UAMS Selected for Schwartz Center’s Inaugural Healing Healthcare Initiative
| LITTLE ROCK — The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare selected the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as one of only six health organizations across the United States to participate in the center’s inaugural Healing Healthcare Initiative (HHI).
UAMS began its relationship with The Schwartz Center by offering Schwartz Rounds sessions in 2019. These are now held virtually, and UAMS has partnered with Schwartz to additional support services for clinical employees.
The Schwartz Center, a national nonprofit dedicated to putting compassion at the heart of health care, developed this initiative to guide organizational leaders in reimagining how their workplace can better support the mental health and well-being of health workers, allowing them to focus on delivering equitable and compassionate patient care.
“The past three years have been incredibly difficult ones for health care professionals around the world, and UAMS is no exception,” said Michelle W. Krause, M.D., MPH, senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Center at UAMS. “We partnered with the Schwartz Center to begin Schwartz Rounds at UAMS Medical Center in June 2019. More than 150 employees typically participate in these sessions to talk in an open, supportive environment about different emotionally challenging aspects of health care.
“We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with the Schwartz Center and offering the HHI resources to our staff,” she said. “I think it will become evident in the coming years that the health care industry will struggle to heal others until we first heal ourselves. We are grateful to have existing programs we can build on and resources from a national leader like the Schwartz Center to help make UAMS the best employer for health care professionals in Arkansas.”
The initiative provides health care leaders from the six organizations with guidance and training in developing and implementing a roadmap for their organization to ensure their organization, workforce and patients can continue to thrive.
Specifically, HHI leaders will be equipped with evidenced-based resources, tools and support centered around six key principles:
- Diversity and Equity
- Inclusion, Voice and Choice
- Mental Health and Well-being
- Psychological and Physical Safety
- Team Cohesiveness and Collaboration
- Trust and Trustworthiness
“Every organization chosen to participate in this inaugural initiative should be incredibly proud of their commitment to advance solutions that support the well-being of health workers,” said Beth Lown, MD, chief medical officer at the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare.
“The Healing Healthcare Initiative was designed to help health care leaders harness their organization’s immense potential and arrive at confident solutions. All solutions will be rooted in the six key principles vital for a health system to deliver quality, compassionate care by a thriving workforce. We hope to help leaders break down silos and integrate existing work across their organizations.”
To learn more about the Healing Healthcare Initiative, visit www.theschwartzcenter.org/hhi/. The Healing Healthcare Initiative has been developed and is offered with the generous support of the Brave of Heart Fund.
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare is a national organization whose mission is to put compassion at the heart of health care. Through programs, education and advocacy, the Schwartz Center supports the mental health and well-being of the health care workforce so they can provide compassionate care to patients and families. With more than 600 health care member organizations across 44 states in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Schwartz Center’s evidence-informed programs and resources have proven to be versatile, sustainable and effective across diverse settings, including acute care and rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient clinics, cancer centers, Veteran’s Administration medical centers, organ procurement organizations, nursing homes, hospice providers and health insurers. To learn more, visit theschwartzcenter.org.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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