Staff at Sydney Adventist Hospital (San) have thanked students from a local school for their heartwarming and inspiring letters of support and hope sent to bolster their spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Close to 100 students from Brigidine College created moving and soulful messages acknowledging the pressures on doctors, nurses, and other support staff, voicing their thanks for the expertise and sacrifices they were making in caring for the ill and preventing the spread of infection.
During the visit to the hospital by five of the students, San staff were represented by medical and nursing staff, infection control, hospitality, food services, and physiotherapy team members.
Michael Hughes, associate professor, thanked the students for their letters and reaffirmed the positive impact the gesture had on the hospital’s 2,400 staff and 1,100 visiting medical specialists.
“The wonderful display of support from the students at Brigidine College was really inspiring and uplifting, and a wonderful boost to all the staff,” he says.
San nurse operational executive Clare Lumley agreed, saying it helped staff during the immense planning and preparation required over the past few months.
“The encouragement from the community and schools provided that extra support and strength the teams needed to deal with the challenges of a crisis that has never been dealt with before in Australia,” she added.
Brigidine College’s Skye Wacher said the letter-writing project was part of a pastoral care program that also included writing to the elderly in care homes.
“It’s nice for the young people to give back to the community and let people know that they’re thinking of them, especially when they were remote learning,” she said. “It’s good for them to make sure that hospital and healthcare workers are aware that people realize what a challenging time it was and how much they’re appreciated.
“Without hospital workers, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in today. So I think it’s great for young students to realize what a difference they can make by a simple gesture and the amount of thought and time that went into it was really rewarding,” continued Wacher.
Ross Penman, San director of Medical and Surgical Services shared with the students how supportive messages help all staff stay strong in what can be a difficult environment.
“Even small messages of support help build up our emotional resilience,” he says. “These letters fill up our emotional buckets to help us back up again to keep going. They made a huge difference. Thank you.”
This article was originally published on the website of Adventist Record