After nearly 20 years of contracting out to private companies, Providence Health Care welcomes the return of 227 Food Services staff who officially join the Providence family on Friday, June 24 across five PHC sites: Holy Family, Mount Saint Joseph and St. Paul’s hospitals, and Langara and Youville residences.
This change follows the provincial government’s announcement in August 2021 about its plans to repatriate commercial housekeeping and food service contracts under Bill 47— the Health Sector Statutes Repeal Act.
While Providence typically hires up to 100 new staff each month, welcoming 227 staff at once is a tremendous undertaking, one that has involved months of hard work carried out by a dedicated Providence Bill 47 Project team. On June 24, we celebrate Providence people – those 227 individuals who are marking their first day with us, and the dedicated PHC people who have worked hard to ensure Food Services staff have a positive and seamless onboarding experience.
Celebrations to commemorate the day and welcome staff are taking place on June 24 in the Food Services areas at each of the five sites, including a Welcome Event at St. Paul’s. Please see the event details below and join us if you can.
Join us in welcoming Food Services staff to Providence!
All PHC staff, medical staff and volunteers are invited to attend.
When: Friday, June 24 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Where: 4th Floor Cafeteria, Garden Patio, St. Paul’s Hospital
What: Reception for Food Services staff with Fiona Dalton, PHC president and CEO, and guest, MLA Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Services and Long Term Care.
Please stop by, say hello and help us in making staff feel welcome.
Looking towards a bright future
The excitement we are seeing among Food Services staff to join Providence is a reminder of the privilege and responsibility we all share to serve the many hundreds of patients and residents who require our care and attention, each and every day. Regardless of our role at PHC, we should all feel proud of the care that Providence provides.
“I am excited at the opportunity to work even closer with the rest of the health care team in providing exceptional assistance to those staying in the facility,” said Tom Wong, Food Services supervisor at Holy Family Hospital.
Randall Daniels, who works as a cook at St. Paul’s shares this enthusiasm: “I am excited to be working for a health care organization and looking forward to the bright future.”
New look, same service
While there is no change to Food Services operations or service continuity, what is changing is a new look for Food Services.
Starting June 24, Food Services staff will be wearing PHC-issued scrub-like uniforms and some may have lab coats or aprons. These new uniforms are in line with uniforms across the health sector, support provisions in the Facilities collective agreement and are similar to current PHC clinical staff uniforms.
Environmental Services (EVS) repatriation well underway!
The next phase of the Bill 47 project for Providence includes repatriating more than 325 workers to Providence on October 14, 2022. EVS repatriation will take place at the following PHC sites:
- Holy Family Hospital
- Mount Saint Joseph Hospital
- St. Paul’s Hospital (including Cardiac Care Clinic, Outpatient Dermatology Clinic and Foundry-Granville)
- St. John Hospice
- St. Vincent’s: Brock Fahrni
- St. Vincent’s: Langara
- Youville Residence
Thank you to everyone involved in this great work including key members of our People team: Labour Relations, Recruitment, Staffing, Compensation and Classification, Workforce Strategy, Systems and Analytics and Occupational Health & Safety; the dedicated members of the Communications and Office of Strategy and Results team; Facilities, Operations and Finance teams, and the support of the IMITS and Business Initiatives & Support Services (BISS) teams.
Our people are our greatest asset and on June 24, we will grow by 227 hard-working and dedicated individuals who are critical members of the health care delivery team.
Congratulations to everyone celebrating their first day at Providence
To learn more about the Food Services Repatriation, visit the Food Services Onboarding web page. To learn about EVS Repatriation, visit the EVS Onboarding web page.
