2020
The Department of Health and Community Services
In March 2020, COVID-19 gripped Newfoundland and Labrador as the first wave of the pandemic started in the province.
The pandemic placed extraordinary demands on the Department of Health and Community Services team but not surprisingly, they stepped up in a big way to lead the pandemic response from the very beginning up to today, as we slowly return to our normal activities in ways that are safe.
The Department of Health and Community Services led with a health and safety focus but also with kindness and hope. Everyone working in the department demonstrated a shared sense of purpose and demonstrated leadership through open and regular communication. There continues to be an unwavering commitment to making decisions based on science using expertise and research in pandemic epidemiology.
The Department of Health and Community Services mobilized not only the work of the public service, but the entire province. They have succeeded in their ambitious goal of achieving rapid control over each COVID-19 outbreak – not just “flattening the curve”. Other provinces have looked to Newfoundland and Labrador as the gold standard in pandemic response and this is in no small part due to the contributions of the work of the entire department.
The work of employees to ensure the safety of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador has been outstanding. There have been hundreds of media availabilities, a comprehensive vaccine rollout, alert level planning, and responses to thousands of queries from the public, businesses and organizations. All this has been done as the department continues providing the ‘regular’ services and programs that are so vital to residents. Truly remarkable.
We acknowledge and congratulate every employee of the Department of Health and Community Services as well as those employees from other government departments, who stepped up to support the work of the Department during this challenging time. We offer a heartfelt thank you for their leadership and commitment. As well, thank you to all members of the public service who went above and beyond during what was a very challenging year.