Bowls of green brighten health-care workers’ day

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This article was published 07/07/2021 (1733 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes, to brighten up a person’s day, all they need is a little bit of green.

For health-care workers in Winnipeg, the past year has been a difficult one, but Neta Bourlas is doing what she can to let them know how appreciated they are by patients like herself.

To express her gratitude, Bourlas, a former art teacher in the city, has created and delivered 100 succulent plant bowl arrangements to Health Sciences Centre and Victoria General Hospital.

“The green is reminiscent of life,” she said, “so it’s important to have greenery by us.”

Returning to Winnipeg from San Diego, where she lives part of the year, Bourlas began delivering succulents as a way to calm the stress and anxiety health-care workers feel, after witnessing it firsthand while receiving treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

She saw workers in the COVID-19 units were feeling that burnout even more, and made the decision to deliver as many succulent arrangements to as many hospitals as possible.

In San Diego, Bourlas realized after speaking with a nurse that succulents in hospitals could help to “bring such calm in a situation that is so dire.”

“They bring a sense of calm and normalcy in the world,” she continued, and from there, Bourlas knew she wanted to keep providing them when she came back to Winnipeg.

Beginning with 10 a week in San Diego to three different hospitals, she delivered a total of 150 bowls. In Winnipeg, so far, she has delivered 60 to HSC and 40 to Victoria, and plans to give more throughout the rest of the summer.

In California, the plants are common and require little care, which makes them a perfect pick-me-up in hospitals.

In Winnipeg, however, succulents are more expensive, but Bourlas has been able to keep up her deliveries through help from local greenhouses. (One in Carmen continues to support the initiative by donating soil, succulents and succulent bowls.)

What keeps Bourlas motivated to continue is seeing the impact the arrangements have had on the doctors and nurses she delivers to.

“It’s beautiful, because it’s important to be validated,” she said. “It’s important to know that people are thankful for that, and I know so many people that are thankful for what the hospital workers are doing, they just don’t know how to show it.”

Victoria chief nursing officer Ray Sanchez expressed gratitude for Bourlas’s gifts on behalf of himself and hospital staff.

“The succulent bowls are really a one-of-a-kind gift, and everyone who has received one so far has been very excited and touched by the kindness of the gesture,” he said.

“Our team here at Victoria hospital has been working tremendously hard throughout this pandemic, and we are all grateful for her support.”

gillian.brown@freepress.mb.ca