A grant earned by CHOC will work toward enhancing organizational connections through storytelling.
CHOC is one of three health systems to be awarded grants to help transform healthcare workplaces through the inaugural NurseHack4Health Pitch-A-Thon. The three grants total $260,000.
The inaugural Pitch-A-Thon focused on harnessing nursing team innovation through the partnership of multidisciplinary teams all with the goal of creating new solutions that support healthy workplaces.
With its funding, CHOC will establish a one-year pilot program for Dear Hospital, which will develop and activate storytelling skills throughout the organization, building upon data showing that more than 80 percent of storytelling participants feel more connected and engaged to their organizations. The program is inspired by a partnership between the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and storytelling organization Dear World, the program’s goal is to create an enterprise-wide movement that will change CHOC’s culture.
The idea was pitched by six CHOC providers and associates:
- Jennifer Hayakawa, director of nursing research and innovation;
- Melanie Patterson, vice president, patient care services & chief nursing officer;
- Dr. Charles Golden, assistant chief medical officer, vice president and executive medical director of the CHOC Primary Care Network;
- Cynthia Neiman, vice president; chief marketing & experience officer;
- Claire Driscoll, manager, human resources business partner; and
- Sharonne Herbert, belonging, diversity, equity & inclusion officer.
Jennifer, the team leader, says the program is designed to unlock “powerful individual stories in the organization to develop stronger connections among our people.”
“For me, the best part of being a nurse is also the hardest,” she says. “Caring for people when they are their most vulnerable – holding their hand through their most difficult moments – it’s a privilege, but it can also be exhausting. I carry on my shoulders and in my heart the stories of many of my patients. I turn to my community of fellow nurses for support.”
The other awardees are NYU Langone, which will establish Smart Scheduler, a tech solution driving fairness and efficiency in staffing, and Geisinger, which will establish Paws to Reflect, a peer intervention and animal-assisted therapy program.
Nearly 40 teams submitted solutions that directly address well-being and workplace challenges across four evidence-based workforce wellbeing focus areas: flexibility and autonomy; improve efficiency; staffing support; and adequate well-being resources.
On Oct. 6, 10 finalist teams pitched their solutions to a panel of judges in a live, virtual event.
