{"id":2568,"date":"2020-01-27T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T23:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/safecarebc.ca\/?p=2568"},"modified":"2023-12-18T09:39:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T17:39:24","slug":"always-open-to-learning-greater-vancouver-community-services-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/?p=2568","title":{"rendered":"Always open to learning - Greater Vancouver Community Services Society"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For those living in BC\u2019s Lower Mainland, the winter season can often feel like an extension of autumn. Cold, rainy days are to be expected \u2013 large snowstorms are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the region may not experience snowstorms very often, the impact can be challenging when they do occur. It was from feeling this impact that the Greater Vancouver Community Services Society (GVCSS) felt inspired to take a proactive approach to winter safety.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A few winters ago, GVCSS felt unprepared. One particularly bad snowstorm resulted in many staff injuries, leaving many clients without service. \u201cThat storm was a learning experience for us,\u201d says the Society\u2019s Home Care director, Maria Moeller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And learn from that experience they did. Immediately after the storm, changes to the organization\u2019s winter procedures began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prevent slips on ice and snow\u2014the main source of injuries during the wintery conditions\u2014low-cost cleats are now made available to new employees, and safety while travelling between clients\u2019 homes in challenging weather conditions is typically part of their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative came directly from hearing staff feedback. As Moeller says, \u201ccommunication is key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That mantra extends throughout the organization\u2019s approach to winter safety. Not only are office and supervisor staff given the resources to work from home on snowy days, but clients are also kept in constant communication\u2014which helps determine if they require service that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schedules are adjusted to allow staff extra time to get from client to client. Travel time is made even safer with \u201cNeighbourhood Scheduling\u201d, a plan that assigns workers to clients in a nearby radius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of GVCSS\u2019s initiatives speak for themselves. Despite January\u2019s heavy snowfall, most clients still received service, and only seven minor slips were reported, with no major injuries.  This marks a stark contrast to previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, there is more that can be done, Moeller says. From working with the city to implementing staff feedback, GVCSS is always willing to listen and learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ensuring their clients are taken care of in the winter conditions demonstrates the dedication and compassion of GVCSS\u2019s workers. GVCSS\u2019s leadership team is incredibly proud of the hard work the staff has done.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those living in BC\u2019s Lower Mainland, the winter season can often feel like an extension of autumn. Cold, rainy days are to be expected \u2013 large snowstorms are not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"topic":[54,177],"class_list":["post-2568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-member-spotlight","topic-slips-trips-falls","topic-winter-safety"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-15 21:24:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2568"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2568"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftopic&post=2568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}