It’s time we focused on the Caregivers…

With the ongoing national debate on healthcare policy reform, it’s time we took a fresh look at perhaps the most important aspect of healthcare – the people.

The health care community has been obsessed with process and systems improvement.  And rightly so.  With a multitude of moving parts that directly impact life and death, without good processes and systems, quality healthcare would be sporadic and inconsistent at best.  Advances in practice, process and system have no doubt added immeasurably to the quality of healthcare today and will continue to do so well into the future.

But any meaningful discussion about improving healthcare must also include a serious look at the health and well-being of the caregiver workforce.  And while we frequently hear the issue of staffing ratios brought up, we rarely hear discussions about the quality of the workforce itself raised in relation to improving healthcare outcomes.

Healthcare is provided through a network of generalists and specialists each responsible for a specific part of the puzzle.  Physicians, front-line caregivers, ancillary and support staff, each play a vital role in the delivery of that care and can make or break the healthcare experience for the patient.

Each of those people are themselves a person with feelings, likes, and dislikes, in need of motivation, organization, leadership and the opportunity to contribute to a greater good.  These are also the very people who put patients first even at the expense of their own families whom they leave behind during natural disasters as we recently saw in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities affected by the recent hurricanes.

So, how does employee happiness and satisfaction in the workplace contribute to great healthcare outcomes? And how well are we tending to their needs in the workplace?

While there are many factors that contribute to employee satisfaction, one of the most important is how the employee perceives they are engaged with by the organization.  Does the employee feel appreciated, considered, and a sincerely valuable part of the organization?  Or does she feel like an anonymous pawn simply completing tasks.  Does he feel like his stresses and challenges in providing care matter to the executives?  Or does he feel used and unappreciated?

I have met many front line caregivers who are literally starving for attention and support.  They are well intentioned and expert in their fields.  They provide compassionate care despite very physically and emotionally challenging working conditions.  But sadly, some have become jaded and many have lost touch with the passion that first drove them to become professional caregivers.

Healthcare’s greatest asset is its human capital.  Despite all of the great technological advances in healthcare delivery, nothing will replace the human spirit of the caregiver.  Humans are social creatures.  We crave connection and a sense of belonging.  And care delivered with empathy and generosity enables patients to heal and recover or die in peace.

Healthcare executives must do more to understand what their employees are feeling and thinking and to actively engage with them.  Great thought and concern must be given to the health and well-being of the employee workforce within the healthcare organization, especially as the world of healthcare grows ever more complex.  Like patients, employees know authentic, sincere care when they see it.  They know the clear difference between care that is genuine and heartfelt and care that is disingenuous and forced in service of an ulterior motive.

As healthcare executives, we are blessed to lead great organizations that make a huge difference in the world.  As we help those organizations weather the increasingly stormy seas of healthcare and chart new paths, while we contemplate new payment models and collaborations and debate healthcare policy reform, let’s not forget our people.  For those people are the essence of truly great healthcare and deserve to be nurtured and cared for themselves.