When Geisinger joined the AHA Suicide Prevention in the Health Care Workforce Collaborative, they chose to address job-related stressors. Due to limited staff availability, their team chose interventions targeted at improving and expanding current programs as opposed to implementing a new project. Through their work, Geisinger updated their crisis response team structure, reexamined their EAP and added a formalized operational component to train administrators on employee well-being.
Geisinger has developed a Personnel Crisis Response Team (PCRT). A personnel crisis is defined as any active event where business unit continuity is disrupted due to the emotional state of the staff. There are many circumstances that may cause a personnel crisis; for Geisinger, the emphasis has been on sentinel events (an unexpected event that leads to the death, serious injury, or contains the potential for either or both) or significant workplace violence. The goals of this crisis response mechanism include supporting leaders, supporting teams on a continuing basis, timely and unified communication and efficient utilization of available resources.
The PCRT can be activated by the platform administrator on call, any leader at director level or above, or human resources. It is also automatically activated following codes black (bomb threat), silver (person with a weapon) or amber (missing infant or child). When activated, a message is sent to the PCRT coordinator, who gathers information and formulates a plan of action. The coordinator then huddles with the office of well-being, human resources, spiritual care, bioethics, and the department of behavioral health to create a response plan. By responding as a team as opposed to independently, Geisinger is able to utilize the resources available more appropriately and free other teams to focus on other priorities.
Geisinger has found that having a central point of emotional impact coordination allows leaders to focus on business continuity, managing risk, safety and other key operational challenges that arise in crisis. The crisis response mechanism also gives the opportunity for ongoing follow up with teams and individuals for weeks following the initial event, acknowledging that the emotional impact from a crisis isn’t over after the first contact or intervention. Because Geisinger has numerous behavioral health and well-being resources, the response team allows experts to ensure the correct resources are being used in appropriate scenarios. The team also has the opportunity to improve access and awareness of these resources. To date, the PCRT has been activated 37 times, impacting over 100 teams and reaching over 1,300 individuals. Through these activations they have been able to support employees through the loss of colleagues and patients and to continue to follow up with these individuals after the initial response.
The framework provided by the collaborative helped Geisinger create an aggressive timeline that facilitated their substantial progress over a short amount of time. Additionally, the validation from other members of the collaborative that they were on the right track and the ability to bounce ideas off peers helped motivate members of Geisinger’s team to continue their important work.
