National Hospital Week wraps up on Saturday, but Good Shepherd Health Care System is extending the celebration throughout the month of May.
The hospital’s Employee Activities Committee has planned more than 30 activities for its staff to enjoy during the month of May.
“We have more than 800 employees at Good Shepherd, and we wanted to take the entire month to recognize and appreciate their commitment to our patients and our mission – to improve the health of our community,” said Caitlin Cozad, marketing and communications director for Good Shepherd.
Among the activities and events include free weekend movie takeovers at the local cinema for staff and their families, free food trucks throughout the month on campus, food platter deliveries to night shift and weekend workers, cinnamon roll deliveries, Hospital Olympics for prizes, fun contests and more.
May is also Mental Health Awareness month. Cozad said Good Shepherd is offering Mindfulness in Motion sessions, created specifically for health care providers by Maryanna Klatt at Oregon State University. This evidence-based resiliency-building program assists health care professionals in reducing stress and relieving physical tension during the workday using a combined approach that brings awareness to the present moment while gently moving the body.
Good Shepherd will close out the month on May 31 with guest speaker Chris Bashinelli, who will present a keynote to all staff on “The Power of Human Connection.”
“This is a meaningful investment for our hospital to bring a motivational speaker like Chris to remind us of the incredible gift each of us have every day in Eastern Oregon to put patients first and truly make a difference in the lives of others,” Cozad said. “Part of Chris’ keynote includes the focus to recognize the person across from you as a human being, and how to nurture a culture of inclusion, wellness and true human connection. This is important to us and part of delivering quality healthcare to our patients.”
Cozad said hospitals are more than just places to treat sick and injured patients.
“It’s a team of individuals united under the purpose to improve your health and well-being in many ways, including providing preventive care to reduce or eliminate illness down the road, ensuring that you receive important health screenings, and free health education classes,” she said.
A key part of the hospital is the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation which receives and disperses funds from the community to health-related projects and improvements in Good Shepherd’s service area as well as dispersing medical scholarships to high school, college students and GSHCS employees.
“We also support our community partners whenever possible with health-related endeavors and events, under the common goal that together, we can improve our community’s health,” said Cozad. Some of those events include Family Health & Fitness Day, the You Are Not Alone Substance Use Awareness & Honor Walk, and the Community Memorial Service with a live butterfly release to honor loved ones lost.
“Our annual 12 Days of Giving program helps collect and distribute donated goods from our staff and community in support of local charities such as Agape House, Domestic Violence Services, the Hermiston Warming Station, Pet Rescue, local food pantries and more,” said Cozad. “These are just some of the ways Good Shepherd gives back to our community.”
“Some community outreach we are focusing on includes career building with area youth. Our team presents to local students about careers in healthcare, job shadow opportunities and student clinical experiences at GSHCS,” said Cozad. GSHCS also provides a new graduate program for nurses to help onboard and enculturate them into their areas of work.
“Our clinical education team just celebrated our 19th cohort of eight new graduate nurses at GSHCS,” she said. “These nurses started their journey with us in October 2022 and completed their New Graduate Program this March after finishing didactic lectures, simulations and department orientation as they transitioned into practice.”
If you are interested in volunteering, Good Shepherd also offers a variety of opportunities. A good place to start is the with the Hospital Auxiliary, which serves the public as well as providing needed services to the hospital’s various departments.
Volunteers run the gift shop, provide tours, work on fundraisers, and offer scholarships to students pursuing a career in the health care field. Vange John Memorial Hospice has a volunteer group as well. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Good Shepherd, click here.
To thank Good Shepherd healthcare workers during National Hospital Week, click here.
