Your Health Space: An innovative program supporting the needs of healthcare workers

Looking back over the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, one image resonates in my memory: The salute banged out on pots and pans that ordinary Canadians gave to our health care heroes every evening at dusk. At a time when the term “heroes” is widely overused, these people were the real deal. They risked everything to provide care to thousands stricken with an entirely new virus about which we initially knew little other than its rampant spread and potential lethality.

With the burden placed on health care workers in recent years, it should be no surprise that the toll on mental and physical health has been massive. Moreover, while strains on the health care system were not new, the pandemic exacerbated the situation. So much so that many have left the profession to preserve their mental well-being. The negative impacts affect all Canadians as we struggle to repair and reclaim what most of us have taken for granted for generations: universal access to quality health care.

At Redwood, we’ve produced and delivered health care communications and training for many years. So, you can imagine our excitement to be recently working with the Canadian Mental Health Association, (CMHA) Ontario Division to develop training to help health care workers across Ontario manage workplace stresses and strengthen mental well-being.