Dear SHARE Member,
You are not alone. That remains as true as ever. We’re all in a homegrown union with over 3,000 SHARE members. Together, we’ve spent more than 20 years cultivating a culture of caring.
Things now are hard. And we’re here to support each other. If you need help, please reach out. If you see that someone else needs help, reach out. As a union, we lean on each other, assess situations together, brainstorm solutions and escalate problems when we get stuck.
We may not know for sure what’s coming tomorrow, but we do know how to move forward together. Here’s how to do that:
Take Care of Yourself First.
When you’re on a plane, the flight crew advises to first take the oxygen mask for yourself before you help anyone else. That same principle is true now. SHARE members come to work in healthcare because we want to help others. However, you can’t care for your family, your community, your patients, and each other unless you have your basic needs met first.
Ask for Help.
If you’re struggling and need someone to talk to -- whether it’s about stress, finances, PPE, or something else -- we are here. Nowadays, SHARE organizers spend much of our time on the phones and in email talking with members about how things are going. That helps us know how to advocate for system improvements in our daily conversations with hospital leaders. It also helps us connect members who may be able to help one another, and with other helpful resources.
Please keep these contact numbers handy:
SHARE: (508) 929-4020 (or, see the complete list of SHARE Organizer contacts)
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): (800) 322-5327
Employee Health: (508) 793-6400
UMass Memorial Caregiver Support Line: (508) 334-HELP
You can also find many resources and perks for caregivers on the SHARE website: #gettinghelp
Speak Up.
Around the SHARE office, we talk about each of us having an “internal smoke alarm.” You may not know the source of the smoke -- it could just be that someone in the other room is burning the popcorn again. But it could be more serious. If your internal smoke alarm is sounding, please know you have a network around you, including trusted friends, your co-workers, your manager, Human Resources, the elected SHARE Rep in your area, and the SHARE staff organizers.
Your voice matters. Speaking up can be scary, and it can sometimes be hard to figure out what to say and who to say it to. We’re here to help. Things in our hospital need to move fast, but they need to move thoughtfully, too.
Take Care of Each Other.
In many ways, confronting the current challenges will be unifying. However, those same stresses can also make it hard to get along. We may snap at each other, shut down, or show other signs of distress. Let’s be sure to reduce our collective stress by assuming each other’s best intentions. Sometimes, the best thing will be to offer to help. Or to simply provide a kind gesture.
Pause and Breathe.
Taking a moment to find something happening right now that you appreciate or that inspires you is a powerful and effective coping tool. Together, our hospital is turning out story after story of bravery, compassion, and teamwork. Hospital processes that have been caught up in gridlock for as long as some of us can remember have kicked into gear, sometimes overnight. Our community is coming together in resourceful ways to move forward in this critical time.
Know that you are not alone.
If you need help, reach out. If you see someone who needs help, reach out. We are in this together.
Sincerely,
The SHARE Organizing Staff
p.s., The SHARE blog has added new posts this week, including:
The above-mentioned post with new resources, perks, and deals for caregivers,
Hazard Pay in the news,
A fresh roundup of other news stories you might have overlooked, and
Advice for safely handling the germ-carrying device that goes with you everywhere: your mobile phone.
