Making Staff Mental Health

in Your Center

How ambulatory surgery centers can help their staff members help themselves

When somone’s mental health is affected, delivering quality healthcare becomes difficult at best, says Amiee Mingus, vice president of clinical operations for PE GI Solutions. “Delivering the level of care patients expect can be impossible when staff aren’t feeling confident or are feeling anxious and burnt out. Unfortunately, this is a growing concern and definitely something we all need to be paying closer attention to.”

How big of a challenge is the mental health of healthcare workers? Consider these statistics:

• From a 2022 survey of 5,000 frontline healthcare workers, 91% reported feeling stress, 83% reported anxiety, 81% reported feeling exhaustion/ burnout and 71% reported being overwhelmed. More than half of all workers had questioned their career path in the three months prior to the survey.

• A 2022 survey of more than 1,500 physicians found that 3 in 5 felt inappropriate feelings of anger, fearfulness or anxiety; one-third had felt hopeless or that they had no purpose; and 3 in 5 often had feelings of burnout — up from 4 in 10 in 2018.

• According to a 2023 survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers about job stress, the medical and health services industry was ranked the most stressful industry. Further complicating matters is the pressure on healthcare workers to focus on patients rather than themselves, says Teresa Chaisson, senior director of clinical support, compliance and risk management for PE GI Solutions. “There is a global perception that we as healthcare workers are supposed to suppress all emotions so we can do our jobs. But all that has done is contribute to burnout, dysfunction and unhealthy practices that can lead to self-harm.”

For GI centers and practices, prioritizing mental health helps ensure patients receive the care they deserve. But the benefits can go much further, says Chaisson. “You may retain your staff for longer, keep them from diverting drugs, keep staff from mistreating patients or one another, and you’re going to help prevent negativity that damages your culture.”

Areas of Focus

Fortunately, there are many ways you can elevate the importance of mental health among your staff and create a more supportive, safer, and healthier work environment. One place to start: identifying staff mental health as a key issue for your center.

A Harvard Business Review column on burnout states: “Leaders must treat mental health as an organizational priority with accountability mechanisms such as regular pulse surveys and clear ownership. It should not just be relegated to [human resources]. Leaders should serve as allies by sharing their own experiences to foster an environment of transparency and openness.”

Once leadership acknowledges the importance of mental health, which should help reduce some of the stigma associated with the subject, it may become easier to implement a program to reduce work-related stress. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed the “Total Worker Health” (TWH) program for business managers and supervisors. The TWH approach, NIOSH notes, “prioritizes a hazard-free work environment for all workers.”

How can you achieve this type of environment? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a program to reduce work-related stress might include implementing policies that eliminate the root causes of stress, such as excess demands or workplace bullying, while providing workers with increased flexibility and control over their work and schedules. CDC also calls attention to the value of training supervisors on ways to reduce stressful working conditions and training all staff on improving stress management and reduction.

Another key facet of such a program recommended by the CDC is providing staff access to employee assistance programs (EAP). The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notes, “EAPs can help employees with personal problems that affect their job performance. EAPs can identify and address various health, financial, and social issues, including mental and substance use disorders.”

Chaisson strongly advocates for EAPs, acknowledging that she has benefitted from their services, including the opportunity to receive debriefing treatment.

A Psychology Today column defines debriefing as: “a specific technique designed to assist others in dealing with the physical or psychological symptoms that are generally associated with trauma exposure.”

If center staff experience a traumatic incident, debriefing can help staff better process the experience, Chaisson says. “We need to encourage healthcare professionals and the general public to accept that sometimes we need to debrief ourselves. Using an EAP is not a weakness.” adequate coverage for mental health, behavioral health and substance use disorders.

APA also advises leaders to look for ways to strengthen their plans by removing barriers to accessing support. “For example, choose a plan with out-of-network mental health benefits so employees can access clinicians who may not be in network with your provider. You should also ensure that mental health benefits and resources are easily accessible and understandable and support employees across the continuum of mental wellness.”