I did a lot of grieving for our Health Care system this week. Covid-19 has shone a bright light on many cracks in a system which was fractured long before this pandemic began. I have a peculiar vantage point to observe this. Although I'm not clinical, I spend a considerable amount of time in hospitals five days a week, doing the people-y things that I do. I've seen a concerning lack of staffing - not because too few staff are hired, but staff are so desperate for mental/emotional/psychological relief, sick calls have become their vehicle to navigate stress. (Having said that, there is a critical shortage of nurses, particularly in northern BC - see the reference at the bottom of the page - stress likely plays a large role) I've seen hospital staff verbally assaulted and threatened. And I've seen frustrated family members at their wit's end, the isolation of patients from their loved ones taking a drastic toll on both ends.
I also happened upon an article I read a few months ago. For whatever reason, this week I processed the story with fresh eyes. It's good. Let me tell you about it.
In the winter of 2008, Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau wrote a journal article called Strengthening Human Value in Organizational Cultures. Their premise was that the worth of a person exists in an employer/employee climate when three factors are realized:
- when we understand the essential intellective needs of people
- when we recognize particular novel abilities people can offer
- when we encourage people to dream of what could be, and cheer them on, assisting where we can
Here's where Dr. Herbert Pardes comes in:
Herbert Pardes is an American doctor, psychiatrist and the executive vice-chairman of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is nationally recognized as a leader in psychiatric and academic medicine. In 1939 when he was seven, he was hospitalized for many months with Perthes disease. During his stay he was kept largely isolated from his family, endured countless procedures with little to no commentary, and was provided no comfort from an emotionally cold medical team. This experience left him with profound insight - he dedicated his life to bettering health care, with particular emphasis on humane, practical delivery.
Dr. Pardes
He co-authored a book titled Understanding Human Behavior, where he highlighted the needs of hospital employees, patients and family members - he taught that this group performed, healed, and functioned more effectively when their emotional needs were engaged and acknowledged. He was careful to hire staff who had a healthy capacity towards caring, and encouraged each staff member to seek out a professional mentor. This mentorship often resulted in a careful balance of personal life with career development. His greatest success might have been targeting greater intentional connections between hospital staff, patients and their family members by asking them to learn each others names, welcoming individuals onto the wards and including caregivers on a patients care team and medical communications.
Practically, this transformed New York-Presbyterian's bottom line from 1.7 billion in revenue in 2000 to 2.6 billion in 2006. The hospital's job postings for nurses fell to less than one-third of the national average. New York Magazine surveyed one thousand doctors who chose New York-Presbyterian as the most desired to work at in the metro New York area. The New York Times stated "most urban hospitals have struggled, New York-Presbyterian has thrived.".
Looking at where we are in our Canadian health care system during this pandemic, let's consider our rampant bed shortage. When patients are kept away from their emotional attachments (families), it takes them longer to heal. The longer it takes for them to heal, the longer beds are tied up. The longer beds are tied up, the more time it takes for people to get the care they need, creating a seemingly never ending bottleneck of frustration and aggravation.
Attaching feelings of goodwill to your organization will enhance system achievements. When engagement increases, so does work attendance. When patients can have robust, respectful interactions with their family and staff, and when families are warmly welcomed onto the hospital units, connection is fostered. There can be hope for our beleaguered health care system if we can reimagine a medical experience that includes recognizing the needs, abilities and dreams of clinical leaders, patients and caregivers.
The Canadian Press. (2021, September 20). B.C. health authority issues alarm over nurse shortage in Fort St. John. Abbotsford News. https://www.abbynews.com/news/b-c-health-authority-issues-alarm-over-nurse-shortage-in-fort-st-john/
Herb Pardes. (2005, August 11). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Pardes
Stallard, M. L., & Pankau, J. (2007). Strengthening human value in organizational cultures. Leader to Leader, 2008(47), 18-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/ltl.264
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