Hello!
I wanted to reach out and introduce myself to you as your new President of HSAS.
My name is Karen Schmid. I grew up in Saskatoon and completed my Bachelor of Science at the University of Saskatchewan prior to moving to Calgary to study Respiratory Therapy at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology). Upon receiving my diploma in 2003, I moved back to Saskatoon to work with the Respiratory Therapy Department.
My involvement with HSAS began years ago. One of my Respiratory Therapist co-workers at that time was very active in the union. In a few of our conversations, it was suggested that I ‘get involved’ in the union by helping out in upcoming events. It all began in 2007 when I assisted with the HSAS Micro Strike. Over the following years, my involvement increased as I enjoyed the union experience and the positive results that I saw when members became more involved.
In 2009, I was elected to HSAS Executive Council representing Respiratory Therapists, Perfusionists, Anesthesia Assistants, Midwives, Medical Lab Technicians and Biomedical Technologists and was re-elected in 2011 and 2013. In October of 2014, I was elected to the Board of Governors where I served until running for and taking on the responsibilities as HSAS President on October 20th of this year.
During my years of union involvement, I have served on many HSAS Committees including Executive Committee (serving as Secretary and Treasurer), Negotiating Committee (2013-2014), Annual Conventions and Bargaining Conferences. I have also represented HSAS with the Extended Health and Benefit Program at the provincial level as well as at the Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat (a national advocacy body representing over 100,000 health care workers across Canada) and NUPGE (National Union of Public and General Employees), at the national level.
Over the years, HSAS Executive Council has completed various strategic planning sessions where plans would outline where we would like to see HSAS in the coming years. Through this process and when meeting members at the Annual Conventions or other meetings, I have been reminded of why I have chosen to be a part of HSAS Executive and why I want to continue to do the work that I do. Seeing all of the positive changes and improvements to the service being provided to the membership, contract improvements or just having the members be heard in various ways, has been a positive experience and makes me want to continue.
I knew that stepping up to put my name forward as your President was accepting a huge responsibility. However, I believe that the experience I have gained over the years through all of the committee work both provincially and nationally as well as the guidance and support I received, has brought me to where I am now, with this being the next logical step in my path. I am excited to see where the next 10 years will take HSAS, as the last 10 years have been quite the ride. We have had a variety of obstacles to overcome and the current shortages and issues affecting health care workers certainly won’t make the task easy – but I am looking forward to the challenge and where we will go together.
Karen Schmid
HSAS President