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Health care professionals are on the front lines of an unprecedented global pandemic. Whether caring directly for COVID-19-infected individuals or managing socially-distanced patients, providers are navigating new waters and drawing upon their inner strength to serve others.
On June 10th, Aspenti Health hosted a round table webinar identifying resources and techniques to mitigate provider burnout and support well-being during these challenging times. The webinar was led by Vanessa Clark, Senior VP of Operations at Aspenti Health, Jill Warrington, MD, PhD and Chief Medical Officer at Aspenti Health. Jill is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at UVMHN. We also hosted special guest speaker, Anya Koutras, MD and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UVMHN.
During the webinar, the following objectives were explored:
“Burnout is an erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit and will.”(I) Up to 50% of all providers are experiencing burnout at any given time. A survey of over 7,000 physicians reported that 1 in 50 planned to leave medicine altogether in the next 2 years, while 1 in 5 planned to reduce clinical hours over the next year(2). In that same survey, 46% of the responders reported at least one burnout symptom. In 2017, volume of medical school applications dropped by 14,000 (AAMC) with predictions of staggering physician shortage by 2030.
What are the top causes of burnout?
The practice of clinical medicine. We take care of hurt, sick, scared, dying people and their families, every day. We witness and help with the most difficult and challenging aspects of our communities.
Your specific job. Limited or even lack of resources for patients, third party interference with treatment plans, electronic health record issues, patient population quality measures and other non-direct patient care related stressors in our work weigh us down naturally.
Having a life. We don't live in bubbles and we are accountable to others (and ourselves) outside of our work. We've been trained since medical school to do this "when time allows."
The conditioning of our medical education. “The patient comes first." Many of us have not learned, seen modeled or have practiced how to FIRST take care of ourselves outside and inside of our work to do a better job of putting the patient first.
How can we mitigate burnout?
Begin the day with taking care of yourself.
Get plenty of rest, eat well, be active and engage in activities that fill you with joy.
Be kind and patient with yourself.
Be forgiving and understanding with yourself.
Be the healer to yourself before healing others.
When we learn to lead, listen, learn, let go, and love we are helping ourselves which in turn, helps patients.
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well -intentioned words" said Rachel Naomi Remen.
References:
Content provided by Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience.
Innovative COVID-19 response for substance use disorder patient care to support rural health access across Vermont.
COVID-19 has caused much uncertainty and anxiety for patients in our community especially around travel and viral exposure. The Aspenti Mobile Unit offers our clients an option to support their patients’ treatment plans through accessible and convenient testing services.
The Aspenti Mobile Unit follows safety guidelines to allow for the proper six foot social distancing and the highest level of infection prevention measures required by the Vermont Health Department. The mobile unit offers support at your doorstep for patients that are sheltering in place during the pandemic. Serving as an innovative solution for collection on wheels, it will make access to collections easier for patients who would otherwise struggle accessing patient centers.
Through the efforts of multiple departments, structural changes, route logistics and COVID-19 safety protocols were put into place to get the mobile unit up and running.
“The feedback for our new mobile collection solution from both patients and clients has been very positive. Patients feel comfortable with the COVID-19 safety protocols we have set in place. They like that this new option supports their recovery and is conveniently available close to home. Providers have expressed that they are thankful for this new mobile testing service which allows them to continue to follow their patients’ plan of care during the pandemic” Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience, Aspenti Health
The Aspenti mobile Unit will be used Monday-Friday across the state of VT.
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ launches a Mobile Unit for Urine Drug Testing Collections [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-health-launches-a-mobile-unit-for-urine-drug-testing-collections [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60303 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 60066 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-09-26 10:52:52 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-09-26 14:52:52 [post_content] =>SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to Aspenti Health, South Burlington, VT based on results of a recent on-site inspection as part of the CAP's Accreditation Programs.
The facility's director, Jill Warrington, MD, PhD, and Aspenti Health Chief Medical Officer, was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. Aspenti Health is one of more than 8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.
"The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is the gold standard in medical laboratory accreditation. Through this rigorous inspection process, CAP has certified that Aspenti health is meeting the highest standards in quality patient care," said Warrington.
