GuelphToday has received the following letter to the editor from Guelph General Hospital Board Chair, Dale Mills, who takes us behind the scenes to reveal the compassion that all hospital staff demonstrate, especially in these challenging times.
Compassion. As the Board Chair of Guelph General Hospital (GGH) if I had to use a single word to describe staff at the hospital that is it. Not everyone gets to see what goes on behind the scenes. You would be amazed at the effort that is put forth every day, not only during a crisis such as this COVID-19 pandemic, but every day: day in and day out, 365 days a year. This applies to all staff: the doctors, nurses, technologists, cleaning staff, food services, and many other specialties that make up the 1,600 workers at GGH.
Over the years, I have heard many stories from patients and families, every story bringing a lump to my throat: how a life was saved, how a procedure made a life-altering change in the quality of life, how a smile was infectious, or how life became more bearable towards the end. In every single story, a key message was how compassionate the staff were in making a stressful medical intervention as positive as it could be.
Many in the community don’t realize that GGH is the most cost-efficient community hospital in the Province of Ontario. It has the 7th best wait times in Ontario for patients visiting the Emergency Department; ranked in the top ten hospitals in Canada as being one of the safest hospitals for the past several years. But more than all of that, GGH has an incredibly compassionate and dedicated staff who makes a huge difference in patients’ lives every day.
On that note, I would like to recognize the incredible effort from all the workers at Guelph General Hospital. Many staff are taking care of COVID-19 patients. Senior administration has been run off their feet with countless hours of work and little sleep. Huge stresses from gear shortages, daily or even hourly updates and changes from Public Health and the Ministry of Health, and actual COVID-19 outbreaks in the hospital, have all contributed to the stress. Some good news during this pandemic: GGH staff fought a battle of a COVID-19 outbreak on a hospital wing and won.
Over the past few weeks, a number of people have asked me what they can do to help. My message is simple:
If you are in a position to do so, donate to the hospital financially. Also, you can consider leaving a message of encouragement through the Foundation’s White Heart Project (https://gghfoundation.ca/)
Stay out of the hospital by keeping healthy - stay home, keep safe, eat right and exercise
Practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently, and follow the many other directions given by Public Health. These preventative measures are making a real difference in the volume of infections and those who require hospitalization in our community.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in addition to the dedication, selflessness and commitment of all the GGH staff, I include the Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service and first responders, other healthcare workers in the community, the Guelph Family Health Team (GFHT) physicians and staff of which most volunteered to work the COVID-19 assessment clinic on Victoria Road or help in the Emergency Department of the hospital during this pandemic. In our community, the GGH, the GFHT and the many other health service providers have worked tirelessly together to develop a response to this outbreak. We are still in the middle of this pandemic, so we can’t let up.
Our community is fortunate to have such a fantastic group of dedicated healthcare workers.
Dale Mills
Chair, Guelph General Hospital
Board Member, Guelph Family Health Team
