A little appreciation goes a long way

Jul 7, 2020 | 1:00 PM

A Prince Albert man is thanking the staff at the Victoria Hospital and other frontline workers in the community after witnessing what he called unbelievable care.

Dave Leaderhouse said he gained a whole new level of appreciation for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and hospital staff after his elderly mother required their services recently.

He sent an email to paNOW hoping to have it published. He wanted to publicly salute the workers after he witnessed what they encountered over the course of six hours while he waited for his mother who was being looked after in the emergency department.

“I watched in amazement at what the staff have to endure,” his email to paNOW read. “It was a constant onslaught of people coming in with various ailments, but what surprised me more than anything was how rude some people can be. There was swearing and cursing, failure to wear protective masks and just general belligerence and through all of this the staff were patient and tolerant.”

Leaderhouse’s email went on to say, “I never realized how overwhelming the whole scenario was at the hospital and I was just a spectator. These people that perform all of these professional roles deserve far more credit than they receive and I just want to pass on my thanks and appreciation to everyone. You truly are heroes!”

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A little thanks goes a long way

Science has proven appreciation is one of life’s great motivators. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed when helpers are thanked for their efforts, it inspires them to continue doing even more.

Carol Gregoryk is the Executive Director of Acute Care Northeast for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, based in the Victoria Hospital. She said gratitude has important implications for encouraging actions.

“Hearing a ‘thank you’ is important…and goes a long way in making people happy and feel that their life is rewarding. It just goes a long way for mental health to know that they are doing a great job and that it means something to the people that are receiving their care,” Gregoryk said.

The gratitude is especially appreciated in what Gregoryk called a challenging hospital like the one in Prince Albert, where staff are impacted by numbers and volume in an average day, with or without COVID-19.

“Its important to know how hard our staff are working to keep people safe,” Gregoryk said. “We have a safe way for you to flow through the hospital and my thanks to the staff as well. They’re doing a great job.”

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Teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Teena Monteleone

A little appreciation goes a long way

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