By: Amber Perez- Clinical Consultant and Amy Villars, VP Clinical Operations
According to a definition published by the Cleveland Clinic (2023) Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can happen when you dedicate time and energy to manage the health and safety of someone else. Caregivers who experience burnout may feel tired, stressed, withdrawn, anxious and depressed.
Even prior to the pandemic JAMA (2018) reported; of nurses who left the profession, 31.5% reported burnout as the precipitating cause. When identifying specific issues, recommendations emerged to help organizations make meaningful changes to reduce the risks of developing burnout.
As Baby-Boomer’s age and nurses in this generation retire; The United States will experience the most severe shortage in nursing staff ever reported, resulting in increased risk for more caregiver burnout. Recommendations for improvements included -increased staffing, improvements with leadership, increased pay and benefits and improvements to the physical work environment. One major source of stress is the overwhelming physical demands of the job and risks of caregiver injury.
Addressing burnout is a multi-modality issue. Human Resources, Clinical Leadership and Operations must collaborate to build solutions from all perspectives. When building your burnout mitigation plan, consider Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM) equipment as a dual layered solution. SPHM offers both reduced physical workload/caregiver safety and task efficiency. With the anticipated reduction in workforce, innovative planning can help your staff do more with less. When you evaluate the human capital demands, many tasks may be more easily and safely accomplished with reduced caregiver demands when the appropriate SPHM planning, equipment/accessories and policies are in place.
For example, a ceiling lift and ambulation sling allows therapy disciplines to perform common mobility tasks independently – freeing up therapy assistants to provide support with another patient. Mechanical sit to stands allow one caregiver to easily and safely toilet, transfer, and aid patients independently, tasks, which without equipment, often require 2-3 caregivers.
Staff reported improved satisfaction at shift end and lower rates of physical exhaustion when SPHM is properly integrated into the organization.
Interested in a customized needs assessment? Inovi’s experienced clinical team can help. Email Amy Villars -VP Clinical Operations at avillars@inovihealth.com for more information.