Chris Powell, CEO of Aspenti Health, upon learning of the laboratory's accreditation, said: "We have strived from day one to lead the industry in quality and innovation. The CAP certification is a wonderful milestone along our journey to deliver on our promise of exceptional science. As we continue to evolve our offering and our support of the many lives on a journey of recovery and hope CAP will provide a clear set of guiding principles that says to our clients and patients we are committed to excellence and exceptional laboratory processes."
The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government's own inspection program.
During the CAP accreditation process, designed to ensure the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspectors examine the laboratory's records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record, and overall management.
About the College of American Pathologists:
As the world's largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide.
About Aspenti Health:
Aspenti Health ™ is a healthcare company specifically designed to address population health for substance use and pain management. Through coordination of care technology, population health analytics, eLearning, and our state-of-the-art laboratory, Aspenti Health is the health engine physicians use to provide value-based, comprehensive care to optimize outcomes for their patients. For more information, please visit www.aspenti.com
SOURCE Aspenti Health
Read full release here: https://prn.to/2lhnQvM
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ Receives Accreditation From College of American Pathologists [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-health-receives-accreditation-from-college-of-american-pathologists [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60066 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 60055 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-09-06 09:08:53 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-09-06 13:08:53 [post_content] =>Aspenti Health was established by a group of seasoned healthcare leaders who made a commitment to acquire a struggling toxicology lab in Burlington Vermont, three years ago. From the initial days, their vision was to leverage crucial lab data and supplement this vital information in addiction and care recovery with value services including software, health analytics, and leading-edge education. This paradigm shift for a lab, fueled by the opioid crisis and the broader impact that substance use disorder has on communities, families and personal friends, motivated them to innovate continuously and act differently than any other toxicology lab.
Aspenti Health ™ is the first lab designed to address population health for substance use and pain management patient through diagnostic and digital health solutions.
The Dedicated Duo
Aspenti’s CEO, Chris Powell, is a dynamic personality who has over 30 years of enriched experience in healthcare. He started his career with IBM as field sales professional before moving to IDX Systems Corporation, which was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2006. There, Chris worked as the Vice President and General Manager of GE Healthcare Americas Commercial Healthcare IT business, including the United States, Canada, and Central and South America. Chris left GE in 2011 and went on to become CEO at Precyse, a Health Information management (HIM) company that led the healthcare transition to the ICD-10 coding set. Under Chris’ leadership and growth, Precyse was acquired to form nThrive, a healthcare revenue cycle and service company, before coming to Aspenti Health.
Jill Warrington MD, PhD, is the Chief Medical Officer of the company has more than two decades of experience in the medical field with a focus on laboratory medicine and substance use care. She is passionate about the role that laboratories can play in optimizing clinical decision making and supporting clinical workflows. Her key areas of interest include driving appropriate utilization of testing services, integrating health analytics to inform care, and reducing administrative burden through automatization of unnecessary operational steps.
Distinctive Services and Solutions
Aspenti Health is a unique healthcare company in the substance use disorder (SUD) space. Being specifically designed to promote population health for substance use and pain management patients, Aspenti is a state-of the art laboratory that leverages innovative methods for urine drug screening and confirmation testing with wrap-around technology and services. The company is changing the standard of care for SUD patients through Care Coordination, Population-specific Health Analytics, and Education.
Aspenti’s Care Coordination tool, Aspenti Navigator a random testing engine schedules and notifies patients for random tested based on the frequency assigned. The company’s software solution alleviates the administrative strain of managing random testing. Aspenti Insights, powered by its advanced business analytics software and data analysts provides real time health analytics to help control costs and improve outcomes.
Identifying the ability of population health analytics to support community partners and directly impact patient care, Aspenti has an internal health analytics team and a versatile custom business analytic tool. Using laboratory data, it has deep insights on emerging drug trends, treatment adherence, and the frequency of unexpected findings. Aspenti leverages strategic partnerships to gain insights into social determinants of health and align those with emerging drug trends in a meaningful way to deliver the most impactful data.
