(ST. PAUL, Minn.) – The American Medical Association (AMA) has recognized Gillette Children’s commitment to preserving the well-being of clinical care teams. Gillette is one of 28 health care systems nationwide to earn a spot in the AMA’s Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program this year.
“Health systems that have earned this recognition demonstrate that the well-being of health professionals is essential to caring for the health and wellness of patients, families, and communities,” says AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD.
A 2021 report based on research led by the AMA shows that “feeling valued by one’s organization was strongly associated with lower stress” and serves as a protective factor against work-related physician burnout. This finding paved the way for many organizations to re-examine how leadership, culture, peer support, and removing obstacles to patient care act together to create the conditions where joy, purpose, and meaning in medicine are possible.
Examples of actions Gillette Children’s has taken this year include:
- Training a Peer Support Team to connect any employee with peer supporters so they can understand the effect of stressful events and offer help.
- An assessment to understand Gillette’s clinician’s experience with our electronic health record—Cerner.
- Developing an action plan based on recommendations from the KLAS Research survey in three focus areas: improving efficiency, creating structures to enable clinicians and IS to work together to improve Cerner, and initial and ongoing training and education.
- Another assessment to gain insight about Gillette's organization’s wellness and well-being.
- Partnering with the Hennepin Healthcare Institute for Professional Worklife to review Gillette’s levels of stress, satisfaction, and burnout and identify what’s driving those feelings.
Next steps include reviewing survey data with groups, then identifying and prioritizing the areas of highest need for interventions and support.
Gillette received an honorable mention for the International Hospital Federation (IHF) Awards 2022. Gillette Children’s is recognized in the category Healthcare Worker’s Wellbeing, for efforts in ensuring the wellbeing and sustainability of health care workers. There were more than 400 entries from 35 countries that applied for multiple categories at the IHF Awards.
These awards recognize our efforts to create an environment that supports well-being, resilience, and reducing stress for our workforce. They confirm that we’re using sound methods to understand and address burnout.
About Gillette Children’s
Gillette Children's specializes in treating complex brain, bone and movement conditions that begin in childhood. We provide comprehensive services, highly trained specialists, an integrated team approach, family-centered care and a lifetime of services.