INTRODUCTION
In an effort to build on the good work currently taking place in the sector, AWARE-NS has designed a strategy which involves the implementation of a standardized health and safety management system (HSMS) for home care/ home support organizations in Nova Scotia. This initiative is being facilitated through a Communities of Safe Practice approach and will include a customized, standardized and progressive Certificate of Recognition (COR) process aligned with the WCB’s proposed rate incentive program.
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The Community of Safe Practice (COSP) Program serves to establish formal peer to peer safety support networks and is designed to make prevention an integral part of health and community services workplaces in Nova Scotia. The COSP program recognizes organizations that make the prevention of workplace injuries and illnesses a daily habit by building it into their current management systems. It is based on the premise that an integrated workplace health and safety program will promote organizational excellence. A standardized HSMS is an integrated set of organizational elements involved in a continuous cycle of planning, implementation, evaluation and continual improvement, directed toward the reduction of occupational hazards in the workplace.
