Contributed by Sonya Chandler, Island Health.

Island Health is rocking this Change Day! We have been having so much fun staying in the lead on the Change Day heat map! It’s an amazing feeling to see folks across our island, from diverse teams, showing up and contributing to move us in the direction of our goal to get more than 1,050 pledges before November 17.

Some examples from Island Health pledges, just this week…

I pledge to:

… show up and stand up for what I believe in (from Louise)

… role-model self-care by taking breaks and leaving work on time (from Lisa)

… support and encourage the small changes that lead to big changes (from Carolyn)

… ask more curious questions and challenge my own thinking (from Joanne)

People at Island Health are using this campaign as a platform to share what they think is important, and showcase their good ideas and creative ways of making their work, their health and the system better!

Here’s one great example of how Change Day inspires meaningful conversations:

Recently Island Health had a staff appreciation BBQ and a few of us were out in our Change Day spirit, encouraging people to get involved and collecting pledges. One woman in scrubs was sitting eating her lunch, and I approached her to say, “Hey! Would you like to make a pledge for Change Day?”

She answered, with a big smile and a twinkle in her eye, “Well, what could I possibly change that would make any difference?”

I replied, grasping for an inspirational answer, “Well, what about that? You could pledge to laugh at work!!”

With another chuckle, she said, “Yeah, I could laugh instead of complaining.”

“Perfect!” I said. And we put that pledge up on our poster wall.

Over the next hour or so, 14 people joined that pledge and many conversations were had about how important laughter is, especially at work and in times that may seem hard or overwhelming. In a moment, Terri changed her mind about Change Day, and changed the day of at least 14 people. Who knows what ripples spread out from there?

A big shout-out to all of the Island Health pledgers out there who are taking the time, and the heart, to show up for Change Day in a big and beautiful way! Go Island Health!