I learn a bit from Hank each day. This week he asked me what slows him down – I was thinking like a two and a half year old and not doing well with a clever or even logical answer. Frustrated he finally told me – friction is the culprit. His Grandma Kathy explained that phenomenon to him and he remembered. Hank then related that it was different than what kept him on the ground – gravity. I am going to credit the Little Einsteins and Ready Jet Go for the knowledge of the solar system, space ships, and the force that keeps us from jumping off the planet. I fear that Hank may be getting a bit too much screen time, however this is mitigated in my mind by the quality of the programming. If you have a young person who has not exceeded their daily viewing parameters, check out Super Why, Little Einsteins, and Paw Patrol, very educational. Mainly, I love the enthusiasm Hank has for all things – often highlighted by the phrase – “lets do this.” Creative and positive, I know those traits are threatened by the real world.
I attended my St. Luke’s Board meeting this week in Mountain Home. We have started moving the meeting around to make sure we meet more of the teams and can thank them in person for the work they do in their own communities. It was a good week at St. Luke’s as we received front page coverage for the 5 Star rating the Boise and Meridian Hospital earned from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. There were no other 5 star hospitals in Idaho and St Luke’s is one of only 102 in the nation to receive the 5 Star rating out of approximately 4000 hospitals in the United States. St. Luke’s Elmore County earned 4 Stars – a critical access hospital serving a small population base with above average outcomes. We are in the process of expanding the Emergency Department in that area to support the increased demand.
One of the topics at the meeting was a deep dive review of the efforts taken to understand the stress created by a rapidly changing environment. Health care is under intense pressure from all of the stakeholders including the Government to lower costs. At St. Luke’s we began this journey many years ago – a relentless focus on the patient, improving quality, and lower costs. Change is very uncomfortable, requires time and is emotionally demanding. Our Physicians, PA’s, nurses, support staffs, IT teams and Administration are working long hours and there is no near term end in sight. How do we provide evaluations and resources to help each of our team members recognize and manage ‘burnout”. It turns out that there are tests to evaluate state of mind and techniques to employee to keep us mentally and physically strong. We must cultivate Resilience. You have to get back into the “Flow”. In positive psychology, flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process or activity. It is critical in the the delivery of healthy care that each team member is functioning at their highest level–no distractions.
The Authors of the books “Flourish”, Martin Seligman and “Positivity”, Barbara Fredrickson provide many ways to help with our resilience. Seligman advises: “Three Good Things”- write 3 good things down that happened to you each evening for two weeks, you will receive a mental health benefit for a year that is better than taking any anti-depressant medication. Fredrickson assures us that with positivity, you see new possibilities, bounce back from setbacks, and find the best version of yourself. She tells us you need a ratio of 3 positive emotions to one negative in order to foster resilience. Now the basics, 7-8 hours of sleep per night and a 20 minute nap mid day. Exercise, get outdoors and get at least 5-7 minutes of sunlight each day, balanced healthy diet, meditation, stretching and yoga. Limit multi tasking, humans show significant decline in accuracy and speed of solving problems beyond 3 tasks. Find your “why” again, daily acts of kindness, develop friendships, find a confidant. And my favorite, writing for resilience “this is like therapy without a therapist. It is a simple and well validated approach to healing after upsetting events.”
Enjoy the week end. Mike