Celebrating SNI’s Workforce Wellbeing Program

As we mark the conclusion of SNI’s Workforce Wellbeing programming, we celebrate the work initiated by California’s public health care systems to begin to address the unprecedented crisis in staff and physician burnout, in part brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we are excited to share what we’ve accomplished over the last year.  

Overview of the Program 

The yearlong program provided tailored support to public health care system leaders through a range of learning opportunities, including in-person workshops, webinars, and coaching sessions. The program touched on three key areas of workforce wellbeing:  

Landscape and Measurement 

A three-part webinar series led by national experts laid the groundwork by summarizing the current state and evidence behind workforce wellbeing and burnout and validated metrics and survey instruments that measure workforce wellbeing.  

View the webinar recaps for highlights from these sessions:  

Leadership Practices and Culture Change 

The next phase of the program began with an in-person meeting where participants heard from a panel of Chief Wellness Officers at health systems across the country on their experiences gaining leadership buy-in and securing resources to build a systemwide approach to wellbeing. Participants then engaged in follow-up webinars to learn essential leadership practices to create positive, safe work environments and to embrace a fair and just culture while responding to challenges.  

View the webinar recaps for highlights from these sessions: 

System Approaches to Wellbeing 

Finally, participants learned how to improve workforce wellbeing through practical system approaches like reframing quality improvement around relationships and connecting workforce wellbeing to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In the wrap-up session, participants walked away from the program equipped with promising approaches from their fellow health systems.  

View the webinar recaps for highlights from these sessions: 

Additionally, several public health care systems took advantage of individualized coaching opportunities and continue to work with national experts on a range of workforce wellbeing projects, including developing a strategic roadmap for wellbeing, coordinating wellbeing initiatives across the system, and launching a listening campaign to understand provider and staff needs. 

Program Outcomes and Lessons Learned 

The impact of the Workforce Wellbeing program is best illustrated through testimonials from participants:  

“As a newcomer to the wellbeing sphere, the whole program was invaluable by introducing new concepts, hosting knowledgeable speakers, arranging 1:1 coaching, and offering peer-to-peer interaction.” – Michael Allen, Administrative Assistant II/Clerk of the Board at SJ Health. 

“The most useful part of my experience in the program was learning about the various areas that live within wellbeing and how organizations across California are implementing their programs. I also appreciate the opportunities to connect monthly on this topic. Wellbeing is a large initiative at all of our organizations that requires the right resources in place. Bringing this group together regularly was incredibly helpful in evaluating what is right for the campuses locally by learning about different models.” Layah Steinberg, Director of Experience Operations at UC San Diego Health. 

For SNI, the program yielded an invaluable lesson: Workforce wellbeing remains largely in its infancy and is often perceived as a “nice-to-have” within health systems. However, recognizing the fundamental role of a strong workforce in the success of public health care systems, it becomes crucial to prioritize and dedicate resources towards workforce wellbeing. If we keep the momentum gained from this workforce crisis and continue these efforts, public health care systems have the opportunity to establish a culture where workforce wellbeing is woven into the fabric of our delivery system. 

Amanda Clarke, Senior Director of Programs at SNI and lead of the Workforce Wellbeing program, shared, “While COVID was the catalyst for a lot of these wellbeing efforts, systems recognize that the work needs to go on. One of SNI’s goals with this program was to help systems move from a reactive approach to standing up longer-term infrastructure to support wellbeing being in a lasting way.” 

What’s Next?

Although the program has officially concluded, we acknowledge that the work is far from over. Public health care systems will continue to work with their coaches to advance their wellbeing initiatives, while SNI remains committed to integrating workforce wellbeing into our ongoing programs to continue this important conversation.