Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) is taking extra steps to ensure mental wellness among its staff because the pandemic has been especially difficult on the workers.
CKHA Board Chair Greg Aarssen said the employees' mental well-being has been "a grave concern" of the board and senior management for months and they want to do everything they can to find ways to heal, repair, and sustain the best possible mental health of hospital workers.
"For the past several months we have been in very active discussions about programs and things we can do to ensure that we have the healthiest workforce possible both physically and mentally," said Aarssen.
CKHA President and CEO Lori Marshall said on top of having other mental health assistance accessible to hospital employees, such as the employee assistance program, a mental health app, and a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, the hospital group has entered into an agreement with a private training company to provide an e-learning program that focuses on mental well-being and a peer support network of trained staff and physicians. Marshall said the program includes new managerial leadership techniques to support employees because what has worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future.
Marshall said part of the plan is to give hospital staff time off because many haven't taken their full vacation days over the last year. She noted it has become increasingly clear that hospital staff everywhere need a period of recovery before they start tackling other things caused by the pandemic, such as surgical backlogs.
"We really can't just flip the switch and start work to deal with the additional demands that we see immediately. We need to make sure that we give people a chance for that healing and recovery," she added.
The new training sessions begin in June and Marshall said there will be more of a focus on good mental health in the upcoming strategic plan that covers 2021 to 2024. That plan is set to be revealed by the end of June.
