Navigating a serious illness while balancing work and everyday life can be overwhelming. Between managing appointments, understanding benefits, and coping with the emotional toll of a diagnosis, associates often find themselves searching for answers during one of the most challenging times of their lives.
At Compass Healthcare, a new initiative is helping ensure no one has to face that journey alone. Care Connections was created to provide compassionate, proactive support for associates and managers navigating chronic or critical illness by connecting them with the resources, guidance, and community they need.
For Katie Barrentine, Candidate Experience Specialist for TouchPoint Support Services, and Holly Blunkall, Regional NFS Support Director for Morrison Healthcare, the initiative was inspired by personal experience. Both have navigated chronic illness while balancing the demands of work and life. Along the way, they discovered that while many valuable resources exist for associates, finding and understanding those resources can be difficult when someone is already facing a health crisis.
“There are many resources available to associates who are critically or chronically ill, but the sheer volume of information can feel overwhelming,” said Blunkall. “One of the biggest opportunities is simplifying how associates navigate a leave of absence (LOA) and clearly outlining what accommodations are available.”
Care Connections was built around three primary goals: supporting associates and managers facing chronic or critical illness, educating associates and leaders through wellness resources and advocacy, and fostering a caring community for associates, caregivers, and supporters.
Ultimately, the initiative aims to normalize conversations around illness, reduce stigma, improve access to benefits and resources, and reinforce Compass Healthcare’s culture of care and belonging by helping associates feel supported, informed, and connected.
“We recognized that associates need more than policies; they need clarity, connection, and compassion,” said Blunkall. “To accomplish this, we developed a multi-layered support framework that includes a centralized internal resource hub, a curated external resource page, and Healing in Action stories, where associates share their personal journeys to help humanize the experience of illness in the workplace and demonstrate what support looks like in action.”
One of those stories comes from Cyries Marriott, a Sous Chef with TouchPoint Support Services. After being diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, Cyries understands firsthand how important it is to have both practical resources and emotional support. She also witnessed a member of her own team navigate cancer without knowing what resources were available.
“This program is incredibly important to our team because I had an associate who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and he didn’t have the support or resources he needed,” said Marriott. “I can’t imagine having to navigate something so life-changing and feeling like you’re walking through it alone. No one should have to fight cancer without support. Sometimes, simply knowing someone else understands what you’re experiencing and is there to listen, answer questions, or point you in the right direction can make all the difference. Not everyone will truly understand that journey, which is why this kind of support matters.”
The Care Connections team hopes every associate knows they have options and encourages leaders to share these resources with their teams before they’re ever needed.
“We have access to information that can truly make a difference in someone’s life,” said Barrentine. “Our responsibility is to make sure people know where to find it and how to use it. We can’t do this alone. It takes leaders, teammates, and advocates across our organization to help connect associates with the support they deserve.”
By making resources easier to find and creating space for honest conversations, Care Connections is helping turn Compass Healthcare’s commitment to caring into meaningful action. More than a collection of tools, the initiative is a reminder that during life’s most difficult moments, no associate has to navigate the journey alone. Together, we can ensure every member of our team feels supported, connected, and cared for well before they need it.
Learn more about Care Connections Resources here.