Action in Engagement
Events
SWITCH BC staff connected with health workers, leaders, and physicians at partner events across the province this year. We shared information about workplace health and safety, with a focus on psychological health and safety and violence prevention.
At these events, we highlighted our priority programs and shared new tools and resources. We also gained a better understanding of the challenges facing health care workers.
Engagemints
At events in 2025-2026, we took action to connect with health workers. We offered engagemints — a reusable tin filled with peppermints — to start workplace health and safety conversations. Nearly 300 health workers shared their priorities with us. Psychological health and safety (PHS) was their top concern, followed by violence at work, and injury prevention. Our PHS program, and practical tools supporting it, had the highest interest among the health workers we spoke to.
Health Sciences Association 2025 Annual Convention
April 2025, Vancouver
SWITCH BC hosted a booth and spoke with many of the 500 people who attended the Health Sciences Association (HSA) Annual Convention. Talking directly with people who work in the health sector helps SWITCH BC improve and refine our programs. Through interactive booth activities, we learned about HSA members’ top workplace health and safety concerns. Read more.
Ananya Panchmatia, SWITCH BC Project Coordinator; HSA’s Michael Wisla, SWITCH BC TAC member; and HSA’s Farzad Kasad, SWITCH BC OHS Resource Centre Implementation Committee member.
Physician Health and Safety Summit
April 2025, Vancouver
The Community Physician Health and Safety (CPHS) team promoted their program at the annual Physician Health and Safety Summit, hosted by Doctors of BC. SWITCH BC Director of Operations, Jennifer Zadorozniak, also gave a presentation with Dr. Sujatha Nilavar, a member of the CPHS Oversight Committee. They shared information about our free and confidential clinic assessments and the health and safety web portal. Read more.
Carolina Borges, Health and Safety Advisor; Emily Chan, Health and Safety Advisor; Dawn Wong, Administrative Coordinator; Brook Haight, Project Manager; Victoria Schmid, CEO; Jennifer Zadorozniak, Director, Operations; and Patrick Whalen, Executive Director, Operations.
SWITCH BC at Safety and Health Week
May 2025, Lower Mainland
During Safety and Health Week, SWITCH BC participated in three events hosted by our board partners, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). We provided information and resources to workers at events at Vancouver General Hospital, Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, and BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. Read more.
VCH Safety Summit – Vancouver General Hospital, May 6, 2025
PHSA – Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, May 6, 2025
PHSA – BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, May 8, 2025
Wayne Balshin, Vice President, People and Vivian Eliopoulos, President and CEO, both of VCH, join Kelly Sommer, SWITCH BC Director Operations and VCH’s Sally Breen, Executive Director, Talent Management and Strategy Deployment, People at the VCH Safety Summit.
BC Rural Health Conference, Rural Doctors of BC
June 2025, Prince George
Physicians, health workers, and medical staff in rural and remote communities face unique challenges. At the BC Rural Health Conference, we promoted our CPHS clinic assessments and web portal. Our information booth sparked conversations about clinic health and safety and practical ways to improve it. Read more.
Brook Haight, SWITCH BC Project Manager, Hiren Dodia, former SWITCH BC Health and Safety Advisor, and the first aid kit prize winner.
BCGEU Health Care conference
September 2025, Prince George
We joined the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) at its annual occupational health and safety conference for health services members. Our staff had the chance to connect with OHS leaders, PHS Stewards, Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHSC) members, union members, and health staff from Northern and Interior regions. We highlighted the OHS Resource Centre and the PHS Toolkit for JOHSCs. Read more.
Lindsay McKay, SWITCH BC Communications and Engagement Advisor and Mahen Ramdharry, Vice President of BCGEU’s Component 4 – Health Services.
Fraser Health JOHSC Conference
October 2025, Surrey
Our staff met hundreds of people who serve on JOHSCs at Fraser Health’s Annual JOHSC Conference. We introduced the OHS Resource Centre to this group, who will use it starting in June 2026. The OHS Resource Centre helps committees manage meetings and supports their important work across B.C.’s health system. Read more.
