Shelly Banks served as SEIU-West Vice President from 2008-2015. Her invaluable and outstanding contributions have made a significant and lasting impact on members and our union.
SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Therapy Assistant Week September 14-19, 2020!
We spoke to Rocky, one of our SEIU-WEST Occupational Physiotherapy Assistant members to find out more about his role as a health care provider.
Rocky’s day includes providing patient care and encouraging patients to complete specific treatment plans related to injury, illness or disability-related physical issues. Rocky has almost 21 years’ experience in this role. What he enjoys most about his job is working with patients to help them to gain strength as they progress through their recovery journey. He genuinely appreciates his role as he facilitates the progress of his patients as they recover their strength and mobility.
Although Rocky said this role was diminished at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, “some of us were redeployed to the COVID-19 test sites, as well as being redeployed to the ward to work with patients when needed.”
But they have since adapted as they all now use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when they go see patients and clients in the wards or home visits. They also screen outpatients to ensure it’s safe to bring them into the facility. There is also extra cleaning and they generally take extra precautions in their work.
Therapy assistants play a very important part in patient recovery and Rocky recalled when a former in-patient came back 2 years after Rocky had worked with them. The patient asked for Rocky at the desk because they just wanted to thank him for all the work he did with them as an inpatient to help them regain their mobility. “So I guess I made an impact” said Rocky, “sometimes we take it for granted because we’re just doing our job. To us it’s all about our job but to our patients it’s actually life changing.”
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Therapy Assistant and their vital role in patient recovery.
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