Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) provide personal care to clients, patients, and residents to support their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs so they can function at an optimum level during their day. 
Since CCAs are a crucial part of the nursing team, we’re shining the spotlight on Jacey who works at a long-term care home this Nursing week.
Jacey completed the Health Care Aide Program-Medicine Hat College, CPR/First Aide, and WHMIS. She’s also certified for Dementia Client Care through my program at Medicine Hat College.
Jacey’s typical day comprises shift change report at the start and end of each shift where they share ongoing assessments about care needs for residents. She also physically assists residents with personal care such as daily baths and prepares them for breakfast, takes them for lunch and a lay down for an afternoon nap. Jacey sometimes subs as an activity worker by serving coffee and playing bingo with them.
Jacey’s favourite part of the job is being there for the residents who either have no family or their family can't come see them. She loves being able to make them smile, giving them a helping hand, or just giving them a hug to make them feel better when they're sad.
Jacey is proud of the moments when she is able to make a resident’s bad day better; when she holds their hand, listens to them even when she’s just walked in for her shift.
We are honoured to celebrate the Continuing Care Assistants who work tirelessly everyday as part of the essential front line heroes in Health Care.
It’s Licensed Practical Nurses Day! 
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) fill important roles in modern health care practices, even more so now during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The primary duty of an LPN is to promote health and healing by functioning as a member of the nursing team, to provide optimum care for clients, patients, and residents.
And to celebrate LPN Day we’re shining the spotlight on Thomas.
Thomas is a Licensed Practical Nurse at a hospital in Saskatoon with a focus on mental health and addictions.
He applies his vast knowledge in addiction care and treatment and nursing skills (including: Initiating IV, Motivational Interviewing, ASIST PART – Trainer, Addiction Care and Treatment - UBC WAVE, Take Home Naloxone – Trainer) to assess clients in Emergency to determine if they are a fit for addiction medicine.
He calls referrals that have been discharged to see if a phone appointment is appropriate.
If a consult call is required from the ward, he assess that as well.
Thomas also performs suicide risk assessments, safety planning, provide addictions support and follow-up with clients post discharge.
What Thomas enjoys most about his job is meeting the people that need his skills and services.
One of his best experiences was, meeting a past client that had gone on to university and has become a social worker.
“It was very gratifying seeing their success and being a part of their journey,” Thomas says.
We are proud to celebrate the LPNs working as part of the family of nursing each and every day and the front line heroes that make up our health care team!
It’s Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) Day! 
Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) provide personal care to clients, patients, and residents to support their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs so they can function at an optimum level during their day.
And to celebrate CCA Day we’re shining the spotlight on Stephanie who works at a long-term care home.
As a CCA who works more nights and evenings, her day typically includes working tirelessly to ensure the residents are comfortable, safe and taken care of through the night.
Stephanie also gets a number of residents up to start their day (a minimum of four) so she is the first person they get to see.
Stephanie finds her work highly rewarding and is comforted in knowing: “I can make a difference every shift I work by seeing the progress in our residents. Comforting a young resident during hard times, and knowing that they will come to me next time they have a problem is satisfying.”
Stephanie goes above and beyond each and every day for the residents.
We are proud to celebrate our CCAs who are an energetic part of our SEIU-West family of nursing and health care heroes every day of the year.
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.”