Supporting Staff in Uncertain Times: Implementation of Brief Emotional Support Teams

This session will examine a number of activities implemented by the Stress Trauma and Resilience (STAR) Program before and during the pandemic to support staff. This presentation will highlight the implementation of Brief Emotional Support Teams (BEST) which grew to include over 850 trained hospital staff peer supporters during the pandemic. The BEST teams became the primary tool of the BEST programing providing approximately 2,000 peer support interventions per month during the height of the pandemic. Participants will understand the individual components of BEST including: brief psychological stabilization, crisis intervention, elements of cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive processing therapy and elements of motivational interviewing. The presentation will also explore interventions that supported a positive culture during the pandemic and interventions providing elements of hope for staff.

Learning objectives:

• Participants will articulate the impacts of vicarious trauma, traumatic stress and moral distress.
• To actuate participants collective years of clinical experience to understand the challenges faced by staff in today’s challenging healthcare environment.
• To use the same clinical experience to develop an understanding of the individual needs of staff when addressing social stressors associated with the pandemic.
• Participants will conceptualize how critical thinking combines with the desire to help that creates moral distress.
• Participants will gain understanding how peer support shapes culture and cultivates hope within healthcare.

Sponsored by the Center for Public Health Practice (MEP100177), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc., this program is designated for 4 (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to total category I contact hours in health education. Maximum advance-level contact hours available are 1.