With a goal of lifting spirits and making people smile, the incredible group of staff at the Sahali Dental Centre in collaboration with staff at Prism Dental Laboratory have hand painted over 100 rocks for the amazing healthcare workers at Royal Inland Hospital.
This altruistic act has not been their first. In September of 2021 they hand painted 215 little shoes on rocks to show their respects for the 215 children discovered at the residential school in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. The main coordinator, Kim LaBerre from Sahali Dental Centre was inspired to do healthcare appreciation rocks after giving painted rocks to nurses she knew personally. After some encouragement and inspiration from patients, she decided to gather the group again. This time around, rocks were collected by Kim and her family at riverbanks in Revelstoke and locally on the Peterson Creek Trail. All being local Kamloopsians, staff and their families at Sahali Dental Centre and Prism Dental Laboratory have utilized the services at Royal Inland Hospital for many years. With this personal gesture, this was their way of showing appreciation to the staff. The rocks were debuted to healthcare workers at the Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Tower Open House on June 25th 2022, where the response was electric. From there, they have been distributed to staff at RIH to boost morale throughout their shifts. Healthcare workers are encouraged to share the joy the rocks bring and share them with other people that could use it.
The Royal Inland Hospital Foundation is incredibly proud to be supporting this collective comraderie between healthcare professionals during this pandemic. “As professionals in the healthcare industry, we understand the nuances and challenges that medical staff have faced over the last few years. The staff at RIH have gone above and beyond their call of duty to ensure the health and safety of our community, putting others needs before their own. We appreciate their effort and would like to thank them so much.” says Kim, from Sahali Dental Centre.
Contributors: Lil Devries, Dawn Wallace, Trish McConnell, Michelle Webster, Nadine Read, Kim LaBerre, Veronika Toderian, Chelsey Brezina, Ally Kunhegyi, Jacqui Letcher, Cathy Gerry, Rosemary Kanigan.
