Gloria Turney

Gloria Turney is a steward with SEIU Healthcare at CarePartners.  She attended SEIU Healthcare’s 2018 Summer Academy and participated in the mental health stream.

While there, she says she learned how important it was to take care of her mental health.

“Not only did I learn lessons, I was also given tools that I was able to implement in my daily activities while carrying out my duties.”

Gloria has recently started taking the lead in speaking about the importance of mental health in the workplace for all cultures and how the healthcare industry can change the dialogue around it.

“As healthcare workers, we don’t think about the state of our own mental health, yet it is the most important aspect of how we function in the first place.”

She explains how hearing her brothers and sisters in her stream share their struggles alike her own helped her realize this.

“The Academy helps you form your opinions and develop your approaches to dealing with issues. Everybody has a voice and connecting with our other members like that taught us firsthand how to help each other manage our mental health.”

By choosing to meet members in other streams, she learned just how relevant mental health is in other areas, such as political action and facing management, and feels inspired to continue her education at the Academy.

“I know that if I want to be the best steward there is, I must fully experience all the streams at some point.”

She also has words of advice she would like to share with future Academy participants:

“Firstly, don’t attend the Academy expecting to stick with your friends the whole time. Make meeting new people paramount to your stay. Secondly, be ready to absorb learning like a blank sheet of paper; otherwise, you won’t learn what you should.”

“And lastly, try to incorporate everything you learn over the next four days in your daily tasks. I promise you that you won’t regret the experience.”