Provincial Government Recognized Nationally for Healthy Workplace Program

The government of Nova Scotia received something today, Sept. 20, no other province in Canada has achieved.

The National Quality Institute presented Premier Rodney MacDonald with first-level certification from its Healthy Workplace Progressive Excellence Program for the Nova Scotia government's commitment to providing a healthy workplace for its 10,000-plus employees.

"Creating a healthy workplace is an important part of building a strong public service and a healthier Nova Scotia," said the premier. "We hope to work with other employers and leaders in the province to positively affect the health of thousands of families and their communities."

The National Quality Institute is Canada's leading authority on the development and sustainability of excellence through quality and healthy workplace environments.

The provincial government has adopted the institute's model for workplace health, which incorporates three elements: health and lifestyle practices, workplace culture and supportive environment, and physical environment and occupational health and safety.

"Workplace health is about helping to meet the needs of employees in a way that they feel good about coming to work," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Minister of Human Resources, responsible for the Public Service Commission. "This achievement was made possible by the teamwork of many Nova Scotia government employees, led by the Public Service Commission's Healthy Workplace co-ordination office."

The province's application to the institute highlighted programs, including:

• the Corporate Human Resource Plan goals and activities
• a new corporate healthy workplace policy
• department-level healthy workplace committees
• participation in healthy workplace research project at Department of Justice
• support for employees (Employee Assistance Program)
• family caregiving courses
• a strong emphasis on diversity
• support for managers (Be the Manager You'd Love to Have series)
• awareness campaigns (Take Back the Lunch Break and Put Health on the Agenda)
• recognition policies and programs
• employee communication (@ the window newsletter)
• Healthy Eating Guide
• employee access to training programs and career development
• How's Work Going? employee survey
• an occupational health and safety program
• a mental health in the workplace pilot project

For information about the provincial government's healthy-workplace programs, visit www.gov.ns.ca/psc/healthyworkplace .

For information about the National Quality Institute and its healthy workplace certification program, visit www.nqi.ca/Certification/ .