Blanchard Valley Well being System has developed an “Affiliate Wellness Lounge,” which is a stress-free surroundings that helps associates handle their busy work days. BVHS says it is a part of an organization-wide initiative to put money into the psychological well being and well-being of workforce members.
The thought originated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when associates had been working lengthy hours and coping with a pandemic the world had by no means seen.
The “Affiliate Wellness Lounge” is positioned on the fifth flooring of the primary campus and is on the market to any BVHS affiliate, 24 hours a day.
“The room is the right place for associates to loosen up and take a second for themselves,” mentioned Nikki Ballinger, president of the BVHS Nursing Congress, which created the room. “It has been a really welcome addition.”
Associates visiting the lounge can take pleasure in refreshments equivalent to espresso, tea or water. A therapeutic massage chair, bought by way of a neighborhood grant, helps ease the stress of the day. One other characteristic of the room is a coloring wall the place associates can “uncover their interior youngster.”
The challenges of the pandemic affected healthcare employees throughout the nation, with frontline companions and leaders alike recognizing the necessity to forestall burnout.
“Well being care suppliers are resilient and dedicated to our work, however we’re additionally human,” Ballinger shared. “By making a room devoted to the well-being of associates, we’re strengthening our whole workforce.”
The BVHS Nursing Congress Workers Retention and Recognition Council labored exhausting to plan the room. The Nursing Congress developed a room aligned with the values and tradition of the group.
Whereas rooms like these exist in different hospitals, most are open solely to nurses. At BVHS it was necessary to make it obtainable to all associates, in recognition that the whole workforce had been affected by the pandemic and associates had confronted it collectively as a workforce.
Ballinger mentioned that throughout the pandemic, that sense of teamwork grew stronger than earlier than, with associates leaning on one another to get by way of emotionally troublesome days.
Chaplain Eric Rummel visits the room as soon as a month. Associates can communicate with him at the moment or make an appointment to satisfy with him in personal.
The “Affiliate Wellness Room” additionally has written data on wellness subjects. Oral displays are additionally being deliberate for the close to future.
Ballinger mentioned the aim is to let associates know that their colleagues and managers care about them. She mentioned they need individuals to be ok with being at work.
“We plan to proceed to construct on this concept and convey much more choices to our devoted workforce,” Ballinger added. “We’re simply getting began.”
(Story and picture courtesy of BVHS)