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2014
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NeWs: Colquitz students test potential careers /a5 seNIORs: Seniors wanted for new B.C. council /a14 sPORTs: St. Michael’s Blue Jags top B.C. /a15
SAANICHNEWS Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Thank You Saanich It is an honour and a privilege to represent you on Saanich Council I look forward to working with you and council for the next 4 years. VoteHaynes.ca Authorized by Grant Kratofil, Financial Agent. 250-800-3679
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Teens with autism get boost in job hunt
GOLDSTREAM NEWS VICTORIA NEWS SAANICH NEWS OAK BAY NEWS GAZETTE
Local vocational assessment program fills gap as Community Living BC tests pilot job program Daniel Palmer News staff
Andrea Peacock/News staff
Dr. Pamela Kibsey shows off the new automated microbiology lab at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, which will become the first hospital in North America to boast such a facility. The new system will allow more tests from across Island Health’s jurisdiction to be done faster and increase the efficiency of a diagnosis.
Jubilee gets ‘first in B.C.’ lab Andrea Peacock Black Press
Royal Jubilee Hospital will soon be able to process patient samples faster and with more accuracy, thanks to a new state-of-the-art automated microbiology lab. With its unveiling on Monday, Jubilee becomes the first hospital in
North America with such a facility. “It will make a huge difference for our patients, because we’ll have critical information to guide their therapy faster,” said Dr. Brendan Carr, CEO of Island Health. The new lab system cost $4.3 million to install, was done in partnership with the Capital Regional District and officially goes live on Dec. 8.
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Previously, hospital staff had to manually place specimens on petri dishes, spread them in a specific pattern then take them to the incubator. After 16 to 24 hours, technologists would then examine bacteria growth on the plates one by one. Please see: Automated lab, Page A9
Matthew Schultz, like most of his high school peers, just wants a job, a driver’s licence and a lot more independence. But unlike most 16 year olds, Matthew’s autism means the journey to his dream job – as a chef in a steakhouse, ideally – will require much more than persistent résumé canvassing at local restaurants. “He’s keen to get out into the workplace, but that’s almost impossible,” says Matthew’s dad, Mike, a Saanich teacher. The Schultz family is well aware of the difficulties that teens with autism encounter as they “age out” of supportive funding – $6,000 annually – provided by the B.C. Ministry of Child and Family Development. But it wasn’t until last September, when Mike and his partner, Barb, caught wind of a new, locally based vocational program for autistic teens that the family was able to access a desperately needed resource. The Vocational Independence and Transition to Adult Life (VITAL) program is the brainchild of Margherita Jess, a Victoria-based occupational therapist.
The program aims to bridge the gap in support between teenage student years and adult working life for some of the 265 diagnosed autistic teens between ages 14 and 18 currently living in the Capital Region. “I was getting a lot of clients with kids who were 18, and a lot of parents were going, ‘Oh my gosh, funding ends. Kids are finishing school: Help,’” Jess said. Jess then went about building a program framework then selected a team that includes a psychologist, social worker and behavioural aide. “I purposefully picked those people because they’ve seen what happens when supports aren’t in place in the teen years,” Jess said. Employment rates for adults with autism are typically very low. Only 30 per cent of autistic adults are steadily employed, compared to an average of 80 per cent with other developmental disabilities. The starting point for assessing a teen’s needs and skills is a vocational assessment, which can normally cost between $2,500 to $6,000 alone, Jess said. Please see: Page A3
Dr. Ian McMillan Welcoming New Patients
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