Nurse wellness program sees results

Allegheny Health Network is seeing burnout rates below the national average from its six-year effort to improve the well-being of advance practice providers, nurses and physicians. The Pittsburgh-based health system surveyed staff to understand their stressors, and based on the results, initially focused on easier-to-achieve initiatives, such as making staff aware they could seek behavioral health help through AHN’s employee assistance program. AHN created a 24/7 help line for employees, emphasized the importance of meal breaks and added water stations to prevent dehydration. To address higher burnout rates among women, who often were balancing other care responsibilities, the system implemented flexible start times and job-sharing capabilities. AHN emphasizes a culture of care, offering peer-support programs for nurses and an advance-practice-provider council. (HealthLeaders Media article, 5/22/24)