Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic

New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The surge of critically ill patients combined with widespread social distancing measures created extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers. Many frontline workers experienced significant physical, psychological, and...

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Main Authors: Rick Evans, Philip Wilner, Kristen Spillane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Beryl Institute 2020-08-01
Series:Patient Experience Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pxjournal.org/journal/vol7/iss2/26
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author Rick Evans
Philip Wilner
Kristen Spillane
author_facet Rick Evans
Philip Wilner
Kristen Spillane
author_sort Rick Evans
collection DOAJ
description New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The surge of critically ill patients combined with widespread social distancing measures created extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers. Many frontline workers experienced significant physical, psychological, and emotional distress. They faced demanding patient care responsibilities while managing personal obligations and health concerns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative that NewYork-Presbyterian care for its workforce’s physical, psychological and emotional needs, not only because of our commitment to our colleagues as people, but also because of our obligation to continue to deliver high quality care and experience to the patients, families and communities we serve. Research shows there is a vital link between employee experience and patient experience. Employees who feel supported will be more engaged, which leads to higher quality care and a better patient experience. At NewYork-Presbyterian, we supported our workforce holistically in <em>body, mind and spirit</em> so they could remain strong for the journey ahead and continue to serve our patients, families and communities throughout and at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. We learned that proactively communicating, supporting physical health and mental health needs and acknowledging bereavement was critical to responding to this crisis. <strong>Experience Framework</strong> This article is associated with the Staff & Provider Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (<a href="http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework">http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework</a>) <ul> <li><a href="https://www.theberylinstitute.org/page/PXSEARCH#resource-list-all/?view_28_page=1&view_28_filters=%5B%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_38%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22in%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22PXJ%20Article%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_20%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_40%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%2C%22Staff%20%26%20Provider%20Engagement%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_41%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%5D%7D%5D">Access other PXJ articles</a> related to this lens.</li> <li><a href="https://www.theberylinstitute.org/page/Ecosystem-StaffProvider">Access other resources</a> related to this lens.</li> </ul>
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spelling doaj.art-d814eead568e4d2e8596955a195676bc2022-12-21T20:44:40ZengThe Beryl InstitutePatient Experience Journal2372-02472020-08-01Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemicRick EvansPhilip WilnerKristen SpillaneNew York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The surge of critically ill patients combined with widespread social distancing measures created extraordinary challenges for healthcare workers. Many frontline workers experienced significant physical, psychological, and emotional distress. They faced demanding patient care responsibilities while managing personal obligations and health concerns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative that NewYork-Presbyterian care for its workforce’s physical, psychological and emotional needs, not only because of our commitment to our colleagues as people, but also because of our obligation to continue to deliver high quality care and experience to the patients, families and communities we serve. Research shows there is a vital link between employee experience and patient experience. Employees who feel supported will be more engaged, which leads to higher quality care and a better patient experience. At NewYork-Presbyterian, we supported our workforce holistically in <em>body, mind and spirit</em> so they could remain strong for the journey ahead and continue to serve our patients, families and communities throughout and at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. We learned that proactively communicating, supporting physical health and mental health needs and acknowledging bereavement was critical to responding to this crisis. <strong>Experience Framework</strong> This article is associated with the Staff & Provider Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (<a href="http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework">http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework</a>) <ul> <li><a href="https://www.theberylinstitute.org/page/PXSEARCH#resource-list-all/?view_28_page=1&view_28_filters=%5B%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_38%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22in%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22PXJ%20Article%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_20%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_40%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%2C%22Staff%20%26%20Provider%20Engagement%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_41%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%5B%22%22%5D%7D%5D">Access other PXJ articles</a> related to this lens.</li> <li><a href="https://www.theberylinstitute.org/page/Ecosystem-StaffProvider">Access other resources</a> related to this lens.</li> </ul>https://pxjournal.org/journal/vol7/iss2/26distresswellnesswellbeingquality of lifeculturephysical healthmental healthgratitudebereavementrecoveryspiritualitycovid-19human experience
spellingShingle Rick Evans
Philip Wilner
Kristen Spillane
Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
Patient Experience Journal
distress
wellness
wellbeing
quality of life
culture
physical health
mental health
gratitude
bereavement
recovery
spirituality
covid-19
human experience
title Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Caring for our caregivers in body, mind and spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort caring for our caregivers in body mind and spirit during the covid 19 pandemic
topic distress
wellness
wellbeing
quality of life
culture
physical health
mental health
gratitude
bereavement
recovery
spirituality
covid-19
human experience
url https://pxjournal.org/journal/vol7/iss2/26
work_keys_str_mv AT rickevans caringforourcaregiversinbodymindandspiritduringthecovid19pandemic
AT philipwilner caringforourcaregiversinbodymindandspiritduringthecovid19pandemic
AT kristenspillane caringforourcaregiversinbodymindandspiritduringthecovid19pandemic