Some of CCH’s WeCare Tier 2 responders
The staff at Chester County Hospital (CCH) strive to deliver the best possible care and to provide patients with an outstanding experience. But what happens when the staff themselves need support?
That’s the purpose of the WeCare program. WeCare was established in May 2022 to provide structured emotional support to all staff members affected by a stressful patient care event. The team provides one-on-one care, day or night, to any staff member in need of support.
“As a WeCare team, we want to be able to offer safe and caring emotional support in real-time to our dedicated front-line team members 24/7, 365 days a year,” says Carli Meister, director of Patient Experience and Risk, and co-chair of the WeCare Committee. “We strive for complete confidentiality and are continuing to build that trust and confidence in our team.”
At CCH, the WeCare support team is comprised of staff volunteers from various disciplines including nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists, administrative staff, chaplains, and physicians.
Some situations that a WeCare responder might be involved in include supporting staff who have dealt with workplace violence, experienced a case with a traumatic death, participated in a pediatric case with bad outcomes, or even treated patients who reminded them of a family member.
The team has a tiered structure, providing all managers, as well as other staff who are interested, with the knowledge they need to understand and provide immediate support for the emotional challenges associated with stressful patient events. An estimated 60 to 65% of all issues can be resolved at this “Tier 1” level. Another set of 34 responders has thus far applied and gone through special “Tier 2” training. These WeCare team members were hand-selected for their high level of competence in helping others and have been trained in crisis support and stress management. Their training includes practice in a safe environment on how to manage an event, how to understand and determine when an event is beyond the scope of their training level, and how to provide additional resources when needed.
Within its first year, the WeCare team has responded to more than two dozen events – an event being a situation in which a CCH staff member was in need of support. As awareness of the program has grown, utilization has increased, and at least 12 additional staff members are expected to participate in another training session this spring.
“If an event occurs within the hospital that directly impacts our staff, our goal is to have an immediate reaction of ‘we need to reach out to WeCare’,” says Steve Barainyak, executive director of Turks Head Surgery Center and co-chair of the WeCare Committee. “We are striving to be everyone’s go-to.”
Interested in learning more about WeCare or want to know how you can get involved? Head over to the WeCare section of CCH’s intranet homepage to learn about the various Tiers, how to become a responder, how to request support, and more.