Mary Morris, BN, RN, COHNC, COHN, CRSP, CHRP, with a resumé that includes employment in construction, hospitality, aviation, tourism, telecommunication, long-haul trucking and (most recently) federal and provincially-regulated workplaces, has taken a somewhat non-traditional path in her nursing career. Yet doing so has allowed her to achieve significant success in the promotion of occupational health.
A consummate learner and strong advocate of workplace health and safety, Mary is a certified occupational health nurse and a certified safety engineer — the highest safety professional designation in Canada.
Over the past three decades, Mary has diligently applied her knowledge and expertise to improving the health of employees throughout Nova Scotia. She has advised countless presidents, CEOs, CFOs and HR professionals on all aspects of workplace health, including the development of workplace standards and health programs. She has also educated thousands of employers and workers on issues such as heart health, fitness, air quality evaluations, accident investigations and disability case management.
In addition, Mary has assisted hundreds of employees to cope with life crises, including caring for those families affected by the Swissair disaster off Peggy’s Cove in 1998. A born innovator, she has introduced employee assistance programs in countless workplaces and she was conducting retirement health seminars for workers and their families long before the transition from work to retirement was considered an integral component of health packages.
Today, as the first registered nurse in Canada to become director of a provincial Office of the Employer Adviser, Mary is highly respected provincially and nationally for her expertise, leadership and commitment to occupational health.