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View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
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View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
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View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
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View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreThis blog is taken from a recent HealthStream webinar entitled “Mind Matters: The Interplay of Staff Wellness in Quality Outcomes.” The webinar was moderated by HealthStream’s Caroline Acree and featured:
With 1 in 3 healthcare workers planning to leave their jobs due to anxiety, depression and exhaustion, at a point where the industry can ill afford to lose them, healthcare leaders need to create a strategic plan to address these stressors with the goal of supporting and retaining employees to produce quality outcomes.
Van Brunt began by framing the issue as a national mental health crisis that affects every organization and community in the country. Whether the workforce is largely remote or on-site, he stressed the importance of leadership taking an active role.
He recommended that organizations take a two-pronged approach that includes both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Human Resources professionals will likely be able to make qualitative assessments based on the kinds of complaints they are receiving, the nature and severity of those complaints, and the reviews that they see on boards.
He also encouraged leaders to evaluate quantitative data such as claims, PTO, complaints, and assessments. He supported assessments as a quantifiable way to establish a baseline for the organization that can be tracked over time and customized to meet the changing needs of the organization. He also encouraged leaders to look beyond the standard assessment questions about burnout and depression and include questions about psychological safety.
Acree asked the presenters to share some of the challenges that they and their customers had encountered and how to address those challenges. Poston shared an example of a high-stress behavioral health unit. In addition to the expected stressors that are found in a behavioral health unit, she reported that there was a lack of psychological safety throughout the organization that resulted in a reluctance to report negative staff interactions, a lack of accountability, and poor communication from leadership. Both the employee and patient experiences were impacted. Many employees resigned in frustration and eventually the manager was replaced, but it took months for the new leader to re-establish trust.
Stepney added that it was important to develop a proactive strategy by understanding the root causes of the kind of situation described above. She encouraged leaders to re-examine some of the policies that have led to situations where wellness has been compromised.
Van Brunt also shared an example of a manager who was concerned about burnout on his team and undertook a burnout assessment. As part of the process, the manager took the assessment and discovered that he was experiencing some burnout as well. After using some of the recommended mental wellness resources, he noticed a positive change in himself. He led by example and his team followed by participating in the assessment and using the resources.
When investing in staff wellness, it is important to measure the success of those initiatives. So, what should leaders be tracking? Poston encouraged leaders to ensure that they would be able to classify survey results by various demographic dimensions such as race, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. All these attributes can impact both wellness and performance and can help inform what the wellness initiatives should include. She also urged leaders to assess wellness at times other than the annual organizational review. Managers can seek feedback through quick pulse checks that provide intermediate feedback on wellness as well as the success of ongoing initiatives.
Leaders also need to ensure that the organization’s approach to wellness is inclusive and adaptable. Where should leaders start? Van Brunt admitted that this was challenging and offered some best practices. He shared that creating psychological safety was foundational as these initiatives would rely on interactivity and collaboration, and allowing people to co-create how they want to interact increases buy-in.
Stepney added that while organizations may say that they want people to bring their full selves to work, they may not recognize that this means asking people to bring their lived experiences, which result in different cultural sensitivities and preferences. She also encouraged leaders to leverage employee resource groups as a means of creating opportunities to connect, identify differences, and bring differing experiences forward.
Seamlessly integrating mental health support systems into the daily operations of a healthcare organization can feel like an enormous task, but the speakers encouraged leaders to start small. Van Brunt encouraged leaders to remember that these initiatives really need to start at the top with leaders that recognize the importance of mental wellness and the impact of cultural differences. Leaders also need to develop accountability. All team members need to understand that poor behavior will not be tolerated. He also stressed the importance of both formal and informal types of recognition.
Managers also need to be educated to recognize mental health challenges within their teams and have resources available for those who need them. He also encouraged leaders to use the onboarding process to ensure that employees were familiar with the company’s mental wellness resources.
When building strategies to facilitate collaboration between HR and other departments, Stepney encouraged leaders to begin with leadership accountability. Who will own the responsibility of driving the strategy tied to wellness? Once that has been established, collaboration can be more effective. “True collaboration will allow us to align with key performance indicators from a wellness perspective,” said Stepney. She also urged leaders to evaluate internal communication strategies to ensure that employees receive consistent messages about wellness initiatives regardless of the language spoken or the employee’s literacy level.
HealthStream can help your organization create safe, welcoming care for patients while developing a culture that supports mental wellness for staff. Visit HealthStream’s Health Equity and Belonging solutions to learn more. A strong culture starts from the top. Are you investing in your existing leaders and preparing future ones? HealthStream also has resources to help your organization support rising leaders.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's provider credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions for healthcare organizations.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products