UPFRONT | News WORKPLACE Program recognizes employers supporting workers with arthritis The Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) has launched a nationwide search for the best arthritis strategies and practices in Canadian work-places in a bid to recognize successful employers that are paying more attention to the needs of employees living with arthritis. The launch of the 2014 Canada’s Best Workplaces for Employees Living with Arthritis was announced at the 2014 Canadian Life and Health Insurance of Canada Annual Claims Conference, held in May in Quebec City. “A workplace environ-ment that embraces the needs of people living with arthritis and provides private insurance plans that give timely, equitable access to medications and other treat-ments is good for business health,” said Cheryl Koehn, founder and president of the ACE. “We call on businesses that are taking positive steps to address arthritis in their workplaces to apply.” It is estimated there are 4.6 million Canadians living with arthritis. ACE’s scientific partner, the Arthritis Research Cen-tre of Canada (ARC), will assist in the selection pro-cess. According to ARC’s scientific director, Dr. John Esdaile, there is a strong correlation between best arthritis practices in the workplace and business suc-cess. “Employers that make it easier for people with arthritis to thrive in their careers, and in the process also improve productivity and reduce costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism, should be recognized,” he said. Arthritis is the most com-mon cause of work disability in Canada and typically oc-curs during prime working years, between ages 35 and 50. The impact of arthritis costs the Canadian economy more than $6.4 billion annu-ally. Lost workdays due to long-term disability account for approximately two-thirds of this total. One in six Canadians has osteoarthritis. That number is expected to rise to one in three Canadians by 2020. One out of every 136 Cana-dian workers is living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but that will increase to one in 68 workers by 2020. Within ten years of the onset of RA, up to 50 per cent of employ-ees living with RA are work-disabled if left under-or untreated. Dr. Diane Lacaille of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada has conducted stud-ies to determine what work-place factors are closely linked to the risk of a work disability lasting six months or longer. She found that high physical demand, low job in-dependence (i.e. minimal control over the pace of work and how duties are per-formed) and poor support from co-workers aggravated arthritis symptoms and ac-counted for longer absences from work. The application process for Canada’s Best Workplaces for Employees Living with Ar-thritis will deliver insights to further strengthen Canadian companies’ approaches to creating a more productive and arthritis-friendly work-place. It is an opportunity for companies to assess their awareness of arthritis and support systems for employ-ees living with the condition. ACE will employ wide-rang-ing criteria from which to judge and recognize Cana-dian companies’ best arthritis strategies and practices in the workplace. Categorizing companies by size (small, medium and large), ACE will conduct employee surveys, which are taken anony-mously, and analyze company practices and programs com-pared to other candidate companies based on criteria such as workstation adapt-ability, flexible hours, em-ployee education and benefit plans. The deadline for applica-tions is 5:00 p.m. EST on July 31, 2014, and winners will be announced during Arthritis Awareness Month in Sep-tember 2014. -CNW Group EDUCATION Toronto DC mentors new Vitality Academy Vitality Depot has recruited Dr. Nima Pardisnia as mentor for its newly launched Vitality Academy Continuing Education Program. Pardisnia holds a degree in both chiropractic and physiotherapy. “Dr. Pardisnia is one of the very few dual registrants in Ontario holding both a physiotherapy and a chiropractic rehab degree, giving him a unique perspective when teaching therapies and tech-niques,” Vitality Depot said in a statement announcing its new courses. Pardisnia is a member of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1997, and Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. The Vitality Depot has also launched the Vitality Academy, which offers information on contin-uing education courses for DCs. Some of the 2014 courses offered at Vitality Academy include: Thera-Band Level 1 Certification Course, to be held on Tuesday, July 15; Decompression Introductory Course, Tuesday, August 19; D ecompre ssion L e v el 1 Certification, Saturday, June 28. Vitality Academy also features general information on various modalities such as decompression, shockwave and electrotherapy, updated research and clinical stud-ies. The site also hosts professional bloggers discussing cases and outcomes. June 2014 Canadian Chiropractor 11 Dr. Nima Pardisnia www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor June 2014: Page 11
