American Hospital Association Releases Report on Supporting Healthcare Workers

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened healthcare workforce woes that were already plaguing healthcare workers before the public health emergency.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) says there is a three-pronged approach to current healthcare workforce challenges—addressing well-being, supporting behavioral health, and preventing workplace violence.

Healthcare worker burnout has reached crisis proportions during the coronavirus pandemic and workforce shortages are widespread among nurses, physicians, and other clinical roles across the country. The health and the sustainability of the healthcare workforce are in jeopardy.

The AHA recently released Part 1 of a three-part series of reports on the strained healthcare workforce. The first installment is titled "supporting the team," and it focuses on addressing well-being, supporting behavioral health, and preventing workplace violence.

The pandemic has driven the healthcare workforce in an alarming direction, says Elisa Arespacochaga, MBA, vice president of clinical affairs and workforce at AHA.

"At its core, healthcare is people providing care for people. We need a talented, engaged, and diverse workforce to be able to do that effectively. Unfortunately, the healthcare field just like other fields across the country is facing mounting workforce challenges, including some critical staffing shortages that could jeopardize access to care. Some of these challenges come from longer term trends such as the demographic shifts of having fewer young people and more people who are on Medicare. The bottom line is the pandemic exacerbated the problems and took a toll on the healthcare workforce," she says.

The pandemic has worsened burnout, Arespacochaga says. "We knew before the pandemic that the impact of burnout was not only taking a toll on the physical and mental health of our workforce, but also was contributing to challenges related to patient outcomes, people leaving the workforce, and recruiting. Over the past two years, COVID has just amplified all of these challenges."

The pandemic has increased the need for behavioral health services for healthcare workers, she says. "COVID-19 has been a huge emotional and physical strain for our healthcare workforce. Our healthcare workers are incredibly resilient, but the ongoing impact of the pandemic has taken a toll on their ability to recover and to be resilient."

The pandemic has also increased workplace violence incidents, Arespacochaga says. "We knew before the pandemic that healthcare workers were among the highest rates of injuries from workplace violence. We are there to care for people in their most extreme circumstances, and sometimes there is violence. However, the pandemic has made workplace violence worse. We have seen a marked increase in violence against hospital employees, and it does not seem to be slowing down."

Supporting healthcare workers

The new AHA report includes initiatives and strategies associated with the organization's three approaches to supporting the healthcare workforce.

1. Addressing well-being
    

• Dealing with burnout requires a cultural shift, not just a checklist of tasks to complete
   
• Planning to engage key stakeholders in well-being initiatives should include front-line and core managers
   
• When there are gaps in resources, prioritize needs and seize on opportunities to launch pilot initiatives
   
• Address self-care through training during onboarding and continuing education programs
   

2. Supporting behavioral health
    

• Seek to have a culture of psychological safety where healthcare workers feel safe to speak out and seek treatment for mental health or substance use disorders
   
• Share stories about mental health or substance use disorders—try to normalize mental illness
   
• Integrate physical and behavioral health services, which has been shown to boost employee satisfaction
   

3. Prevent workplace violence
    

• There should be an assigned leader who fosters workplace safety initiatives
   
• There should be accountability protocols for all leaders and those protocols should be shared with the staff
   
• Reporting of workplace violence should be encouraged, with a zero-tolerance organizational expectation about violent behavior
   
• Create an interdisciplinary threat assessment team to identify opportunities to mitigate threats
   
• Conduct ongoing education and training programs, including simulation training

Related: Healthcare Workforce Rescue Package Targets Well-Being During Pandemic