I sent this letter to the Spark team, to take stock of, and say thank you for what they’ve done over the last 21 months.
Dear team,
With the year coming to an end, and with our 10-year anniversary approaching, I’ve been reflecting on the last 21 months. If there’s one thing they’ve confirmed for me, it’s how amazed I am by all of you.
You’ve faced so many big challenges. And you’ve responded to every one with courage, compassion and conviction.
When the pandemic hit, you switched seamlessly to remote working with no interruptions to care. While every one of you played an important role in keeping our clients safe, I have to give a special shout-out to Kim McMullin, our Director of Care. Kim, you quarterbacked Spark’s COVID response. You created robust new protocols in line with (and sometimes before) public health guidelines. You made sure that our messaging and actions were consistent with these guidelines. And you did it all with a steady hand.
Back to the whole team now: while adjusting to a whole new way of living and working, you integrated phenomenal new caregivers into the team and provided care for 150 new people.
As the pandemic caused administrative costs to skyrocket, your tireless work and problem solving kept our pay rates and prices the same, making sure a difficult situation didn’t become worse for the people we care for.
Meanwhile, you helped pilot a new certificate program specifically designed for caregivers with our partners Spark U and Canadore College. Beyond setting a new bar for yourselves, over time, this is going to strengthen the field of caregiving in Canada.
You took the time to celebrate healthcare heroes like Alea de Castro. You even nominated me for an award, an incredible honour that I wouldn’t have received without you.
And it’s not hyperbole to say that you transformed Spark into a full service e-healthcare company. You helped us broaden our scope of care, so that we now offer nursing, counseling, case management and a variety of therapies. “You” now includes physiotherapists, registered massage therapists, occupational therapists who all bring something unique to this team.
There were many hard moments. Times when you were scared, sick, exhausted. You never gave up. You never let our clients down.
I have a habit of making big statements but this one is absolutely true. I’ve never been more proud, or grateful, to be leading this team.
See you in 2022.
Brad
