It’s National Nursing Week! 
And to celebrate National Nursing Week, we’re shining the spotlight on Patricia. Patricia is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at Lanigan Union Hospital.
Since receiving her LPN diploma a mere 26 years ago, Patricia has forged an impressive career.
She’s kept up her certification and expanded her knowledge by attending many workshops, in-services, and reading many career-relevant articles.
Patricia’s day involves all duties related to caring for long-term care residents, as well as assisting with acute care, and emergency room patients.
As hard as her job may be some days, Patricia enjoys the relationship-based nursing aspects of her work.
Patricia recalls an event that a smile to her face:
“Actually it was a fall incident. I heard a noise coming from a resident's room. I went to check it out. There he was, sitting on the floor, laughing. Trying not to immediately laugh myself, I asked "What happened?" He said "You won't believe it, but I was dreaming and I slipped right out of my recliner, and here I sit!" He had been sitting in his recliner, with a pillow underneath his legs, and the recliner just dumped him right onto the floor, landing his bottom right onto the pillow.
I asked if he was okay, stifling the impending giggles, and he said "Well, sure hun, but you do NOT want to know what this old guy was dreaming about!" We then were literally in stitches....lol. (My partner and I helped him up and he had not one scratch on him.)”
We all depend on LPNs to take care of us and we would like to give special thanks to them for holding strong on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are proud to celebrate our CCAs and LPNs who are a vibrant part of our SEIU-West family of nursing and health care heroes every day of the year.
John is a recreational worker at a long-term care facility and another one of our SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing fun activities during a pandemic is not easy but John is offering some advice from his Extendicare headquarters: “Keep on smiling and let your love shine through.”
John loves to engage with the residents and he said “I love to know that I am part of the reason that they are smiling”.
John also helps residents with their emotional, social, spiritual and physical aspects of their lives by providing recreation programs.
One of John’s favourite memories was when they raised money for Telemiracle in their workplace and appeared on TV to make their donation on behalf of the long-term care home and resident council.
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Stacey is offering some advice from her laboratory headquarters.
“These are trying and difficult times in health care, but we are all part of a large team, working together,” Stacey added. “And that’s how we’ll get through this – by working together, while staying physically distanced apart. And washing our hands. A lot!!”
We would like to round off National Medical Laboratory Week 2020 by featuring yet another SEIU-West Front Line Hero! 
A key part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is the work done within our Medical Laboratories.
A part of the front line Lab team are Combined Laboratory & X-Ray Technologists (CLXTs) like our member Stacey who works at the Rosthern Hospital in rural Saskatchewan.
Stacey's day in the lab includes specimen collection/phlebotomy, admin/accessioning, sample testing and sample referral. It also includes performing X-Rays and ECG's!
What Stacey loves most about her job is the variety every day brings. Also the small moments “which mostly includes getting an opportunity to know our patients well. We see some people many times over the years and so many of our "regulars" become special to us” said Stacey.
“I’ve been a CLXT working in rural Saskatchewan for over 20 years. Medical Laboratories encompass many Laboratory professionals - from Phlebotomists, MLA’s, MLT’s, CLXT‘s, all the support and administration staff and so many more!! Laboratory staff, whether on the front lines, or working behind the scenes, are an essential and integral part of patient care. I’m proud to be a Heath Care Worker and part of the Medical Laboratory Team! Happy National Medical Laboratory Week to all of my amazing and hard-working co-workers!!
“These are trying and difficult times in health care, but we are all part of a large team, working together,” Stacey added. “And that’s how we’ll get through this – by working together, while staying physically distanced apart. And washing our hands. A lot!!”
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that make up the team in Medical Laboratories.
This week of April 26 - May 2, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate National Medical Laboratory Week!
Anita is a Medical Laboratory Technologist at the Royal University Hospital. She is also certified in Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System and an author in Document Management System.
