Compliance Doesn’t Get to Take a Holiday Break and That’s a Good Thing

By Angela Harrison, MBA, MLS / Virginia Compliance LLC

As the year winds down, many teams begin shifting into holiday mode, wrapping up projects, setting out-of-office messages, and exchanging cookies in the breakroom. But if you work in compliance, you know the season looks a little different for us.

While the rest of the organization is preparing for downtime, compliance professionals remain on alert. Regulations don’t pause for peppermint lattes, and risk doesn’t magically disappear like Thanksgiving dinner. In healthcare especially, patient care continues around the clock, and so does the responsibility to uphold ethics, privacy, safety, and quality.

And honestly? Thank goodness for that.

Compliance’s continuity is what keeps organizations steady during the most distracted time of the year. When staffing is thin, workloads shift, and everyone is multitasking holiday plans, compliance provides the structure, clarity, and accountability that prevent small oversights from becoming big problems. It’s not glamorous, but it’s essential.

For leaders, this season is a reminder of why strong compliance culture matters. A healthy organization doesn’t rely on one department to “catch everything.” Instead, compliance becomes part of the everyday mindset, especially when routines are disrupted by vacations, end-of-year pressures, and rapid decision-making.

For compliance professionals, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate our value:

• Supporting teams when processes get stretched

• Reinforcing standards when distractions are high

• Guiding ethically sound decisions, no matter the season

In a world where so much can be unpredictable, compliance is the constant. We don’t take a holiday break because our mission, to protect patients, uphold trust, and safeguard the organization, is too important to pause.

So here’s to the professionals who keep the lights on, the policies followed, and the risks managed, even when the holiday playlist is on repeat.

Happy holidays to the frontline of integrity. Your work matters, and your consistency keeps healthcare safe every single day.