Hospitality Workers in Healthcare Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on March 6th and encourages all of us to show respect to those who work as hospitality workers in the healthcare sector. These are the individuals who make and serve the food in a hospital or work in non-medical hospital kiosks such as the gift shop.

These are individuals who go to work every day and work hard to make sure that patients and their families feel at home — or feel as close to home as the hospital setting will actually allow. Although healthcare hospitality workers don’t get the appreciation they deserve on a day-to-day basis, we can at least give them a thank you on this holiday.

The History Of Hospitality Workers In Healthcare Day

As many people may already know, hospitality is a word that comes from the French word “hospice.” Hospice means “taking care of travelers,” and it was customary for locals to let travelers rest in their barns or in their homes during the Middle Ages.

During that time, people walked quite frequently from one destination to another, sometimes over large areas, which wouldn’t have been possible if these travelers couldn’t rely on the hospitality of strangers.

Eventually, during the late 18th century, inns came into existence and this spawned the beginning of the hospitality sector. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hospitality services started to be added to hospitals.

Now, gift shops and food service options are in just about every single hospital. These services, and the workers who operate them, allow patients to get a little bit of the comforts of home while they’re visiting friends and relatives in the hospital.

Unfortunately, while we’re absolutely clear on the origin of hospitality services in and out of hospitals, we’re completely unsure who invented this holiday dedicated to healthcare hospitality workers. We’ll continue to try to find the origins of this holiday, but until we do, what we’ve already written on the subject will have to do for now.

Observing Hospitality Workers In Healthcare Day

On this day, people should express their gratitude and appreciation to a hospitality worker. This can be done by giving them a card, giving them thanks in person or on social media using the hashtag #HospitalityWorkersInHealtcareDay, or if you’re in a position of management over them, by giving them the day off.

Some hospitals celebrate this day by throwing a mini-party for their hospitality workers on this day. Regardless of how this day is celebrated, there is one thing that’s certain. We all love hospitality workers and appreciate everything they do for us when we’re in the hospital.