When it comes to choosing a career, not many are more rewarding than health care. However, sometimes the physical and emotional stresses of the job can have a negative effect on an individual’s well-being.
“LG Health is not immune to the stress and burnout that are so common in health care,” said Carolanne Hauck, director, Chaplaincy Care and Education. “We must do our part both as individuals and a health system to help reduce these concerns.”
Self-care practices that promote positive emotional, physical and spiritual wellness are essential to help employees care for themselves and provide excellent patient care.
To increase access to resources that promote self-care, LG Health launched the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) at the beginning of the year to support employees during times of stress and emotional exhaustion. The CIRT includes leaders from Human Resources, Nursing, Chaplaincy, Safety, Education, Risk Management, Employee Health and the Emergency Department. The CIRT team is made up of a diverse group of professionals who are able to closely identify with many situations and emotions that employees encounter.
“This program is wholly focused on employees,” Hauck said. “While CIRT is primarily offering support at Lancaster General Hospital, our hope is to expand the program, so ambulatory locations can benefit as well.”
Hauck explained that peer-to-peer response provided by CIRT enables employees working in any role to connect with a supportive individual who is willing to listen and able to provide resources.
“Employees dealing with cases involving difficult interpersonal relations with patients, terminal situations or severe injuries involving children often find themselves stressed or emotionally distraught,” she said. CIRT is dedicated to helping employees and teams overcome times of anxiety and sadness by offering avenues of healing through a tailored plan of action.