Dear ASHHRA Colleagues,

October is the gateway to autumn. The weather gets cooler (in most places), leaves start falling, football kicks into high gear and when Halloween arrives, we start thinking about the up and coming holiday season. I was optimistic that October would be the start of a positive run with lower COVID numbers, less destructive weather and fewer wildfires out west. Alas, it was not meant to be and we find ourselves with COVID numbers going up in many areas of our nation, hurricanes hitting our friends in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Mexico, along with persistent wildfires out west.

This chaos puts more stress on all who live in these region, but especially on first responders and health care workers. Our health care staff members — whether doctors, nurses or rank and file employees — continue to feel additional stress and may be working longer hours due to these and other stressors. As health care HR professionals, we need to continue to help our employees cope. I wish we had a solution but there is no panacea for any of these stressors … yet.

I know anything we can do to lessen their load, be it stress or work, is always appreciated, but we recognize that HR professionals are stressed too! The most important thing is to realize you have 2,500 fellow HR professionals that will have your back if you need someone to talk to or bounce some ideas off of. The ASHHRA network is strong, so if you need contact them, just do it! You can post on ASHHRA Exchange or use the directory to find specific fellow ASHHRA members.

Finally, we all know there is a national election on November 3 here in the United States. I encourage all registered voters to turn out and cast ballots in the election. No politics here, simply asking you to exercise your right as a citizen.

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