Moving from Surviving to Thriving

Moving from Surviving to Thriving

In the early days of the outbreak, CCI afforded all staff the opportunity to participate in government sponsored leave programs that could be withheld to front line health workers or the option to request to be furloughed due to infection fears. CCI’s workforce shrunk to 205 during this time. Due to some who chose not to return from furlough, we have yet to fully rebound.

“The vast majority of our staff sacrificed tremendously during this period and remained on duty,” Dr. Bruton said. “However, we have had those who started as what I call the ‘working worried,’ and progressed to resignations out of fear of contracting the virus or taking it home.” Internal communications were just as critical; our leadership made changes to ensure our staff was supported during this time. Transparency and staff communication were encouraged in a variety of ways, such as:

Organization-wide phone calls each day to provide operational, clinical, and state updates Open lines for staff to ask questions, suggest new ideas, and troubleshoot COVID-19-related issues together. Self-Care hours awarded to staff who worked continuously onsite during the early months to combat stress.

Wellness programs offered to staff virtually. Four instructors taught various classes that included yoga, mindfulness and therapeutic based guided conversations.

Feedback from staff indicated that these interventions were powerful tools to avoid misinformation, lower anxiety, express fears, and harvest ideas and suggestions from those on the frontlines.