Trinity hospitals roll out tool to address clinical burnout, turnover
Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic is collaborating with Independence Blue Cross Foundation on digital and clinical tools that provide nurses and frontline workers with access to mental health resources and support.
The program will address clinical burnout using a self-guided care approach and personalized tools created by NeuroFlow, a mental health software company based in Philadelphia.
“This is something we’re really happy to bring to our folks to give them another tool to try to lighten the burden of working in healthcare at this very intense and difficult time,” said Linda Kauffman, chief nursing officer at Nazareth Hospital, one of three hospitals at Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic utilizing the program.
More than 1,800 nurses and frontline healthcare workers across Nazareth, Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, and St. Mary Medical Center can access the on-demand tools and care coordination. An app allows nurses to journal and log daily insights, such as their mood scores and sleep patterns, while viewing informational, evidence-based content and resources tailored to their care needs.
To keep track of population health trends and provide support for “urgent alerts” from individuals at risk of suicide or deterioration, a clinical care team will remotely monitor data.
The goal is to see lower turnover rates due to stress and burnout, Kauffman said, adding that the hospital will analyze utilization to see if goals are being met and clinical staff are benefitting from the program.
“It’s really going to be down to nurse leaders, respiratory therapy leaders and hospital leadership to be talking to our staff, making sure that we encourage the use of the tool and taking any feedback about how the tool could be improved or better used back to the vendor,” Kauffman said.
The pandemic’s stress and longevity is causing employers to increasingly worry about employees’ burnout and mental health.
Organizations like SE Healthcare, Michigan State Medical Society, Ohio State University College of Nursing and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio have all formed programs to create cultures of wellness, confidential support, targeted services and surveys and detailed courses of action.
For NeuroFlow’s program, the technology will be used to meet people where they are, offering different resources to those who have no provider burnout or compassion fatigue, and those who screen positive for depression, anxiety or PTSD, said Matt Miclette, head of clinical operations at NeuroFlow
“What we’re trying to do is find a way to break down the barriers and the stigma in having to seek out treatment,” Miclette said. “Going to the EAP, trying to get into counseling and different services—there’s a lot of barriers there. Especially when you’re working so many hours every week and you’re leaving drained, it’s quite a hurdle to get past.”
Nationwide, NeuroFlow has implemented similar programs with other major health systems and health plans, supporting more than 450,000 individuals with their mental health needs, Miclette said.