Erin Kennedy: Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters

A trauma-informed approach in healthcare enhances patient outcomes, improves overall staff satisfaction, and promotes safety and dignity.  With this research-backed approach top of mind, Erin Kennedy wanted to make a difference at North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC).  Erin's project adds a trauma-informed care concept to crisis intervention training – giving staff more tools for de-escalation and creating the safest environment possible. By engaging senior leaders and including staff across the organization in training, this project is having a meaningful impact on staff, patients, and families. On this episode, Erin shares the value of equipping staff with the skills to manage crises and one thing she wishes she learned sooner while building the project - something other healthcare organizations can learn from.  Quotables: "Trauma-informed care is really about the understanding and the application of that understanding of how a person behaves and reacts today based on the influences and unique histories from their life." – E.K "For our staff, when they understand these concepts, it's really a matter of putting judgment aside about why we think a behavior is happening and shifting the focus instead to creating a safe and comforting space for all of our patients." – E.K "This project was about adding in the trauma-informed care concepts, so that staff would have more tools to create the safest environment possible." – E.K "By focusing on de-escalation and what happens before an incident or crisis, again using those trauma-informed principles, in addition to the more traditional crisis intervention, the risk of occurrence is already reduced." – E.K "We just want to make sure that all of our staff are safe, no matter where they work. Anybody who works with people is at risk of encountering somebody who might escalate, acknowledging that the frequency and severity might be different in each role." – E.K "You could have the best curriculum and content, but it does no good if people aren't actually able to attend and receive the training." – E.K   Mentioned in this Episode: HIROC Safety Grants Program North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) Access More Interviews with Healthcare Leaders at HIROC.com/podcast Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts. Email us at [email protected].