Year: 2007
Location: Red Deer
Profile: Kevin Wilibnisky came to nursing in his thirties after having established an earlier career in marketing. A nurse since 1998, he returned to his home town of Red Deer in 2003 and at the time of the interview was a psychiatric nurse at Red Deer Regional Hospital. He was an activist in Local 2 of UNA. While Wilibnisky was pleased that dramatic improvements had occurred in the environmental settings for mental health services, he deplored both understaffing in psychiatric units and the lack of community supports for patients. The latter resulted in many patients being constantly readmitted. Wilibnisky argues that full-time staff must be the mainstays of mental health services because time and continuity are required to establish therapeutic relations with people with complex mental health issues. Understaffing has led to “excessive overtime shifts” and staff burnout. Wilibnisky participated in the demand-setting process in UNA. That included demands for high security room doors to be always operational as a workplace health and safety measure. He advocates that UNA members act as “political watchdogs,” sharing information about healthcare and social policy needs with other unions in efforts to create a broad social movement for social justice.
Keywords: Community supports for mental health; Demand-setting process in UNA; Psychiatric nurse; Red Deer General Hospital; Understaffing in psychiatric units; Unions’ political role.
One-sentence summary: Kevin Wilibnisky is a psychiatric nurse at Red Deer General Hospital and an activist in Local 2 of UNA.
Two-sentence summary: Kevin Wilibnisky is a psychiatric nurse at Red Deer General Hospital and an activist in Local 2 of UNA. He has been involved in the demand-setting process in UNA, in workplace health and safety issues, and in encouraging UNA’s political role, particularly in advocating community supports for mental health patients.
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See also: Alberta Union of Provincial Employees; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; United Nurses of Alberta