From counseling to meal deliveries, St. Louis-based Ascension is finding ways to thank its employees for their work throughout the pandemic and help them take care of themselves.
In a web post April 20, Ascension executives Herb Vallier and Karen Springer outlined resources the hospital system is making available to its 160,000 employees, including an associate prayer request page and a calendar that allows workers to invite others and attend prayers, group meditations and reflection events.
Ascension is also making online one-on-one conversations with chaplains available to employees; offering them virtual peer support sessions; and providing them an online tool to send e-Cards to fellow workers. Other resources include virtual counseling, stress-relieving podcasts, e-learning courses, internet services and meal deliveries to Ascension employees and their families.
"We know that we can never thank our associates enough for the compassionate, courageous sacrifices they have made — and continue to make — during the COVID-19 pandemic," wrote Mr. Vallier and Ms. Springer. "But we are hopeful that these programs reflect our gratitude for their unrelenting passion for our mission and a job well done. We want them to know we are trying to care for them in body, mind and spirit, just as they care for others."
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