Working in health care, we have the privilege of helping people every day. When we work over the winter holiday season, we make it possible for our colleagues and friends to spend this special time of year with loved ones.

Here, we meet four Vancouver Acute staff who helped care for patients and “kept the lights on” this past holiday season. They, like our dedicated volunteers, remind us how small and not-so-small gestures make a positive, meaningful difference. And, sometimes, the most important gesture of all is simply being present.

What makes working during the holiday season so special to you?

While working in the UK, Dan Santiago, patient flow and access leader, says staff toasted Christmas and New Year’s with a glass of Buck’s Fizz from Marks & Spencer.

“The holiday season seems to calm the whole hospital down, even if it’s still very busy,” says Dan Santiago, patient flow and access leader based at VGH. “Everyone is smiling and cheerful — still rushing — but we find time to greet everyone Happy Holidays.”

“It helps keep me out of the stores and saves me money!” says Anne Wright with a laugh. And she should know. The UBCH Urgent Care Centre RN has worked more than 30 Christmases because she enjoys “making it pleasant and cheerful for patients and people who would rather not be here over the holidays.”

Over at GF Strong, LPN Randeep Dhami has a long list of reasons she enjoys working over the holidays. Lighter traffic on her commute, the festive, friendly atmosphere and fun competitions are just a few (Randeep’s unit, she proudly shares, won the 2013 door decorating contest). But it goes far beyond that, too.

“I love the gifts and cards with warm, friendly messages from our clients and families,” she says. “We proudly hang them so they’re very visible. Seeing this kind of gesture makes me feel appreciated. And for me, that’s the best gift of all.”

How do you and your colleagues make Christmas and New Year’s a little brighter for patients and families?

Meg Perry, CML, recalls how TCU nurses invited a lonely patient to help them decorate the nurses’ station. This thoughtful gesture made the patient very happy and brightened her day.

“Here at the TCU, we give all the patients a goody bag — a puzzle book, an ornament, etc. — on Christmas Day. We decorate the unit and we try and accommodate as many patients as possible to go home with their families on Christmas,” says Meg Perry, a CML in the Transitional Care Unit at UBCH.

Gifts and decorations are just some of the special touches staff make for the benefit of patients and their loved ones during the holiday season. But staff aren’t alone, says Randeep. “Our volunteers hand out snacks, hot cider and other refreshments while visiting clients and families on Christmas Day.”

What’s one of your favourite memories of working over the winter holiday season?

Anne Wright, an RN at UBC Hospital’s Urgent Care Centre, has worked more than 30 Christmases and remembers Dr. Ostrow dressed as Santa and handing out candy canes in the ICU one year.

“The year Dr. Ostrow dressed up and played Santa Claus in full costume,” says Anne. “He handed out candy canes in the ICU.”

One of Dan’s favourite memories dates back to when he worked overseas with the National Health Service in the UK.  “We were allowed to have half a glass of Buck’s Fizz from Marks & Spencer to toast at Christmas or New Year’s Eve,” he says. (Buck’s Fizz is a low-alcohol blend of sparking white wine and orange juice.) “We’d say ‘Cheers!’, sip the drink  as slow and the longest you can to make it last, have something to eat from the unit buffet [food and drinks provided by the unit and some from staff who brought in food to share with everyone] and then we’d go back to our patient assignments.”

Closer to home, Meg recalls a VGH patient of two years ago. “We had a young mentally disabled patient who was trached and on high-flow oxygen and unable to leave on a day pass,” she recalls. “The patient had a large family and was in a noisy four-bed room. We arranged to use an empty, unfunded room so her family could come in and have a Christmas party with her. They were absolutely thrilled that they were able to spend this special day together!”

And, finally, there’s Randeep’s story. Perhaps our favourite, because it highlights the power of one and the difference every person makes, every day.

“This past Christmas as the volunteers came around with their refreshment trolley, I saw a discharged, former spine client I once cared for. Seeing him almost brought tears to my eyes as this client at one point was unable to walk and do a lot for himself. There he was volunteering and spreading a little love amongst other GF clients who were in a similar state as he was one day. What a great person and what an awesome thing to do! People like him leave an imprint in my thoughts, and I will remember him in my heart for a very long time!”