Moral distress. Compassion fatigue. Burnout. These are real and disturbing national trends facing many of today’s health care teams. Since opening in 2011, HUP’s Renewal Center has provided a quiet space to counter these stresses, offering relaxation and respite to help support a good practice environment and lead to high-quality patient outcomes. These efforts align with the principles of HUP’s Magnet accreditation, a prestigious designation that recognizes quality patient care and nursing excellence.
With the Center’s expanded services — and 24/7 swipe access — “our employees’ prospects for an improved work experience just got exponentially better,” said Jen Brady, MA, RD, manager of Employee Health and Well-Being. “The Renewal Center will enrich our employees in so many ways and we’re looking forward to seeing how it will make an impact.”
Read below to see what’s now available at HUP’s Renewal Center.
- A Break Room provides a touchdown space to enjoy meals and take short breaks. It offers complimentary coffee, hot tea, and hot cocoa, as well as a refrigerator and microwave.
- The Relaxation Room offers soothing music, calming images and four massage chairs to help employees relax while enjoying a 15-minute chair massage.
- The Well-Being Office provides free one-on-one assistance in a number of areas, including nutrition counseling, librarian consultations (for those doing research, writing papers, etc.), financial wellness, lactation consults, employee wellbeing program enrollment, blood pressure screenings, weight checks and health coaching (coming soon). All consultations are by appointment. Employees can sign up via the monthly calendar (https://tinyurl.com/wellbeingoffice).
- Ten workstations offer easy access to work-related or personal computer use. Scanning, faxing and copying capabilities are available at no cost.
- A Group Fitness Studio offers a variety of classes, including yoga, Zumba, interval training, Reiki and guided mindfulness classes, led by certified instructors.
- An ASL (American Sign Language) mobile workstation provides 24/7, two-way video interpretation when an in-person interpreter is not readily available. Instructions for use and contact information for support are located on the device. Please see the Renewal Center Staff for further assistance.
- Five private pumping stations include Medela hospital-grade breast pumps, access to a refrigerator and tables for personal belongings. Medela pump kits are available for $25.
“We want our colleagues to take good care of themselves so they, in turn, can continue to provide phenomenal clinical care and outstanding service excellence to our patients and their families,” said Jessie Reich, MSN, Magnet Program director.
The center is open to all Penn Medicine employees. It is located on 2 Donner (accessible via the Silverstein elevators to second floor and following signs to cafeteria). Front-desk staff are available Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
To learn more about the Renewal Center at HUP, email NursingRenewalCenter@uphs.upenn.edu. To learn more about the Well-Being Office, email wellfocused@uphs.upenn.edu.