Two of its unique analytics offerings are Patient Population Metrics Report, a quarterly report for providers presenting insights into ordering patterns and emerging drug trends. Another offering is Geospatial Mapping, which is designed to give visibility to community partners on county-level drug use demonstrating marked variability in buprenorphine adherence as well as in fentanyl and heroin use.
Aspenti IQ: A Trailblazing e-Learning Facility
Aspenti Health’s innovative eLearning offering, Aspenti IQ, leverages the superlative digital learning functionality with its unique subject matter expertise. It delivers CME/CNE accredited courses in clinical best practice, protocol, compliance, patient communication, and many more mission-critical subject areas. Of all the tools available to drive better care and prevent addiction before it starts, education is the company’s most powerful factor that transcends the entire spectrum of care touching not only patients and providers, but also families and friends. All Aspenti IQ courses are mobile-friendly and CME/CNE accredited. Each represents modern learning theory by utilizing micro-learning, scenarios-based concepts and video.
Aspenti was chosen as a national partner by HealthStream, the largest Healthcare learning management platform in the country, reaching more than 4,000 healthcare organizations and hosting 4.8 million users. Aspenti will be deploying education to the front lines of care, reinforcing the quality and impact of Aspenti’s eLearning solutions with content such as “Responsible Opioid Care and Pain Management Certification”. It is a 16 course micro-certification track featuring the subject matter such as foundations, compliance, opioid misuse, and pain management.
Outstanding Client Experience
Aspenti strives hard to maintain loyalty and satisfy its customers at every level. While talking about the same, the company shares one of its memorable client experiences.
“The strength of the partnership between Aspenti Health and the University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) lies in the alignment of our goals to improve people’s lives. Aspenti Health’s approach is broader than just performing drug testing, by asking what it really takes on a population level to reduce the impact of substance use disorder on people’s lives. The UVMHN Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is working closely with Aspenti Health, sharing the expertise each of brings to solve this national crisis in new ways; using the UVMHN as a place to pilot innovative solutions with new testing methods, education for providers, patients and families, and data analytics to clarify barriers to individuals’ success. This is a novel addition to Vermont’s already successful hub and spoke model of care for substance use disorder. “- Debra Leonard, MD, PHD Chair, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at University of Vermont Medical Center
Abiding Core Values
Integrity is one of four core values of Aspenti along with innovation, inspiration, and inclusion. The company believes that it is the foundation of the quality and compliance programs that shapes the company. The role of integrity in the company’s operations enters into every aspect of the business model right from conducting its specimen collections and process testing for its patients and providers, to ensuring sound financial processes and compliance standards and interacting within organization and clients.
Apart from its core values, Aspenti considers the safety of its colleagues as a critical factor. Along with meeting the standards of key regulatory bodies including the New York State Department of Health, CLIA, and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the company also invites state and local regulatory organizations to voluntarily inspect its lab. Also, in direct patient interactions, the company has well-trained its colleagues on aggression de-escalation and trauma-informed care to support a safe, non-confrontational environment.
Advanced and Secured Lab Equipment
Aspenti has a state-of-the lab art laboratory designed with a LEAN, linear workflow and reliant upon sophisticated Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology. This technology has been cited as a future of laboratory chemistries and requires highly specialized technical expertise to perform. The team of Aspenti has learned from related-disciplines of environmental toxicology, sports medicine, and forensic toxicology to build this focused clinical laboratory.
View entire story here: https://bit.ly/2lEuX16
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ Featured in Insights Care Publication [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-health-featured-in-insights-care-publication [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60055 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 59918 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-06-04 14:54:12 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-06-04 18:54:12 [post_content] =>SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. (PRWEB) MAY 22, 2019
Aspenti Health ™ was named the winner of the Clinical Lab 2.0 Innovation Award, honoring innovation excellence in the clinical laboratory industry. The award was presented before a prestigious panel of national clinical laboratory leaders by the Clinical Lab 2.0 Movement at the 24th Annual Executive War College Conference in New Orleans on May 2, 2019, the largest gathering of clinical laboratory executive leadership in the United States.
