SPIRITUAL CARE
Caring for our Caregivers W hen we think about trauma, it’s usually patients who come to mind. Our frontline caregivers, however, often experience a type of trauma, too. Treating catastrophic injuries, dealing with abrasive patients or facing the stress and heartbreak that COVID-19 adds can overwhelm a caregiver’s coping mechanisms and negatively impact their work and health.
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett caregivers have access to a variety of well-being resources— including Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), a peer-to-peer support intervention for dealing with the aftermath of trauma. Under the CISM debriefing program, trained facilitators conduct a group or individual debriefing or defusing when caregivers have experienced a traumatic or critical incident at work. This helps caregivers process their thoughts, feelings and reactions so they can safely return to work after a critical incident.
COVID-19 increases the need Last spring, when COVID-19 hit Snohomish County with full force, requests for CISM response at Providence Everett increased exponentially. Staff caring for COVID patients were deeply affected by the high number of critical patients and those who died without family members at
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their side. Many caregivers were also anxious about their own safety and the safety of their families.
“We had only four CISMtrained chaplains at the hospital,” says Father Ken Chukwu, Spiritual Care Manager for PRMCE. “The demand was so great, we struggled to conduct debriefings within the recommended timeframe. We needed more caregivers with CISM training.” At about the time Father Ken began looking for funding to train more caregivers to meet the increased demand, a Providence General Foundation donor felt compelled to make a donation specifically for improving the well-being of Providence Everett caregivers. The donor had learned of a New York doctor who died by suicide after struggling with the hopelessness of caring for COVID-19 patients—and he wanted to prevent such a tragedy from happening here. Using that donation for CISM training was an obvious choice, and Fr. Ken quickly organized a caregiver training session. “We wanted to train enough caregivers to develop a duty schedule to better cover the growing need,” he said. “We hoped to recruit caregivers from a range of departments so they could be embedded around the hospital for peer-to-peer support.”
Equipping Providence caregivers to support one another That initial donation, along with other COVID relief donations, allowed 39 hospital caregivers to participate in a three-day, virtual training conducted by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation Academy. It also generated much interest and a waiting list of other Providence Everett caregivers seeking CISM certification. The Spiritual Care team partnered with the Foundation to find more funding to train those caregivers. The Henry Luce Foundation, through the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab at Brandeis University, granted $23,000 to “support resilience among frontline caregivers” by growing the CISM program even more. This generous grant allowed Providence Everett to provide CISM training to 40 additional hospital caregivers, support temporary staffing, purchase iPads to be used for virtual debriefings, and buy literature for continued education to the CISM Team. “CISM will help support a culture where caregivers feel comfortable being vulnerable and talking about how traumatic events affect them,” Fr. Ken says. “It’s important our caregivers are physically and emotionally healthy so they can live fulfilling lives away from work, as well as help carry out our mission of caring for the most vulnerable in our communities.”
It’s because of you Providence General Foundation is grateful for the dedicated support of our donors and the greater community. Because of your generosity and commitment, we can care for our caregivers as they serve patients, families and each other.