Leaders from across the Massachusetts healthcare community participated in the Caring for the Caregiver Task Force, convened by the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.
Task force membership was representative of the wider healthcare continuum, including hospitals, behavioral health, home care, secondary education, community providers, patient and family advocacy, government and independent regulatory organizations, nursing organizations, insurers, and labor and nursing unions.
The task force explored four focus areas relating to challenges facing healthcare personnel:
Safety (including both workplace violence and worker injury)
Engagement
Wellbeing
Workforce (including both workforce development and deployment of staff)
Broad Conclusions
Workforce issues are a top priority for our healthcare system.
Workforce challenges should be addressed continually by leaders in all care settings, as well as at the system-wide level, using a collaborative approach that incorporates the viewpoints of a diverse set of stakeholders.
A stable and engaged workforce is fueled by healthcare professionals who are healthy, safe, and satisfied in their jobs.
Meaningful and effective improvements require support and engagement from the top levels of leadership.
The Task Force’s final report of best practices and recommendations is available here.
Up-to-date resources in all four focus areas will be uploaded to their respective PatientCareLink webpages, for the reference of healthcare organizations across Massachusetts.
Steve Walsh, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association joins Modern Healthcare’s The Check Up to share recommendations from the Caring for the Caregiver report and discuss how the industry can address clinician burnout. The Interview is available here.
