Canada Post staff show support for St. Albert hospital workers on the front lines of COVID-19

Staff at the Canada Post office in St. Albert organized a parade for Sturgeon Community Hospital workers Tuesday afternoon. 

Around 16 Canada Post trucks, along with the St. Albert RCMP and fire department, cruised by the hospital as postal workers honked their horns and waved at community hospital staff gathered outside to watch. 

"They're putting their lives on the line to make sure people who are sick can get better," said postal worker Lisa Gristwood. "We wanted to show our support, and we figured this was the best, safest way to do so." 

Canada Post workers organized a Tuesday afternoon parade in honour of health care workers at the Sturgeon Community Hospital. A long line of postal vans with the drivers honking passed crowds of health workers who waved in return. CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

The procession made its way through the hospital parking lot, slowing down as hospital staff gathered outside to wave from their car windows. The St. Albert Canada Post parade joined other efforts across the country in support of frontline staff during the pandemic.   

An essential worker herself, postal worker Jen Nelson said this was one way for them to come together and appreciate the hard work going on inside St. Albert's hospital. 

"We're out there, but they're in direct contact with (COVID-19 patients)," Nelson said. "They're right there in the front lines, and it's scary for them and I feel for them ... we just wanted to thank our frontline workers to make sure they know we appreciate them."

Standing outside the emergency department at the Sturgeon hospital, St. Albert nurse Wendy Fossen said the parade was "awesome" to see. 

"It makes our job a little easier, and of course we couldn't do it without everyone else's support," Fossen said. "It just gives us moral support to keep carrying on in doing what we're doing.

"Together, we will beat this." 

Dustin Ellis, delivery agent with Canada Post, has a personal connection to hospital staff working on the front lines. After the parade, he had a message to share for his wife, who works at the Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton.

This parade was the second to come through for the Sturgeon Community Hospital. On April 7, first responders and emergency services staff in St. Albert showed their appreciation for the work the community's hospital employees have been doing with a display of support.

Postal workers have organized similar procession in other cities including Montreal, Winnipeg and Toronto.