Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/571945
11 PATIENT EXPERIENCE How Atlantic Health Created a Healing Culture, Improved Patient Experience By Heather Punke T he addition of four simple words to Atlantic Health System's mission statement did more than just make the mission statement longer: It sparked a change that ultimately improved the patient and staff experience. In 2010, the five-hospital system based in Mor- ristown, N.J., modified part of its mission statement to read: "Deliver high-quality, safe, affordable patient care within a healing culture." With the addition of these last four words, Anne Rooke, RN, MSN, member of the system's board of trustees and Bill Neigher, PhD, former vice president of system development and chief strategy officer, set to work to turn those four words on paper into a healing movement within the system. Healing, according to Dr. Neigher, has been de- scribed as a "process of trying to restore the balance between physical health and spirituality." It is some- thing that goes beyond routine healthcare and involves things like music and laughter. He quotes a phrase that forever changed his life: "You can heal on the day that you die." "I thought that was a tremendously profound way of looking at the combination of [healing and treat- ing]," he says. "Healing is forever even if biology is inevitable." To put that sentiment into more actionable terms, Atlantic Health chose to define a "healing culture" as the following: • Sharing responsibility for healing with patients, families and the community; • Demonstrating respect for diversity through cul- tural competence; • Embracing synergies among physical, emotional and spiritual healing connections; and • Recognizing optimal well-being, prevention and health promotion as parts of the healing process. To bring this definition to life, Atlantic Health formed the Healing Culture Council which first met in 2011 and is tasked with implementing programs and starting initiatives to make the healing culture visible and operational. It is still in action today, and in four years of existence, it already has le quite a legacy. How it Works For the council's first meeting, Ms. Rooke and Dr. Neigher invited 40 people from all levels of the orga- nization and from care sites across the system. ey extended invitations to those who Ms. Rooke calls the "movers and shakers, those who might be able to move the initiative forward," and asked each one of them to invite a like-minded colleague. Now the council boasts more than 100 members who meet 10 times a year, either in-person or virtually. Ms. Rooke and Dr. Neigher point to the following reasons as to why the council has enjoyed success at Atlantic Health: • Buy-in from the top. As with most projects involving large-scale change in healthcare, lead- ership buy-in is needed if the project is going to have legs. at was one of the keys for the Healing Culture Council. "Having a CEO who embraces [change] and is a believer has really helped push this forward," Ms. Rooke says. "Having the CEO come to meetings and reinforce what we're do- ing…really made a difference." In addition to getting executives onboard with the council's mission, Ms. Rooke says it's also import- ant to involve the board early on in the project. Board members may not have a traditional health- care background, but they can relate to patient experience because they or a family member have been a patient at some point, she says. • Involvement from all levels. Employees from all over the organization who serve in different capacities are part of the Healing Culture Council, which has contributed to the council's success. "When you're creating the council, make sure it's representative of all different levels of the organi- zation. Embrace the diversity of your employees and encourage grass roots engagement because it's