Our Digital Thank You to Health Care Workers

Friday, April 3, 2020

Our TR faculty members and students created a digital thank you to those working in health care settings during this unprecedented time. If you would like to leave your thanks, visit the blog and comment at the bottom of the page. We welcome all comments and shares of this link so that health care workers everywhere see these positive messages. 


An Open Letter to Health Care Workers Everywhere – We Appreciate You

“Things are getting tougher and tougher. The staffing issues and PPE shortages are enough to keep me up at night, the loss of emphasis on quality of life for residents is soul depleting and the heartbreaking fear of staff and residents will stay with me for life.  I know every ounce of energy has to be on building the morale of staff and on prevention and control and that is what I am focusing on.  I feel that despite all the bad there is a sense of unity, I just have to look a lot harder to find it.”   Anonymous Healthcare Worker

The challenges associated with the COVID 19 pandemic continue to evolve and increase daily. These challenges are being felt acutely and deeply by the dedicated people working in the healthcare and long-term care sectors. As the above quote describes, the conditions and experiences for healthcare and long-term care staff continue to get tougher and tougher with each passing day, having an impact not only on them but on the people with whom they work and their families. The world needs to know about the struggles they are facing and the critical role they are playing in caring for and protecting people, particularly citizens who are most vulnerable. And, the healthcare and long-term care staff need to know that we understand the struggles they are facing and very much appreciate what they are doing to support individuals and keep us all safe. We set up this Blog as a platform to say ‘Thank you’ and perhaps to provide a space for healthcare and long-term care professionals to share their stories. We invite all of you to share your thoughts and let the healthcare and long-term care staff know how much they are valued by adding your comments to this Blog.

So, to those who are working in the health care and long-term care sectors during the pandemic, we want you to know how much we appreciate you. The work that each and every one of you do is important at the best of times and now that much more important. While we would like to do more, we want you to know that we value you and the work that you do. You matter to us!

We appreciate your work, your time, your efforts, the sacrifices you are making, and recognize you are putting yourselves at risk while caring for others in our communities. We recognise that the COVID-19 global health crisis has significant consequences on your working conditions; forcing many of you to work long hours, work under-staffed, and work without the resources you need to protect yourselves and others.

Thank you for all the work you are doing to care for and protect the most vulnerable in our communities. We continue to keep you in our thoughts during this time.

The TR faculty in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, The University of Waterloo – Sherry Dupuis, Leeann Ferries, Kim Lopez, and Zara Rafferty