BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation recently approached several businesses who donated items to help medical staff remember to take care of themselves.

 

According to a SVHC press release, healthcare workers, working long hours caring for COVID-19 patients and others, needed a reminder to take a few moments to care for their own health and wellbeing. Businesses answered with donations of items that helped our staff remember to take care of themselves.

 

"Our staff is so dedicated and deeply compassionate, but we know they are not an inexhaustible resource," said Paula Seaman, director of Quality, a department that also helps ensure that staff have the support they need to give high-quality care on a consistent basis. "These generous businesses helped us provide a gentle reminder that our staff need to take care of themselves, too."

 

Businesses and individuals donated everything from snowshoes and yoga classes to paint-and-sip classes and photography sessions. Businesses include Ben & Jerry's, Bennington County Maple Sugar Makers, Bromley, Bob Bushee Maple House, Megan Cross Photography, Dunkin, Equipe Sports, Gifted Nails, Hannaford, Heart of the Village Yoga, Jeff Heimbach Photography, JK Adams Kitchen Store, Hildene—the Lincoln Family Home, Home Depot, Serena Jenkins, La Papaya Spa, Manchester Woodcraft, Maplebrook Farm, Merck Forest, Mother Myricks, Greg Nesbit Photography, Price Chopper, Pure Complexion, Ramiro Garay Photography, The Yoga Place, Vermont Country Store, Walmart, and Wilcox Dairy.

 

Staff members received small gifts as a part of a random raffle for departments and campuses. Staff from more than 20 departments have received a small gift in this way. Larger items were given as prizes in a contest where staff submited photos of themselves doing something healthy or relaxing for themselves. The contest was conducted by the nowYOU program, which aims to encourage self-care among SVHC's healthcare workers. More than 130 staff entered, and 31 have won a prize.

 

"Employees are so delighted and surprised with these tokens of appreciation local businesses have provided for them," said Leslie Keefe, vice president for Corporate Development. "We want to thank the generous businesses who have provided items. It has been a great way to show our teams how much their community appreciates their hard work over the past year."