Amid today's workforce challenges, hospitals and health systems must have a continued focus on improving engagement and retention of employees. It's that focus that led Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to pilot a new "Adopt-A-Team" program, pairing support center departments with clinical teams to offer encouragement and to show appreciation for their work.
In recent months, the pilot has proved to be successful, boosting morale among teams and strengthening connections across the health system, Linda Matzigkeit, chief administrative officer, told Becker's.
The idea for the program came from a group of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta employees who represent clinical areas and nonclinical areas.
"The group meets every other month, and they tell us what's really going on. What's the vibe? How are people feeling? What do we need to do better?" Ms. Matzigkeit said. "And one of the ideas that came out of that was this idea of 'adopt a team,' and it was intended so that our support employees could better understand what our clinical employees are doing and show appreciation for them."
The pilot started last fall. As part of the pilot, marketing and communications adopted the Children's Scottish Rite Hospital emergency department; managed care adopted the Children's Egleston Hospital pediatric intensive care unit; and the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation adopted the Children's Hughes Spalding Hospital emergency department.
"It's almost like an exchange program," Ms. Matzigkeit explained. "Those departments go and tour and meet the clinical folks. They've had parties for them with food. They have written notes about how much we appreciate them."
Additionally, marketing and communications employees collected items for the Scottish Rite emergency department "Clothing Closet," which provides new clothing options for patients and families who need them while in the emergency department or when they are discharged, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta said. By the end of December, marketing and communications had collected more than 100 items ranging from leggings and sweatpants to T-shirts and hoodies.
"Employees in both day and night shifts were so appreciative of the team's help to restock our clothing closet," Michelle Clark, assistant manager of nursing for Scottish Rite, said in a news release shared with Becker's. "Our mission is at the forefront of everything we do, but sometimes we need help remembering that we are not alone in it. Just knowing that this group of people was on our side and supported us and our patients was incredibly uplifting."
Ms. Matzigkeit said the program has led to other success as well, and is a contributing factor to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's current 89 percent voluntary retention rate. One year ago, the voluntary retention rate was about 85 percent.
Also, "we have seen a dramatic change in the morale of our nurses and our clinical staff. And so I think this is one of many things that made a difference in our clinical staff feeling valued and appreciated," said Ms. Matzigkeit.
She also anticipates higher engagement scores once results of the health system's latest engagement survey are available.
With the results of the pilot, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is looking to expand the "Adopt-A-Team" program — allowing for more support center departments to participate and adopt clinical teams. Eventually, the health system hopes to at least double, if not triple, the participation in the program by the end of 2023.