letter of understanding will also soon be formalized. “It’s about creating trust, following up on concerns, and continuing to make progress.”

Says Sheila: “People are craving this, which was underscored during the pandemic. Psychological health and safety in the workplace is so important because when our staff are supported in dealing with the daily stressors in life, they can exhibit compassion, function more productively, and contribute to our organization.”

Learn more about Actionmarguerite at actionmarguerite.ca.