WCB and Lifemark team up to speed recovery for injured workers

CITYnews halifax / By Blake Priddle

More than one million working days were lost due to workplace injuries in Nova Scotia last year, but a new Work-Connected Recovery program aims to reduce that lost time by 35 per cent over the next five years.

The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia is partnering with Lifemark Health Group to launch the program, as it works to improve what are now some of Canada’s worst statistics for time lost from work.

Under the new program, Lifemark will create a provincewide network of providers that puts workers first. Injured workers can expect faster care and recovery through a more accessible system designed to help them return to work sooner.

The WCB supports more than 10,000 workers each year with physical and psychological injuries. On average, someone with a traumatic psychological injury waits 42 days before receiving treatment. The goal of the new program is to cut that wait time by half or more.

The program is scheduled to begin this coming January.