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.
For the week of April 19 – 25, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Linen Worker Appreciation Week! 
In health care facilities, Linen Workers provide laundry-related services to all departments and facilities for clients, patients, residents and staff.
For this weeks’ celebration, we’re shining the spotlight on Connie, a Laundry Service worker at Parkridge Centre in Saskatoon.
“Every day brings something different, but we make sure that the residents’ laundry is clean and returned within two days,” Connie says.
“We also make sure that staff have the insulation gowns that they need. Which is really important right now,” she continues. “As a safety measure we now have to wear masks throughout the building.
“What I love most about my job is the interaction with the residents.
“The current pandemic situation makes it really sad because for safety reasons we can no longer have the level of interaction we used to have with the residents,” Connie said. “That’s really tough, because it’s hard for her and it’s difficult for me because she doesn’t totally understand why I have to keep my distance.”
Linen workers are an essential part in the fight against COVID-19 and we should take this week to appreciate everything they do.
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Linen Workers!
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Russell is offering some advice from his Kitchen headquarters.
I work as a cook in an LTC facility. Every day seems to be like walking into a new job because we don’t know what we are walking into and a lot of us frontline staff feel the same way. We are looking to our managers for direction. Many of my coworkers have worked here a long time so they know their jobs but there’s a lot of pressure and stress with COVID-19.
Everyone is scared for their own safety to start with. Workers are already coming into work with anxiety. Many of my coworkers are scared to bring it home to loved ones.
Sometimes we just have to talk about it and when we do, I see that people are ready to cry. Everyone seems to have an understanding that this is bigger than our unit, our region. We are just trying to do the best we can.
For the most part, everyone is working beyond their job. People are having to work together. People are so stressed out that if one day they are moving slower than normal, the rest of the team covers that slack without judgement. This is bringing unity to my team. My advice to everyone out there is to lean on each other, talk to each other and help each other out because after this settles down, it comes down to your life.
We are all in the same boat. I think this is going to humble everyone. Growing up, we had more of a community and we shared resources because we had to. I’m hoping this helps us realize we need to get together and take of care of each other. We are lucky we have healthcare and sanitation. It’s good to be a Canadian.
Today the 22nd of April, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate ‘Administrative Professionals Day!
Here’s one of your SEIU-West Front Line Heroes. 
Providing hands on care during a pandemic is not easy but Roxy is offering some advice from her Laboratory headquarters.
"We are holding up alright here, and staying informed. I’m focused on what I can control and what I can’t. We are in the calm before the storm right now. There is a lot of buzz and people are jittery due to the high level of uncertainty. It seems like change comes constantly. It seems like we are in a crisis right now but we have zero cases at our facility as of today. It’ll get worse before it gets better. Do what you can to keep yourself and your family safe."