Aspenti Health was granted the award for their work in the field, “Integration of the Clinical Laboratory and Social Determinants of Health in the Management of Substance Use.” This innovation presentation demonstrated Aspenti Health’s commitment to the Clinical Lab 2.0 movement to re-engineer the role of the clinical laboratory in the continuum of care, aligning with the future of value-based healthcare. Clinical Lab 2.0, a Santa Fe Project Foundation initiative, outlined award requirements to meet the following Clinical Lab 2.0 attributes; Risk Stratification by Population, Closure of Care Gaps, Lab Results as Early Detection and Lab Intervention for Improved Clinical Outcomes.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), social determinants of health (SDH) account for more than half of patient health and wellness. (1) For patients with substance use disorders, social determinants have a significant impact on their path to recovery. In collaboration, Aspenti Health, Staple Health and The University of Vermont Health Network, integrated routine medical laboratory testing with SDH to impact substance use care. Social determinants were assessed as predictors for laboratory findings, such as co-use of opioids and benzodiazepines. The project showed that where the laboratory result came from and the age of the patient were the two highest predictors of co-use in the substance use patient population. Through geospatial mapping, the project identified key geographic hotspots where co-use was more likely. Through predictive modeling, individual patient risk for co-use can be shared with providers to help empower providers in conversations to identify and mitigate patient risk at the point of care.
“This project, as well as all of the other cases that were presented, were quite strong and all were aligned with the mission of the Clinical Lab 2.0 Movement,” said Khosrow R. Shotorbani, President, Executive Director, Projects Santa Fe Foundation. “This movement transforms the analytic results from a laboratory into actionable intelligence at the patient visit in partnership with front-liners and clinicians – allowing for identification of patient risks and arming providers with insights to guide therapeutic interventions. Further, it reduces the administrative burden on providers by collecting SDH predictors in advance and tying them to outcomes of interest. By bringing SDH predictors to the office visit, it enables providers to engage in SDH without relying on their own data collection - a current care gap in many practices. The lab becomes a catalyst helping to manage the population we serve.”
The opioid epidemic continues to grip the United States. According to the CDC in 2017, there were more than 70,000 overdose deaths in the US, the highest number of drug overdose deaths for any single year in US history. (2) The CDC indicates that the increase in overdose deaths and a continued increase in suicides for the third year in a row has resulted in the recent decline in the US life expectancy. (3) And another first - for the first time in US History, according to the National Safety Association, overdose deaths exceed dying from a car crash. (4)
“We are thrilled to be recognized by Clinical Lab 2.0 and the panel of judges for our work serving the unique needs of substance use healthcare,” said Chris Powell, CEO of Aspenti Health, “and most importantly across our organization our unyielding commitment to employ innovations to solve for this crisis.”
Read the press release on PRWEB here
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ Wins Clinical Lab 2.0 Innovation Award Demonstrating the Clinical Laboratory as a First Responder to the Opioid Crisis [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-wins-clinical-lab-2-0-innovation-award [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://aspenti.com/?p=59918 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 59321 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2018-11-29 10:41:41 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-11-29 15:41:41 [post_content] => Aspenti was included in a round table discussion with Governor Phil Scott regarding hiring recovering opioid addicts. “We care tremendously about recovery-friendly workplaces,” said Al Gobeille, Vermont’s Department of Human Services secretary. Gobeille went on to add, "The biggest thing the state does is we provide medically assisted treatment that allows people to get treatment for their addiciton, and then we try to couple that with employment opportunities." There are about 8,000 people in treatment for opioid use disorder, according to the state’s agency of human services. Watch the news story here to learn about how employers are helping support recovering Vermonters seeking a fresh start. [post_title] => Local Vermont Businesses Helping Recovering Addicts Find Employment [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => local-vermont-businesses-helping-recovering-addicts-find-employment [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://aspenti.com/?p=59321 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 59319 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2018-11-29 