Improving Healthcare Workers Morale For A Better Patient Experience

WASHINGTON - Jan. 3, 2019 - PRLog -- Patricia Murray has been a caregiver at a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Washington, DC for more than 22 years. Formerly homeless and convinced she would "die on the streets," Patricia was "rescued by a caring nun" who helped her find her a job. Her job has transformed her life.

Patricia has excelled as a caregiver. She does not consider those she serves patients. She considers them her friends. She has lost many of her friends over the past 22 years, but she knows that she helped them live the best quality of life possible before they passed away and that gratifies her.

The facility Patricia works at uses a proprietary staff recognition system developed by the Ceca Foundation to recognize and celebrate its caregivers. The system, called the Ceca Award program, uses technology to empower staff, residents, relatives, and others to recognize those who perform "high-touch acts of care."

Her peers recently recognized Patricia for her stellar work using the Ceca Award program. Patricia shared this about the experience, "The Ceca Award meant a lot to me. I know I have it in my heart [to care for the residents] but for someone else to see it--that made me feel good. I want to thank everyone, I really do. You all just gave me the extra push I need to go on."

Patricia's experience is similar to the 16,000 healthcare workers nominated, the 4,000 individual caregivers who have been formally recognized, and the 450 caregivers designated as winners over the past five years the Ceca Foundation has been in operation. The Ceca Award Program is different than a traditional employee recognition program in many ways. Ceca currently manages the program in 30 healthcare facilities in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland, and is on track to expand to facilities across the nation in the near future.

Ceca Healthcare Partners are provided with the tools needed to implement the program including Ceca's computer and mobile device software, extensive support services, and web-enabled CecaTV's that display both nominees and Ceca Award honorees. CecaTV's are featured in high-traffic areas in Partner facilities. An estimated four million impressions (views) were generated at Ceca Partner facilities last year.

Why the Ceca Award Program? Healthcare workers are critical to improved outcomes and patient satisfaction. Staff turnover is a major challenge for the healthcare industry—often as high as 50 percent or more. With the exception of highly skilled staff, many healthcare workers earn low incomes and receive little recognition. This can lead to lower job satisfaction, high turnover, and potentially diminished care for patients and nursing home residents. The Ceca Award Program brightens the lives of caregivers who work tirelessly to meet the needs of those they serve.

Ceca's peer-to-peer recognition program promotes a culture of staff engagement, teamwork, and communication. Ceca honoree's turnover rate is only eight percent, and the Net Promoter Scores at Partner organizations that feature the Ceca Award Program have all improved.

The Ceca Foundation is actively seeking healthcare facilities to partner with to positively impact caregivers and those they serve. Ceca also has many positive and uplifting human interest stories to share. For more information, please visit cecafoundation.org or contact Nate Hamme, COO, at 202-719-8042 / nhamme@cecafoundation.org.

Ceca Foundation. 1875 Connecticut Ave NW 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20009. cecafoundation.org. 202-719-8042