CEO Coalition commits to physical, psychological and emotional workplace safety

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Ten hospital and health system CEOs have created a Declaration of Principles to protect their healthcare workforce.

The CEO Coalition came about earlier this year as CEOs from across the country convened virtually to examine standards of safety and trust for healthcare team members at every level of their organizations, according to the CEO Coalition. The goal is to collectively take action to protect the wellbeing of essential team members and ensure they have the systems, tools, technologies and resources they need and deserve to feel safe at work. 

The founding partners are from the medical communications company Vocera and from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. 

CEO Coalition founders include: Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic, CEO and president of the Cleveland Clinic; Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health; Andrea Walsh, president and CEO of HealthPartners; Wright Lassiter, president and CEO of the Henry Ford Health System; Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare; Dr. Anne Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham; Dr. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence; Laura Kaiser, president and CEO of SSM Health; Johnese Spisso, CEO of UCLA Hospital System; and Susan Ehrlich, CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General. 

The founding partners are Brent D. Lang, CEO and chairman of Vocera, and Dr. Bridget Duffy, chief medical officer of Vocera. They worked in collaboration with Dr. Kedar Mate, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The coalition said it is kicking off a national action plan for meaningful change and is inviting other healthcare CEOs to join.

The initiative was spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, while the Declaration of Principles acknowledged that workplace violence, burnout and disparities existed long before the outbreak of COVID-19. 

"The pandemic has, however, exacerbated the factors contributing to workplace violence, created an environment of unprecedented stress, and exposed the impact of systemic inequities and racial injustice on the well-being of healthcare team members," the Declaration said. "Safety is at the heart of protecting our healthcare workforce, which means being safe from physical and emotional harm and free from all forms of inequity and racial injustice."

The CEOs committed to safeguarding psychological and emotional safety, promoting health justice and ensuring physical safety. 

"Our ability to build trust and provide the care patients require and deserve is dependent on the physical and emotional safety and the just treatment of all those who provide or support patient care," the declaration states. "We commit ourselves to this new definition of safety to ensure that no healthcare team member will have to sacrifice their personal safety, health, identity, or well-being to do their jobs and care for patients."

THE LARGER TREND

The pandemic brought to light ongoing issues of clinician burnout as physicians, nurses and other hospital staff struggled to work long shifts during COVID-19 surges. Some sacrificed their home life by opting to stay in hotels and other lodging after their shifts so as not to risk spreading the coronavirus to their families.

Workplace violence increased under the pandemic, according to National Nurses United.

A recent survey from the American Nurses Foundation found the pandemic was causing 92% of nurses to consider leaving the workforce. Nearly half cited insufficient staffing as one of the primary reasons.

Staffing shortages are expected to continue beyond the pandemic.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com