Jarlette Health Services has made another generous donation to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) Foundation in support of the Hospital’s most important asset, its people.
In 2021, Jarlette Health Services funded the training series Compassion Fatigue Essentials for healthcare providers at OSMH. Their recent donation of $30,000 will fund the implementation of Resilience in Stressful Events (RISE) Peer Support Program through John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This will set the foundation for the Hospital’s healthcare teams to respond to and support their peers through stressful situations.
Due to the overwhelming risk of facing traumatic events in their daily work, healthcare providers can experience self-doubt, burnout, anxiety, and other issues. These issues can affect their wellbeing and can hinder their ability to deliver safe, compassionate care.
Prior to the pandemic, an employee engagement survey was sent to the OSMH team, and a key outcome was the request for more mental health support and a peer support program. Covid-19 thrust the Hospital into critical reaction and the wellbeing of healthcare workers was challenged more than ever before.
“At OSMH, our strategy is anchored in our people,” says Debbie Singh, Vice President People Strategy and Chief Human Resources Officer, OSMH.
“Empowerment and the development of personal resourcefulness, which is the foundation of the RISE Peer Support Program, improves people’s well-being, provides larger support networks, better self-esteem, confidence and social skills. We are thankful to Jarlette Health Services for allowing us to offer a complete peer support program for our team.”
The Compassion Fatigue Essentials program has been implemented for just over a year and allows infinite access and availability to the team at OSMH. Similarly, when the RISE Program is built and implemented, it can be accessed anytime and anywhere for years to come, based on the need of OSMH healthcare workers.
“Having universal access to these resources across the organization is in itself profound,” said Kristen Dawson, Program Manager, Children’s Services, OSMH. “This is a gift that I haven’t seen in 25 years in healthcare, and I am immensely thankful for that.”
Dawson took the Compassion and Fatigue Essentials training and says it has allowed her and her colleagues to engage in deep and meaningful conversations and to show up for each other.
“With the universal language from the script, there was continuity in the conversation. When you sat down in a team huddle, we were literally speaking the same language,” said Dawson.
The choice to support wellness in people was an easy one for the Jarlette Health Services leadership team. Having formed a strong relationship with OSMH over the pandemic, they felt it was important to provide support for both their caregivers and the Hospital’s.
“We wanted to give back to the Hospital in a meaningful way,” said Julia King, Chief Operating Officer, Jarlette Health Services. “By investing in the wellness of our healthcare providers, we are investing in exceptional, compassionate health for all people.”
With these generous donations and the ongoing partnership between OSMH and Jarlette Health Services, the Hospital looks forward to opportunities for sharing peer support and compassion fatigue training with the Jarlette team.
To donate to the Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Foundation, please visit www.osmhfoundation.ca
