Launched in 2008, the Mainstay Awards are sponsored by the Worker’s Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and the Department of Labour and Advanced Education. The Awards honour employers and individuals who have demonstrated strong commitment and significant contributions to building a strong culture of workplace safety in Nova Scotia.
New Dawn Homecare was recognized with the Employer Safety Champion Award, and its Director, Sabrina Vatcher, with the Individual Safety Champion Award. New Dawn Homecare was the only Cape Breton company to be included in this year’s recipients.
“We were really proud to be selected as recipients of these awards,” says Vatcher. “Creating safe workplaces and an awareness of safety rights and responsibilities has become a whole-company effort. With so many of our staff working in different homes in the community, employee and client safety has to be a top priority. Everyone who works with us has really stepped up to play an important role in these efforts.”
The Employer Safety Champion Award recognizes an employer who has demonstrated an exemplary health and safety program and proven injury prevention track record in their workplace. The Individual Safety Champion Award is awarded to an individual whose contribution has made an exceptional difference to health and safety in the workplace.
“For us safety isn’t something that is secondary to our work. Ensuring safe workplaces and a broad and deep awareness of safety and its importance is part of our business model. It is part of the well-being of all of those who work for us and of our clients,” says Vatcher.
