Our People Our Stories: Cynthia St. John
One year later: A series of inspiring stories from Public Health during a pandemic.
How a pandemic shaped SWPH as an organization and the women behind the change
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock and Chief Executive Officer Cynthia St. John are leading the emergency response in the COVID-19 pandemic at Southwestern Public Health. These two incredible women share the role of Incident Commander, working alongside a “rock star” staff to ensure the safety of our communities in Oxford County, Elgin County and St. Thomas. It’s a big job that requires a delicate balance of managing work and life.
We invite you to get to know them a little better with a sneak peek into their lives in and out of the office as they reflect on the past year.
Part 2: Cynthia St. John, Chief Executive Officer
Southwestern Public Health Chief Executive Officer Cynthia St. John is beyond excited to see vaccinations starting not only for our region, but also for her over 80-year-old parents.
“To see the worry they carried, that burden that they’ve carried for a year (and they have been so careful) I am just elated there is this horizon of hope — that they are going to be one of the first groups to get their shot.”
“A year ago we thought who knows how far out vaccines could be and now here we are rolling out a very effective vaccine. It’s just fantastic,” says St. John.
Evolving through a pandemic
Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) was still learning how to walk as a new organization when it was thrust into its current state of emergency.
Not yet two years after a merger between Oxford County and Elgin St. Thomas health units, St. John was suddenly in charge of an entirely different vision for the health unit. COVID-19 became a full-scale, tangible item to help grow the newly formed organization into its name.
“While we were still working on developing ourselves as one organization, COVID-19 happened. Merging two organizations is a lot of work. COVID-19 is a whole other experience entirely,” says St. John.
“This experience in the last year has really allowed us as a new organization to forge our path, to figure out who we want to be and how,” says St. John.
The pandemic response has required a collective effort from all public health staff, leaving no one unaffected in some way. There are people working closely and beautifully with people they didn’t know before COVID struck.
“It’s been a real blessing to see people come together. We aren’t talking about sites anymore (Woodstock or St. Thomas or Oxford/Elgin), we are just talking about “us” the Southwestern Public Health Team."
But, she says, it hasn’t all been “rainbows and lollipops.”
“Most days are long days of meetings with staff, partners, and Ministry personnel, strategizing about how to respond to what is in front of us and what is coming next,” St. John notes. “We are also all very exhausted and deserve to be exhausted.”
To help boost her energy and clear her head, St. John regularly uses an indoor stationary bike she bought after discovering a love for spin classes.
“Thirty minutes on that bike each day gives me energy for the rest of what the day brings. Because we live and breathe it day in and day out, that wellness piece is so important.”
Setting boundaries
“We are living this personally and professionally,” she says. “Even when we are not working in it in public health, we are still living in it at home.”
She found it tough during the first lockdown to see posts on Facebook about how much people accomplished “like basement clean up, organized the closets and colour coded whatever” while she and other front-line workers put in long, stressful days at work leaving little time at home to do much of anything.
St. John says it forced her to set some boundaries in relationships with friends and family.
“If I do a Zoom call with my family, I don’t want to talk about COVID-19.”
She also had to find creative ways to see and support her parents, like doing driveway drop offs with their groceries so they don’t have to go out.
But nothing hit home more than when her family lost a friend to COVID-19. St. John said the mother of her daughter’s good friend died last May after the family contracted COVID-19.
“Right after we found out, I attended an emergency control group meeting at the office and I reiterated to the team – this is real people…this is how it just played out this weekend in my life.”
Opportunities in the pandemic
The pandemic, however, has had its silver linings, says St. John.
“There have been extraordinary opportunities to tell public health’s story, and to be re-grounded as individuals in society about what’s really important. It has also illuminated incredible examples of community-mindedness.” St. John reiterates that everything starts and ends with gratitude. “This has been an incredibly difficult year for so many and will continue to be for some time, but there is also always something to be grateful for."
And the icing on the cake for her: having her daughter home more often.
“She is in university studying to be a nurse but because of the pandemic, she is home more doing a lot of online learning … and it’s been a real joy to spend this extra time with her.”