Abstract
The Covid 19 impact survey, reflected the top reasons for nurses leaving the profession were burnout and well-being (American Nurses Foundation, 2022). Additionally, the American Nurses Foundation’s Three-Year Annual Assessment Survey, nurses are still feeling stressed, exhausted, and nurses with less than 10 years’ experience stated they are either not or not at all emotionally healthy (2023). This is an alarming concern for all healthcare leaders as staff well-being has become a priority. Poor patient and quality outcomes are associated with organizations that have high turnover rates, nurse burnout, and low engagement (Scruth & Allen, 2022). Organizations need to not only provide well-being initiatives for staff, but these initiatives need to add value and be sustainable.
To meet the psychosocial needs of staff, in the challenging healthcare environment, the organization has significantly increased the number of well-being initiatives offered to employees. The most popular programs for staff include caring carts, cookies and conversation, gratitude team, a Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), Reiki, aromatherapy, and yoga. These programs are embedded into practice throughout the health system and available for all staff members.
The Culture of Caring program began with a Caring Cart initiative. Caring carts started in one hospital and continue to be a staff led initiative that provides aromatherapy, hand massages and therapeutic listening. This simple yet authentic gesture led staff to feel valued and grateful for protected peer-to-peer quality time. Over time new initiatives evolved from staff feedback provided during caring cart rounds. Using the feedback and suggestions provided, the council developed additional wellness initiatives such as Reiki for staff. The nurse led system council works to promote healthy work initiatives with full leadership support providing sustainability. Due to the organization's healthy work environment infrastructure, there has been a decrease in turnover, increased engagement, and promotion of staff health and well-being. It is crucial for organizations to connect with their staff and consistently seek out ways to support well-being. Experience has demonstrated that bringing wellness initiatives directly to the frontline staff provides the best outcomes.
In the last year, the organization has decreased turnover overall by 4.2% and staff nurse turnover by 5.5%. The organization’s 2023 engagement score ranked 0.13 above the national healthcare average, and the overall resiliency score surpassed the national healthcare average by 0.05. This presentation will focus on how one large healthcare system continues to expand a Culture of Caring program by sharing the implementation process of adaptable well-being programs.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
Additional references included in attached slide deck.
References:
American Hospital Association. (2022). Data brief: Workforce issues remain at the forefront of pandemic-related challenges for hospitals. Nursing Solutions, Inc. https://www.aha.org/issue-brief/2022-01-25-data-bief-workforce-issues-remain-at-the-forefront-of-pandemic-related-challenges
American Nurses Foundation. (2022). Covid-19 Two-Year Impact Assessment Survey. https://www.nursingworld.org/~4a2260/contentassets/872ebb13c3f446b11a1bd0c74907cC9/covid-1--tow-year-impact-assement-written-report-final-pdf
ANA Enterprise (2023). Three-year annual assessment survey: Nurses need increased support from their employer. https://www.nursingworld.org/~48fb88/contentassets/23d4f79cea6b4f67ae24714de11783e9/anf-impact-assessment-third-year_v5.pdf
Auerbach, D., Buerhaus, P., Donelan, K., & Staiger, D. (2022). A worrisome drop in the number of younger nursers. Health affairs Forefront. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10/10.1311/forefront.20220412.311782/
Scruth, E. A., & Allen, A. (2022). Self-care. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 36(4), 181–182. https://doi.org/10.1097/nur.0000000000000683
Sigma Membership
Omega Gamma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Job Satisfaction, Quality of Work Life, Work Environment, Program Development, Well-being, Personnel Turnover
Recommended Citation
Blaney, Patricia Ann and Doody, Heike Miriam, "Expanding a Culture of Caring in Today's Challenging Healthcare Environment" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 82.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/82
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-23
Expanding a Culture of Caring in Today's Challenging Healthcare Environment
Washington, DC, USA
The Covid 19 impact survey, reflected the top reasons for nurses leaving the profession were burnout and well-being (American Nurses Foundation, 2022). Additionally, the American Nurses Foundation’s Three-Year Annual Assessment Survey, nurses are still feeling stressed, exhausted, and nurses with less than 10 years’ experience stated they are either not or not at all emotionally healthy (2023). This is an alarming concern for all healthcare leaders as staff well-being has become a priority. Poor patient and quality outcomes are associated with organizations that have high turnover rates, nurse burnout, and low engagement (Scruth & Allen, 2022). Organizations need to not only provide well-being initiatives for staff, but these initiatives need to add value and be sustainable.
To meet the psychosocial needs of staff, in the challenging healthcare environment, the organization has significantly increased the number of well-being initiatives offered to employees. The most popular programs for staff include caring carts, cookies and conversation, gratitude team, a Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), Reiki, aromatherapy, and yoga. These programs are embedded into practice throughout the health system and available for all staff members.
The Culture of Caring program began with a Caring Cart initiative. Caring carts started in one hospital and continue to be a staff led initiative that provides aromatherapy, hand massages and therapeutic listening. This simple yet authentic gesture led staff to feel valued and grateful for protected peer-to-peer quality time. Over time new initiatives evolved from staff feedback provided during caring cart rounds. Using the feedback and suggestions provided, the council developed additional wellness initiatives such as Reiki for staff. The nurse led system council works to promote healthy work initiatives with full leadership support providing sustainability. Due to the organization's healthy work environment infrastructure, there has been a decrease in turnover, increased engagement, and promotion of staff health and well-being. It is crucial for organizations to connect with their staff and consistently seek out ways to support well-being. Experience has demonstrated that bringing wellness initiatives directly to the frontline staff provides the best outcomes.
In the last year, the organization has decreased turnover overall by 4.2% and staff nurse turnover by 5.5%. The organization’s 2023 engagement score ranked 0.13 above the national healthcare average, and the overall resiliency score surpassed the national healthcare average by 0.05. This presentation will focus on how one large healthcare system continues to expand a Culture of Caring program by sharing the implementation process of adaptable well-being programs.
Description
Discover the art of caring for caregivers and staff to lead and support the healthcare workforce. Join us to explore simple well-being programs and initiatives that have proven to engage nurses, support staff well-being, and decrease turnover.