$2 Million to Support Burn Survivors
Burn survivors and their families will be aided by a $2-million grant to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund Building, Health Minister George Abbott announced this week.
- The new facility will aid in research to find new and improved methods to care for non-healing and over-healing wounds.
- The Burn Fund Building will complement the burn and wound care afforded patients at the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn, Plastic and Trauma Unit at Vancouver General Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital Burn Program.
- The design of the residence part of the building will be conducive to rest and solitude, and also provide an environment of support for mixing with similarly affected families in the common areas.
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BC Upgrades Pharmanet to Advance Electronic Health Care
B.C. is enhancing PharmaNet as the next step in implementing electronic health records by investing $14.2 million in its eDrug project, Health Minister George Abbott announced this week. eDrug is one of seven eHealth projects underway in British Columbia that will use advanced information technology to deliver needed health information instantly to authorized health professionals in the province.
- PharmaNet is internationally recognized as a world-class secure electronic network that protects patient safety.
- It protects patients from potentially dangerous medication errors, duplications and dangerous combinations of different medications.
- It records all prescriptions dispensed at B.C. community pharmacies in a central database and checks for interactions.
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Bill Strengthens Farm Worker Safety
Labour and Citizens’ Services Minister Olga Ilich today introduced legislative changes to improve protection for farm workers and strengthen B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA).
Introduced during Farm Safety Week, the legislation includes:
- Provides for the cancellation or suspension of a farm labour contractor’s licence for safety violations.
- When an unsafe farm labour contractor vehicle is taken off the road following a roadside check, the contractor will be required to pay for alternative transportation to the workplace.
- The legislation will also require farm producers to hire only licensed farm labour contractors.
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