B5 - Finding Our Footing: Responsive Peer Support Programming for Emerging Issues in Healthcare

In 2013 the Mental Health Commission of Canada launched national standards for psychological health and safety in the workplace, setting a global precedent for occupational health. Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children responded, setting in motion the strategic development of Canada’s first hospital-wide comprehensive peer support program. Since its inception in 2018, the program has progressively evolved interventions and programming to meet the rapidly changing needs of healthcare workers, leaning into prevention and sustainability. There is compelling evidence for the role of peer support to mitigate stress and incidence (if not severity and duration) of mental health issues amongst healthcare personnel, with a growing body of research signifying the need for wellness programming to support the resiliency and well-being of healthcare providers. Studies support that “burnout is associated with decreased patient satisfaction, increased medical errors, and higher health care costs." (Morrow, 2018). Further, the importance of staff mental health and its association with safety, quality, and a sustainable healthcare system, is supported in the tenets of the Quadruple Aim. Key drivers of this model are enrichment of the patient experience, enhancing population health, reducing healthcare cost, and a well and productive workforce (Berwick, Nolan & Whittington, 2008; Sikka 2015). According to Grant (2020), “an engaged and productive workforce that provides safe care to individuals, families, and communities is a fundamental goal for healthcare systems.” At SickKids, the Peer Program has been the organizational conduit for the promotion of well-being through support, training, and education, while being a core architect of the hospital’s 2025 Mental Health Strategy. Safety events, medical error/second victim, moral distress, incivility, increased aggression and violence by patients/families, and understaffing, have contextualized the healthcare landscape necessitating innovation and newfound responsiveness. It has coveted several awards including its establishment as a Leading Practice by Accreditation Canada and Health Services Ontario.

*Profession Specific CEs:

This presentation is approved for 1.5 CE Credits by The Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency, Inc. (AACMHA) as an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.

This presentation is approved for 1.5 PDH from EAPA- Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

This presentation is approved for ALS NCCP Individual 1.5 Hours by Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems' Office of EMS Clinician Services.
This presentation is approved for BLS-L (Local Option) 1.5 Hours by Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems' Office of EMS Clinician Services.

1.5 CE Credits for NAADAC, This course has been approved by International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider # 87914, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), is responsible for all aspects of the programing.

*Review ICISF World Congress 17 CE website page for additional requirements.