Reach for Resilience is a help line and resource center for healthcare professionals, formed in partnership between Sanford Health and the North Dakota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Division. Reach for Resilience was created by healthcare workers for healthcare workers to respond to all of the pandemic-related challenges in our lives. The service is free, confidential and open to all healthcare workers in North Dakota.
Dr. Jon Ulven, Sanford Health, recently offered some excellent suggestions and resources to create a healthier work environment and coping mechanisms to better manage stress, including adequate sleep. He emphasized the importance of a ‘buddy check’; simply setting aside time to reach out and connect with a friend or colleague and seeing how they are doing. He also recommended including ‘well-being components’ to team meetings, allowing a simple way for individuals to share how they are doing and feeling.
Skylar Borg, project coordinator for the Treatment Collaborative for Traumatized Youth and Reach for Resilience with Sanford Research North in Fargo, ND, shared more about the effort.
“As members of the ‘helping professions’, we witnessed the amount of demand and stress our healthcare providers were encountering and saw this as a way to assist the medical providers in Sanford and statewide. We know people who are in helping roles often do not seek help for themselves. With that, we are present to both promote ongoing well-being and be a resource for them if they do choose to reach out for assistance in a time of duress.”
The research completed from previous pandemics supports behavioral health concerns representing a second wave of demand on health systems. COVID-19 seems to be no exception to that precedent. With behavioral health concerns such as PTSD, anxiety, substance use, and increased rates of suicide and depression, Reach for Resilience team members wanted to provide research-based resources on well-being.
Borg continued, “Our website and Facebook posts are filled with skills on issues ranging from how to enhance quality of sleep or cope after a patient death to identifying trends in behavior representative burn out. We wanted to provide these resources and support to providers now, proactively, through the time of increased demands. We wanted to raise awareness and offer help for people who may experience this need and also participate in healthcare settings throughout the state. By helping with resources for medical professionals, we can achieve our goal to keep them well so they can continue to share their gifts in supporting the broader community needs. Medical healthcare providers have a unique set of skills that have been truly tested through this pandemic and we felt we needed to do something to help them be able to stay healthy and persevere. After all, we all benefit when our healthcare providers are healthy as well.”
For more information, contact Reach For Resilience by calling (701) 365-4920 or visit their Website. You can also find them on Facebook @ Reach for Resilience Helpline for ND Healthcare workers.
Upcoming Webinar | Resilience – Individual, Organizational, Community
January 25, 2022 | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM CT
Burnout is rarely an individual issue alone. This presentation will discuss risks related to caretaker/provider health during times of crises as well as models for both individual and organizational wellness. (with annotations for pandemics)
Objectives:
• Identify tools for resilience for care providers
• Identify traits of resilient communities and organizations
Speaker:
Andrew McLean, MD, MPH
Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Hosted by the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network