Part of Anita’s day includes ensuring staff competency, organizing workflow and area processes, ensuring area protocols are followed and that accreditation standards, as well as safety of medical laboratory staff are maintained.
Anita says about her job, “My job in the Diagnostic Molecular Pathology Lab is so interesting! Our lab uses the power of Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) to identify difficult to culture pathogens. We have been hard at work lately processing samples from people suspected of having COVID-19”.
Anita and her fellow MLTs are working extremely hard through this pandemic. They are maintaining current testing on all patients, as well as, bringing in and working up new testing for the continuing and future care of the COVID-19 patients and all other patients.
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that make up the team in Medical Laboratories.
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Jess is offering some advice from her RUH headquarters.
“As an Environmental Service Worker (ESW), there is added pressure than on a normal day; we are there to help prevent someone from catching something in our hospital. We must always work diligently,” says Jess. “With COVID-19 (C19), we just have to work harder to make sure everything is as clean as it can be so that a patient or family member doesn’t get C19.
“When I come home, I shower and change my clothes as soon as possible. I have family that are immunocompromised, so I always have to be careful that I don’t put my loved ones at risk. As a team, we are constantly making sure we are doing the best we can, cleaning the best we can, and practicing hand hygiene so we don’t put others at risk. We focus on the reality that if we don’t take care of our hand hygiene and infection control in the area we are cleaning, we may be putting patients, coworkers and families at risk.
“That’s not something we should ever do as health employees. I try to always think the positive and know that this too will come to an end.”
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Emilyn is offering some advice from her RUH headquarters.
“It’s hard to get through each day but you just think about how you can help others and try to do the best you can to protect yourself without bringing anything home with you. The atmosphere at work right now is nervous, but people are vigilant about what they touch and their surroundings. Mentally, it’s exhausting. Every day there is a new routine before you leave and when you get back. You can’t be around loved ones when you go home – I go straight to the shower and I leave my shoes outside.
Working in registration at the hospital, patients are now getting screened through security and we have changed our processes to be safer - these processes are always changing. Everyone is anxious because this is the calm before the storm. There are so many changes in the hospital that you can’t help but get a bit nervous. In the common areas, the chairs are all gone now. It feels eerie.
Try to think positively and hope this goes away”.
We want to feature yet another SEIU-West Front Line Hero this National Medical Laboratory Week (April 26 - May 2, 2020). 
Joe is a Medical Laboratory Technologist (MLT) at the Humboldt District Health Complex.
“The lab is a busy place to work, it runs 24/7 so there’s always someone on call after hours,” said Joe.
Joe and his fellow MLTs are performing some of the most critical work during this pandemic including specimen collection and pre-analytical specimen handling/processing.
Their efforts ensure that people are tested in a timely manner so the virus can be identified and a course of treatment can be followed.
The front line heroes in our Medical Labs can detect, prevent, and manage physiological and pathological conditions in patients, clients, and residents so they can be treated effectively.
In the midst of the additional work related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe and his coworkers are maintaining current testing on all patients.
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes like Joe that make up the team in Medical Laboratories.
Whether it’s the skill and knowledge of testing for HIV, the seasonal flu, cancer or COVID-19, our Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) continually step up to the challenge of providing timely diagnostic information for the whole health care team but especially in light of the public health challenges we currently face.
This week marks a celebration and acknowledgement of the work of an incredibly diverse group of professionals that provide education, experience and knowledge to the whole health care team. They work as partners with doctors and other health care professionals, to provide them with the tools they need to make accurate and timely diagnosis.
Every day that we work in our health system is unique and challenging. We strive to bring our best skills to the table... during a pandemic, that work in a lab is even more important because of the public health impact. Behind the scenes or at the lab bench, Medical Laboratory Technologists keep their knowledge at the cutting edge and their skills sharp to keep all of us safe.
On behalf of SEIU-West, I thank our MLT’s for their incredible knowledge, skills and abilities.