09:25:57 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-11-29 14:25:57 [post_content] => Aspenti Chief Medical Officer, Jill Warrington, was recently interviewed on Vermont Public Radio regarding the Opioid Crisis in rural areas of Vermont. In a new poll from NPR, drug abuse and addiction are a major concern in rural America. Warrington has experience on treating substance abuse and believes that the opioid crisis has two stages; the first phase includes prescription opioid abuse, and the second phase consists of the use of fentanyl and heroin. Commenting on prescription opioid abuse in Vermont, Warrington says, “We see what I call, the turning off of the spicket. Prescription opiate prescribing is going down.” However, that doesn’t hold true for all areas of Vermont. In the heat map shown below, there are still high rates of prescription opioid use in certain counties; Franklin, Orleans, and Windham. The percentages show the number of positive toxicology tests divided by the total number of tests ordered from each Vermont county from March 2016 to March 2017. Listen to the full interview here [post_title] => Aspenti CMO Dr. Jill Warrington on Vermont Public Radio [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-cmo-dr-jill-warrington-on-vermont-public-radio [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-07-21 19:32:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-07-21 23:32:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://aspenti.com/?p=59319 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 58021 [post_author] => 6 [post_date] => 2018-01-03 11:36:48 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-01-03 16:36:48 [post_content] => Our kids are getting the message! Like you, my readers, I find myself simultaneously worrying and hoping much of the time. With constant exposure to essential information regarding opioid use in America, it can be difficult to feel optimistic. Well here is some good news to start off the New Year! There is ample reason for our country to celebrate this New Year, as one reviews the recent findings of the 2017 Monitoring The Future Study, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2017/12/vaping-popular-among-teens-opioid-misuse-historic-lows. This study clearly reflects the ability of our youth to make healthy decisions when they are guided by the attention of adults in leadership positions, providing them with accurate information regarding drugs and decision-making skills.
Our Prevention Programs are working.
At a recent teleconference I attended led by Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director, I learned adolescent tobacco use is at an all-time low since 1979.
Dr. Johnson of the University of Michigan, the Principal Investigator of this study for 42 years, stated that there has been a “tremendous decline in cigarette smoking since the mid-90s, the most prevalent cause of preventable death and disease in America.” Dr. Volkow also noted significant decreases in alcohol and pain-medication use.
Reasons For Celebration
Drug use prevention, in part, means equipping all of our children, as they move into adolescence, with the cognitive, emotional and social stability necessary to cope and manage stress in healthy ways. These capacities are brain functions, they are learned, they are a product of the child’s brain’s interaction with the environment, or, more specifically, with the adults in their world.
All too often many of our children find themselves in situations which ill-equip them developmentally to constructively respond to the inevitable stressors of adolescence and young-adulthood. These children are at-risk for the development of substance use disorder, as well as a host of other unhealthy behaviors which cause serious health-related problems.
The situations I’m referring to are ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences, such as, but not limited to (see sources*):
• Child abuse or neglect
• Violence in the home
• Chaotic family conditions
• Unsafe neighborhood conditions
• Cumulative effects of developmental needs not being met
ACEs are environmental conditions likely to create what’s known as “toxic stress”. Toxic stress is the “prolonged activation of the brain’s stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships.”
What occurs as a result of exposure to toxic stress is nothing short of impaired brain development. Children learn to manage stress from attentive adults. Without the continued support of an attentive adult to mediate and buffer stress, children are likely to develop what is called “rapid stress response”.
Rapid stress response is the tendency to react to stress impulsively. Toxic stress actually effects the manner in which genes regulate the development of organs, in this case the brain. This is known as epigenetics. The developing brain of a child or adolescent, exposed to continued high levels of environmental stress, unfiltered or mediated by an adult, will be conditioned to respond in ways that are impulsive, or relief seeking, rather than deliberate and considered. This tendency toward impulsive decision making puts the individual at-risk for developing substance use disorder.
