As the COVID pandemic continues, having a strong culture of care is more important than ever. Here are methods for building a culture of care within your organization with patients and families, providers and staff, and the greater community top of mind.

<p>
  During this ongoing crisis, healthcare organizations, providers, and support
  professionals have been the backbone of our communities. And as the COVID
  pandemic continues to weigh on us all, it is increasingly apparent that having
  a strong culture of care is more important than ever.
</p>

<p>
  When we consider a culture of care within a healthcare organization, the
  patient first comes to mind. And while patients and their families are
  paramount, creating a culture of care also involves supporting the well-being
  of providers and support staff as well as the greater community.
</p>

<p>
  Nothing makes the critical nature of building and maintaining a culture of
  care more apparent than a crisis &ndash; like an ongoing pandemic. During
  times of stress, a sense of well-being, a strong community, and a supportive
  culture can be the mortar that holds the structure together. Here, we&rsquo;ll
  look at the benefits of establishing a culture of care along with how leaders
  can improve this culture in regard to the patient and family, the providers
  and staff, and the greater community.
</p>

<h2>The Benefits of Building a Culture of Care</h2>

<p>
  Investing in building a culture of care pays off. According to&nbsp;<a
    href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207225/"
    target="_blank"
    >Smith, Saunders, Stuckhardt, et al.</a
  >, continual learning within an organization is a key component for building a
  culture of care and can result in:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    Decreased stress on frontline staff, enhanced job satisfaction, reduced
    burnout
  </li>
  <li>
    Improved operations drawn from internal wisdom of staff expertise, patient
    feedback, and financial metrics
  </li>
  <li>
    Enhanced ability to weather changes in the market and in the practice of
    medicine
  </li>
  <li>
    Alignment of internal procedures and processes with leader&rsquo;s vision
    and organization&rsquo;s mission
  </li>
  <li>A culture of respect that empowers staff to make improvements</li>
  <li>Enthusiasm for continuous learning among staff</li>
  <li>A model for the entire healthcare system</li>
</ul>

<h2>Building a Culture of Care for Patients and Families</h2>

<p>
  To ensure patients and their families are included within an
  organization&rsquo;s culture of care, leaders can prioritize these goals,
  adapted from the Core Concepts of Patient- and Family-Centered Care (<a
    href="https://www.ipfcc.org/about/pfcc.html"
    target="_blank"
    >Johnson and Abraham&nbsp;</a
  >).
</p>

<ol>
  <li>
    <strong>Ensure the dignity and respect of the patient and family.</strong
    >&nbsp;Honor their perspectives and choices. Consider each patient&rsquo;s
    and family&rsquo;s knowledge, beliefs, values, and culture when planning and
    providing care.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Share information with the patient and family.</strong>&nbsp;Provide
    complete, timely, accurate, and unbiased information to help the patient and
    family participate in treatment and care decisions.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Allow for various levels of participation.</strong>&nbsp;Encourage
    and support patients and families in deciding how involved they wish to be
    in treatment and care decisions.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Include patients and families in processes.</strong
    >&nbsp;Collaborate with patients in families in the areas of program
    development, policy, research, facility design, professional education, and
    delivery of care.
  </li>
</ol>

<h2>Building a Culture of Care for Providers and Staff</h2>

<p>
  Supporting healthcare providers and staff is more important than ever. Before
  the COVID pandemic, burnout was already on the rise; now, frontline providers
  and the legions of healthcare professionals who support them are under extreme
  duress, and that stress can trickle down to all reaches within an
  organization. Leaders can help by prioritizing the mental, emotional, and
  physical well-being of their team members. According to National Academies of
  Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (<a
    href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK540859/"
    target="_blank"
    >Forstag and Cuff</a
  >), to improve well-being of staff and to develop organizational resilience,
  healthcare organizations can:
</p>

<ol>
  <li>
    <strong
      >Build peer-to-peer networks and mentoring opportunities among
      providers.</strong
    >&nbsp;Establish social support networks to help prevent burnout, alleviate
    stress, and improve group cohesion.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Implement mindfulness practices.</strong>&nbsp;Create safe spaces
    where staff can apply mind-body strategies for reducing stress and coping
    with thoughts and emotions. Offer mindfulness classes or technology-based
    training for those who cannot attend classes in person.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Offer incentivized programs.</strong>&nbsp;Organize wellness and
    exercise programs or gym memberships to help improve quality of life, ease
    compassion fatigue, and reduce burnout.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Provide a safe, supportive environment with leadership.</strong
    >&nbsp;Open the lines of communication. Implement a zero-tolerance policy
    for bullying, intimidation, or discrimination. Provide moral support for
    struggling team members.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong
      >Take on initiatives to improve provider and staff satisfaction.</strong
    >&nbsp;For example, reduce administrative burden, streamline processes,
    address provider feedback, provide flexible scheduling, use locums and
    temporary staff to give permanent providers some respite.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong
      >Offer mental health services and set up an organizational wellness
      program.</strong
    >&nbsp;Remind your providers of their access to their employee assistance
    program (EAP) or other resources. Establish a wellness committee, giving
    providers and staff buy-in and support needed to uphold the well-being of
    your organization.
  </li>
</ol>

<h2>Building a Culture of Care for the Greater Community</h2>

<p>
  With the move from volume-based to value-based care, healthcare organizations
  have reignited their focus on meeting the needs of their individual
  communities. Further, the COVID pandemic has shown how critical it is for each
  facility to hold their community at the heart of their organization&rsquo;s
  culture of care. To align the needs of the community with the services
  provided by the hospitals and health systems, leaders can:
</p>

<ol>
  <li>
    <strong>Call attention to community needs</strong>. Establish outlets for
    care that occur outside the walls of the hospital, for example, partnering
    with school districts to support at-risk students, food markets to promote
    healthy diet initiatives, playgrounds to enhance physical fitness,
    technology providers to address digital access and connectivity issues, and
    various organizations to provide vaccinations.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Look for partnerships at all levels of the community</strong>.
    Partner with community-based organizations or niche-focused groups to gain
    insight into local patient populations and connect with the community.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong
      >Focus on collaboration and consistency with community partners</strong
    >. Maintain open lines of communication, establish goals and
    responsibilities, create a plan for information-sharing. Remain committed to
    shared goals.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Hardwire changes</strong>. To ensure lasting improvements, implement
    processes to address common roadblocks. Monitor progress and measure success
    by addressing social determinants of health. Maintain daily involvement with
    patient populations outside of the hospital to stay focused and committed to
    serving those patients in the best way possible.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Build on progress</strong>. Meet with community partners to discuss
    efforts and celebrate successes. Help keep participants committed to shared
    goals and remind team members that each step forward is an important one.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Move beyond the repetitive assessment cycle</strong>. For
    non-government, not-for-profit facilities, moving beyond the three-year
    timeline for the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) can be difficult.
    To break this cycle, work with community partners to gather more targeted
    data over longer periods of time, allowing a more focused assessment effort
    that can include many marginalized groups that may be left out of the larger
    community assessment process.
  </li>
</ol>

<h2>Assembling the Right Team to Build a Culture of Care</h2>

<p>
  To build and maintain a culture focused on the patient, provider, and
  community, it is key to have the right leadership, staff, and support in
  place. To learn more about finding the ideal talent to help create culture for
  your organization, connect with the experts at&nbsp;<a
    href="https://www.crosscountryhealthcare.com/staffinghelp"
    target="_blank"
    >Cross Country Healthcare</a
  >.
</p>


Fortifying Your Culture of Care During COVID