Amy Jibilian, MD, has been chief wellness officer at Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network for a year and a half, but it's her 30 years of work as a pediatrician that has given her a keen understanding of the everyday challenges healthcare workers face.
"I walked the walk," Dr. Jibilian told Becker's. "I was on the path of caring for my patients and their families in the midst of all these changes going on in healthcare. That has helped me to really understand where our frontline clinicians are coming from."
LVHN uses the Stanford model of professional fulfillment to guide initiatives that help create a strong support system for employees. The model comprises three domains: a culture of wellness, optimal practice efficiencies and strong support systems for providers.
The system also employs the American Medical Association's organizational biopsy, an assessment tool that seeks to support organizational health and well-being, to look at what occurs at the practice level to further understand what might create employee burdens.
"In addition to PEAP, we have developed peer-support groups, partnered with an organization to provide 24/7 teletherapy for all of our employees and we have mindfulness programs," Dr. Jibilian said.
Dr. Jibilian also highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between leadership and frontline workers.
She stressed that executive leaders have large responsibilities to keep their organizations financially solvent and in a strong place, but that frontline workers might not see that. On the opposite end, executive leaders aren't always on the front lines to see what healthcare workers are dealing with, which can also cause disconnect.
"My first year-and-a-half, I spent a ton of time building relationships, getting to know all the chairs, all of the chiefs, every executive leader, and then talking to as many frontline people as I could to bridge the gap, listening to each side," she said. "We're all in this together."
As healthcare continues to evolve, Dr. Jibilian stressed the importance of remaining committed to developing a culture that prioritizes connection and self-care.
She also stressed the need for healthcare leaders to remember that we are all human beings with physical, mental and emotional limitations and we need time to rest, recharge and care for ourselves and our families.
"It's leading by influence," she said. "By being a positive person and showing up, hopeful and positive, and to try to infuse that into every conversation and email."