To the Editor, 

An open ‘thank you’ letter from the physician teams at Haliburton Highland Health Services

The physician teams at both the Minden and Haliburton sites of Haliburton Highlands Health Services would like to acknowledge and thank the nursing staff for the work they have done and continue to do despite exhausting circumstances. A popular phrase ‘health care never sleeps’ used to allude to the fact that health care is available days/nights/weekends and holidays and this continues to be true.

What is different in the last 18 months is that those dedicated nurses who need desperately to rest and refuel in order to continue with the day-to-day demands of work have had very little opportunity to do so.

In our county just as the general population began to enjoy the benefit of low COVID-19 case counts resulting from public health restrictions and vaccination roll out, summer was upon us and our population exploded with demands on our hospitals rising exponentially. The prospect of nurses ‘gearing up’ for the busy summer when already overworked added emotional burden to the physical exhaustion already present. Despite this, nurses continued to show up and support both the needs of this county and their hard-working colleagues.

Nurses, we believe that the broader population supports your tireless work. We condemn anyone who directs inappropriate protests or comments in your direction but most importantly we thank you – and all the staff who support what nurses do – for the extraordinary effort and ongoing service you provide to the residents of this county who have and continue to benefit from your care.

The physician teams
Haliburton Highlands Health Services