Celebrating Hospitality Workers in Healthcare Day 2024

March 6 marks an important date on the health and aged care sector calendar. It’s Hospitality Workers in Healthcare Day – a day in which we publicly acknowledge and celebrate the important contribution hospitality workers make in the healthcare sector. 

Hospitality is a broad term which encompasses support services including foodservice, environmental, porters and patient service and more. The responsibilities of workers across these areas are pivotal to the care and recovery of patients and residents – from preparing and delivering nutritional, dietary and culturally appropriate food which has an important role to play in healing, to maintaining a hygienically clean and fresh environment, laundering bedding and clothing, and managing and disposing of waste in a timely and efficient manner.

The day is the brainchild of former IHHC WA Chair Carey Bray, who came up with the idea back in 2018. IHHC National President Lisa Cranham explains, “In hospitals, clinical teams are recognised with their special days, but the non-clinical teams tend to not be as high profile. So this day was designed to give some extra recognition, to give those teams a higher professional profile as well as a morale boost. Carey was very passionate about the concept from the start, he was the one who ensured it would be a national event, promoted via the IHHC.”

Each year Hospitality Workers in Healthcare Day has gained more momentum and been celebrated across more sites and by more providers across the nation. It’s fast becoming a permanent feature in the health and aged care calendar!

As Hotel Services Manager at St John of God Healthcare Geelong, Lisa gathered the catering, cleaning, café and orderly teams together for a morning tea where they were served up giant chocolate freckles! “Our senior leadership team are very supportive of the day and they always come along to speak and thank the staff personally for all their efforts. The team are so honoured by the fact that we do it – it’s their day and they’re very appreciative.”

Lisa says the effort involved in such initiatives is definitely worth the reward. “The team love to be acknowledged and feel the day is important. Support staff sometimes feel they are at the bottom of the ladder, and days like these make them feel valued and supported. It also makes people generally realise they are part of the hospital and the important role they play.”

Monash Health in Victoria also took the opportunity once again to thank all its hospitality workers, including kitchen employees, PSA and waste and linen teams for their valued contribution.

And at STARS in Brisbane, Site Coordinator Dietetics and Food Services Kiran Paul reports morning and afternoon teas were held for all rostered staff. “We displayed lots of posters and gathered pretty much everyone together. I spoke to the team and thanked everyone for their efforts, and IHHC Vice President Troy Litzow also made a speech.”

Ramsay Health Care also celebrated the day at several sites, including Greenslopes Private Hospital in Brisbane where the executive team including CEO Justin Greenwell, Executive Director Finance and Corporate Services Liam Mason and Executive Director of Medical Services James Cafaro cooked up and served a sausage sizzle to staff.

“We went through 500 sausages – the biggest sizzle we’ve had in many a year,” reports Greenslopes Food Services Manager Ben Hensley. “The executive team took the whole morning out of their schedule to be there, which I think shows their commitment to the concept and dedication to our staff. We also had a variety of sweet treats and snacks, and evening staff also received a complementary meal and a drink.

“We also held a briefing to say thanks and recognise the wider team as part of our morning online huddle with key managers across the hospital, so the recognition was coming from different avenues.

The day was also mentioned by Ramsay Health Care’s CEO in her weekly Team Update email, where the entire team were thanked for all that they do. There was also a variety of internal and external catering provided in celebration of the day across other Ramsay Health Care sites - three Victorian sites also celebrated the day by serving pizza and salad to staff, while another offered KFC and Joondalup Health Campus in WA gave out cinnamon cakes.

The WA Branch of the IHHC also celebrated the day, with members and friends coming together at Hadiqa in Perth on the evening of the 6th, enjoying great food and drink and Calum’s famous tabletop quiz!