Sault Area Hospital is committed to employee safety and demonstrates leadership in this field with the development and implementation of safety programs.  The Corporate Safety and Wellness (CSW) team along with the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC), Management and employees strive daily to create a culture of safety.  At SAH everyone is responsible for safety.

In addition to the JHSC, SAH also has a team of Safety Representatives in many departments who serve as ambassadors for safety.

Sault Area Hospital posts a Safety Policy Statement in all departments. This public statement of Sault Area Hospital’s commitment to providing a safe workplace for all employees is reviewed annually by the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) and signed by the Chair of the Board of Directors and the CEO.

The Safety Representative is a volunteer position which is part of a unique program proposed by the Joint Health & Safety Committee.  This position was created in order to increase safety awareness and assist Managers with safety inspections and safety communication.  Unit Safety Representatives in consultation with their manager may perform a variety of safety duties, including health and safety promotion; monthly inspections; identifying departmental hazards; organize the health and safety board in their area; and maintain departmental manuals on health and safety policies, infection control, Material Safety Data Sheets and emergency measures.  

Sault Area Hospital is committed to providing the highest level of health care and services to its patients and the community.  All employees of Sault Area Hospital contribute to this objective and regular attendance at work is critical to maintaining quality health care.  

 In recognition that regular attendance promotes higher staff morale, fair workload allocation and increased quality of care to our patients, it is the objective of the Sault Area Hospital to promote and support employees in attending work on a regular basis.  

 The Attendance Improvement Program provides for a mutual awareness between managers and employees regarding the impact of absenteeism.  Sault Area Hospital is committed to a fair and consistent approach in attendance management.

At Sault Area Hospital, we understand that recovery from an illness can be hastened by a gradual resumption of work duties.  Early and Safe Return to Work Program is designed to bring employees back to work in a supportive manner following an illness or injury. Where possible, an employee’s restrictions for returning to work are accommodated to enable their return to work during recovery.

 

The program’s goal is to prevent injuries by providing employees with a standardized system to assess patient, personal and environmental risk factors.  The program also provides employees with standard procedures that outline how to safely move patients. 

Sault Area Hospital has invested approximately 1.5 million dollars in equipment and education to ensure employee safety when moving patients.

Sault Area Hospital is committed to protecting employees from exposure to occupational air contaminants such as dust, fumes, mists, gases, vapours, microorganisms and radionuclides.  Employees who may be exposed to these contaminants will be required to wear personal protective equipment, specifically, N95 masks.  Quantitative fit testing (using a Portacount) will be conducted to ensure that employees are wearing the appropriate size N95 mask to have the highest degree of protection against droplet-based biological hazards and occupational air contaminants.  

  • Flu Clinics: in the months of October, November and December we offer in-house influenza clinics, walkabouts and OHS office appointments
  • Pre-employment Screening
  • Assisting Abilities management when needed in returning employees to work after injury/illness
  • Critical Stress Management
  • Contact tracing for communicable diseases
  • Provides direction to workers with symptoms of communicable diseases regarding return to work or work restrictions.
  • Immunization updates – ensuring compliance with Public Hospitals Act through OHA/OMA Communicable Diseases Surveillance Protocols
  • Surveillance Programs:  Bloodborne Pathogens Exposures, Hazardous Drug Exposures, Communicable Disease surveillance
  • First aid

The Sault Area Hospital’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is designed to offer a voluntary, confidential short-term counselling and advisory support service to all staff who may be experiencing situations that affect their well-being, work performance, health and family life.  This program also extends to spouses and dependent children of staff.