T H E C H A L L E N G E
Combatting Staffing Shortages, Compassion Fatigue
While caring for others, Boone Hospital's healthcare workers were struggling to care for themselves. Stress levels were rising, and breaks weren't offering meaningful rest. The hospital knew they needed to do something different that would allow their team to truly decompress, even if just for a few minutes a day.
“We're really good at telling our patients to take care of themselves, but when it comes to managing our own self-care, we're not very good at it."
Michelle Sprague, Nurse
T H E P L A N
The hospital partnered with Healium to pilot a study.
Supervisors encouraged nurses to try out Healium's guided meditations paired with biofeedback devices. The study measured how quickly and effectively these experiences reduced stress and restored a sense of calm.
“You could hear people talking about it. 'Have you done it yet today?' or 'Have you been in the break room?' It's actually getting coworkers to take a break."
— Michelle Sprague, Nurse
T H E O U T C O M E
Nurses reported feeling more grounded, relaxed, and ready to return to their patients.
After a successful pilot, Boone Health placed VR goggles in more staff break rooms. Research in Frontiers in Virtual Reality showed nurses felt less anxious and happier in as little as four minutes.
“We're going to encourage our care providers to step away from the bedside for 20 minutes- breathe and walk through this tranquil, beautiful setting and think how can they help themselves get through this next 12 hour day."
Michelle Sprague, Nurse
For overworked care providers, that brief calm was invaluable. With Healium, Boone Health gave staff a self-guided, engaging way to reduce stress and remember their mental health matters too.
“It was very relaxing and cool to think that you could escape just for that moment and just go somewhere really neat."
— Holly Wheatley, Nurse