Quinn Danyluk, Fraser Health’s Director, Prevention – Health and Safety and SWITCH BC’s OHS Resource Centre working group member; Ken Casorso, Fraser Health’s VP, People Experience and SWITCH BC’s Board Director; and Gordon Lechner SWITCH BC Manager, OHS Resource Centre.
Canadian Conference on Physician Health
October 2025, Vancouver
SWITCH BC was thrilled to be a presenter at the 2025 Canadian Conference on Physician Health. The conference was co-hosted by Doctors of BC and the Canadian Medical Association. CPHS Operations Director, Jennifer Zadorozniak led a discussion on the Challenges and Opportunities for Change: Addressing Occupational Health and Safety in Community Medical Practices. Jennifer shared how the CPHS program provides practical tools and resources to physicians and their staff. Read more.
Ranique Sekhon, Doctors of BC and SWITCH BC Technical Advisory Committee member; Carolina Borges, SWITCH BC Health and Safety Advisor; Brook Haight, CPHS Project Manager, and Jennifer Zadorozniak, SWITCH BC Operations Director.
Bottom Line Conference
October 2025, Vancouver
Our PHS team shared draft resources from the PHS Toolkit for JOHSCs with health workers and leaders at the Bottom Line Conference. The Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division hosted the conference. We also met with several Bargaining Association Board partners to discuss ways to support and improve PHS in healthcare. Read more.
Michele Chase, Hospital Employees’ Union Occupational Health and Safety Representative, and a member of SWITCH BC’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Caitlin Grisack, Director of Operations, SWITCH BC, and Reagan Belan, Occupational Health and Safety Officer, BC General Employees’ Union, and member of SWITCH BC’s PHS Core TAC and OHS Resource Centre Working Group, alternate member.
Vancouver Division of Family Practice’s Medical Office Assistant (MOA) Networking Event
November 2025, Vancouver
The CPHS team shared new violence prevention de-escalation tools for Medical Office Staff (MOS). These tools help MOS handle difficult situations, often caused by patient frustration or heavy workloads. The tools include videos, audio clips, posters, and written scripts. Read more.
Connecting with UBC’s newly graduated physicians and students
December 2025, Vancouver
The Community Physician Health and Safety (CPHS) program team attended UBC’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Practice Foundations: Achieving Success in Your First Years of Practice. The team was invited to host an information table to promote and share CPHS tools and resources.
This event provided an opportunity to meet with students and newly graduated physicians who were excited to share CPHS resources with their colleagues and clinics, especially the new de-escalation tools. Read more.
SWITCH BC’s Administrative Coordinator, Dawn Wong and Project Manager, Brook Haight.
Health Sciences Association JOHSC Conference
February 2026, Vancouver
Psychological Health and Safety in Occupational Health and Safety was the theme of HSA’s annual conference. SWITCH BC CEO, Victoria Schmid, delivered welcoming remarks. Caitlin Grisack, program director for Psychological Health and Safety, introduced the tools we are piloting for the PHS Toolkit for JOHSCs.
Union members, SWITCH BC Board Director David Durning, and B.C.’s Minister of Labour, Jennifer Whiteside, visited our information table. They shared their health and safety priorities and learned more about SWITCH BC’s programs. Read more.
Honourable Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour; Lindsay McKay, SWITCH BC Communications and Engagement Advisor; Sarah Kooner, HSA President; and Patrick Whalen, SWITCH BC Executive Director.
Indigenous Cultural Safety
March 2026, Langley
Len Pierre, founder of Len Pierre Consulting, led the SWITCH BC team in a workshop on Indigenous Cultural Safety. One of the activities, called Circle and Box Training, is a hands-on exercise that helps participants understand the key differences between Indigenous and colonial worldviews.
This work encourages staff to show humility, integrity, vulnerability, authenticity, and empathy. These values help our team reflect on their own roles and support their ongoing journeys in truth and reconciliation and anti-racism.