A Holistic Approach to Protecting your Staff and Patients
It’s a typical Wednesday morning team meeting, but the feeling in the room is different. You notice a lot of concern, stress and exhaustion on the faces of your colleagues. The team is eerily quiet while waiting for the final member to arrive.
As the door opens, the VP of Quality & Patient Safety is holding the results of the recent Culture Safety Survey. As she slowly sits down, the look on her face tells it all. After a few moments, someone quietly asks, “How bad is it?”
It’s not that it is necessarily “bad,” but there is concern. Concern that the staff do not feel as safe as they should at work. Concern that the staff do not feel that they are properly prepared to deal with difficult situations. Concern that the staff do not feel protected from potentially violent encounters in the hospital. Concern that the staff do not feel that they have been given the proper tools or training to build their confidence and prevent incidents from occurring. Concern that the employee engagement is not where it needs to be at the hospital. Concern that staff is burning out. Concern that staff is leaving the organization and profession for a variety of reasons.
You look at each person and calmly ask, “Why do you think this is happening?”
Everyone begins to throw answers at you: “Our training is inadequate.” ... “Patients are becoming more aggressive.” .... “The stress of the worldwide pandemic is getting to people.” … “There’s a lack of behavioral health resources.” ... “We were never trained on how to deal with some of these situations.” ... “We have gaps in our training that need to be fixed immediately.”
And then you hear the one thing that stops you and makes you pause. “Why can’t we bring in a training partner that has a program that we can customize to fit our exact needs from gatekeepers, to the emergency room, to behavioral health and to security. Why can’t we explain to them what we are experiencing and ensure that everything we need is covered?”
In July 2020, Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha asked that question. Their workplace violence committee began an extensive search process and through many presentations, conversations and vetting, they decided that Vistelar was the answer to their question.
Vistelar is a conflict management consulting and training company that focuses on building respectful and safer environments of care by addressing the entire spectrum of human conflict with their Unified Conflict Management Training System (UCMTS).
The UCMTS was designed to cover a vast array of issues, problems and concerns. It covers assessment, non-escalation, de-escalation, crisis management, personal protection, interventions, stabilizations, subject control, handcuffing, weapon retention and active shooter training. In addition to covering these areas, the UCMTS is customizable to each specific department within a healthcare organization; thus, truly making it a “one-stop shop” for all of your conflict management needs.
One of the highlights of the partnership between Children’s Omaha and Vistelar is the process of creating a “tiered approach” to training for all hospital staff members. Some staff were exposed to a 30-minute online course, while others will experience multiple days of both verbal and physical training.
The ability to collaborate with each other has proven to be a remarkable tool in building a successful and sustainable partnership. Each department feels that their voice and concerns are not only being heard, but are being addressed - and being addressed properly.
There is no waste of time or resources when building this custom program because all essential stakeholders are present and sharing their thoughts. If security needs advanced training in stabilizations and subject control, then it is included in their portion of the “tiered approach.” It does not affect the custom program that the gatekeepers or behavioral health team have established because their issues and concerns are specific to their department and needs.
The flexibility of the UCMTS and the way it is delivered is a game changer for healthcare systems. It can range from online training, to virtual training, to in-person workshops, to train-the-trainer and licensing the content. Vistelar prides itself on listening to the client and working with them to develop a custom program for their organization that is powered by Vistelar.
If your healthcare organization is experiencing training fatigue, frustration and exhaustion and you’re looking for a system that is flexible and cost effective, we strongly encourage you to look at Vistelar. Vistelar is quickly becoming the option of choice for those who are ready to make a change and are looking for a “one-stop shop” for all their problems.
To learn more about Vistelar, contact William Singleton, at [email protected] or 414.507.6762 or visit our website at www.vistelar.com.