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How we’re supporting our staff during the fight against COVID-19.

Monday March 30, 2020

  • Blog
  • COVID-19
  • Foundation

Southlake’s staff are dedicated to providing leading edge care around the clock to keep our communities safe as we continue the fight against COVID-19. They are away from their families, working hard to protect yours. Many have been redeployed from their regular positions to support with other needs, like those who are stationed at screening stations at the entrances to the hospital.

To thank our incredible teams for their commitment to patient care during these difficult times, Southlake is doing everything we can to provide our staff with the support they need to continue providing the incredible care our communities need.

A wellness cart – known inside the hospital as a Lavender Cart to support staff mental health – is now circulating with snacks, beverages, and comfort items to keep staff going during long shifts, and to bring a smile to their faces. Hand sanitizer is also being provided on the cart for staff to use at home to keep themselves and their families safe. They are working hard, and we want them to know that we are by their side through these challenging times.

Southlake’s Senior Leadership Team has been providing free coffee and tea for all staff at the on-campus Tim Horton’s as a special thank you for the tireless work of our amazing teams. Thanks to the incredibly generosity of an anonymous donor, this will continue to be offered through the entire month of April!

Kindness and words of encouragement also go a long way. We’re asking people to send messages of gratitude and support to Southlake staff on social media using #SouthlakeLove, and the messages are pouring in. We’re sharing them with our teams to let them know that our communities are thankful for their dedication to providing leading edge care for everyone who needs it.

We’re also working hard with our communities to support the urgent equipment needs as a result of the pandemic, to ensure that our expert clinical teams have the tools and personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to keep themselves and our patients safe. We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of donations that we have received towards the COVID-19 Action Fund and Southlake’s PPE Drive.

Even though we can’t all be together, we are seeing an amazing response from our supporters who are finding inspiring ways to show that they are still by our side.

Here’s how you can help:

  • The best way to help is to stay home to protect yourself and others in the community as we work together to flatten the curve.
  • Click here to make an online donation to support the COVID-19 Action Fund most urgently-needed tools and equipment and directly support patient care at Southlake.
  • Donate unopened, unused and unexpired personal protective equipment. More information is available here.
  • Southlake’s staff are dedicated to providing leading edge care around the clock to keep our communities safe as we continue the fight against COVID-19. They are away from their families, working hard to protect yours. Lift their spirits. Share a message of gratitude and support for our incredible staff using #SouthlakeLove and tell them how much they mean to you.

Food Donations

Southlake recognizes that food items are limited within the hospital, particularly on evenings and nights and that in trying times, not having to worry about your food can be a simple thing that helps to relieve stress for our staff.

In order to honour social distancing we want to ensure that all donations of food or food orders come from commercially prepared stores (as they are required to follow Public Health guidelines for food preparation) and are individually wrapped.

  • Examples:
    • Sandwiches, pitas etc. could come individually wrapped or in a container
    • Meals could come in individual serving containers for one person. Avoid pizza.  If pizza is ordered, then slices could come on individual pizza plates, in a bag or individual pizza boxes.
  • We can also accept gift certificates or vouchers for food items, sealed snacks and sealed drinks.

For health and safety reasons, we cannot accept donations of homemade masks at this time.

As we continue to navigate this situation together, we are deeply thankful to our staff – but also to our communities for your shared commitment to helping Southlake continue to provide the care our communities need during this critical time.

Thank you!