St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center was selected as one of 34 hospitals nationally to participate in an 18-month national initiative to improve the well-being of hospitals’ healthcare providers and clinical learning environments.
A St. Francis leadership team will collaborate with select U.S. hospitals in developing and implementing a well-being curriculum for family medicine and OB/GYN residents at the hospital.
The effort, National Initiative VI: Stimulating a Culture of Well-Being in the Clinical Learning Environment, is sponsored by the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC), a national membership organization of independent teaching hospitals based in Chicago. St. Francis is the only Connecticut hospital in the study, it said.
Focusing on providers’ well-being will translate into improved care for patients, said Dr. John F. Rodis, president of St. Francis.
Kimberly Pierce-Boggs, AIAMC executive director, said studies show the net impact of mounting pressures of clinical care is escalating physician burnout and depression.
“Layered on these challenges is the stigma many physicians in training and practice encounter related to acknowledging that they need help, and feeling supported and safe in asking for help,” she said. “The time is right for forward-thinking academic medical centers to proactively address provider and institutional well-being while engaging trainees directly in those well-being initiatives.”