Part 2 of this series will explain resiliency, and the many ways parents and caretakers can actually affect the developing brain of a child in ways that will serve to protect the child from the consequences of impulsive decision making later in life.*Sources for ACEs data
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about_ace.html
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/essentials.html
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[post_content] => I am not a scientist and I am not a counselor. I am not an expert, but I have learned to be a good listener. I am the Social Impact Coordinator for Aspenti Health, a toxicology lab in Burlington, Vermont which provides substance use testing, a critical part of a patient’s treatment plan. We are much more than a traditional lab. We are patient centric, offer community impact through alliances and partnerships, and we embrace the responsibility of social stewardship to affect positive change.
My position is newly created, and my first task was a needs assessment and one of inquiry. I endeavored to listen and learn of needs – those of our patients, clients of community organizations and the organizations themselves – to identify community challenges, emerging trends and ways to partner.
On my drive home one evening, I was reminded of a blessing in disguise presented during my first-year internship as a Master of Social Work graduate student. I was assigned to an Area Agency on Aging which was an hour from home, a demographic I hadn’t considered working with, and quite honestly, I went into it with a bad attitude.
The Central Vermont Council on Aging utilized “Options Counseling” (OC). It assumes that if we can engage the client in exploring ways to feel more secure in their world, then we can support them in remaining fulfilled. OC allows us to do so in a way that shifts from the “we know what’s best for you” approach, to one that engages the client in exploring their goals and helping to achieve them. It is deeply respectful and highly collaborative.
Eventually, I was given the unique opportunity to meet with older adults in their homes, learn of their needs and try to find a solution. I had studied the many programs available to assist Vermonters, and I was eager to impart my knowledge and better their lives. Oh, how wrong I was. Truth be told, I was not the expert on anything – my clients were. They knew their situation, they knew where they wanted to be, and what they needed was the information necessary to make the best decision possible. With this approach, they remain the true stewards of their destiny, buoyed by the knowledge of what is available.
As I became a little more proficient, I learned that Options Counseling has three parts:
Individuals in early recovery, like the elder community, are often unaware of available programs and resources. They may be juggling drug testing, Medication Assisted Treatment, counseling, and probation and parole appointments as well as 12-step meetings. Schedules are often so heavily laden with imposed commitments, individuals don’t have the opportunity to explore available social service options.
Utilizing what was learned during my internship, we have incorporated a Collaborative Helping Model pilot which utilizes Options Counseling in one of our Patient Service Centers. It is an opportunity to develop deep connections with our patients, understand their concerns and challenges, and when directed, present available options. Out of respect, we present available options only in an unbiased manner, and based on patient preference, we can serve as a potential warm hand-off to those who provide the services our patients desire.
We’ve come to realize and value that social service support for patients with Substance Use Disorder’s need not be restricted to traditional or primary therapeutic relationships; laboratories may be an effective mechanism for increasing awareness to address social needs of individuals.
“Who are you as a person?” I’ve wondered often how many never get asked that question. They may be asked what they need and they may be judged for having that need. When an individual finds the courage to ask for help and who they are is not validated, the message received is the assumption they have nothing of value to offer. My hope is that we will want to know who they are, what they value, and what makes them valuable.
Discovering who they are can help us discover who they may need to know, not just based on their needs but even more based on their talents and abilities. Listening is an art. Compassion is a virtue. Respect for individual vision, however, is perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give.
[post_title] => You Can’t Help Me If You Don’t Hear Me First
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[post_date] => 2020-06-17 14:26:57
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[post_content] =>
Health care professionals are on the front lines of an unprecedented global pandemic. Whether caring directly for COVID-19-infected individuals or managing socially-distanced patients, providers are navigating new waters and drawing upon their inner strength to serve others.
On June 10th, Aspenti Health hosted a round table webinar identifying resources and techniques to mitigate provider burnout and support well-being during these challenging times. The webinar was led by Vanessa Clark, Senior VP of Operations at Aspenti Health, Jill Warrington, MD, PhD and Chief Medical Officer at Aspenti Health. Jill is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at UVMHN. We also hosted special guest speaker, Anya Koutras, MD and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UVMHN.
During the webinar, the following objectives were explored:
“Burnout is an erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit and will.”(I) Up to 50% of all providers are experiencing burnout at any given time. A survey of over 7,000 physicians reported that 1 in 50 planned to leave medicine altogether in the next 2 years, while 1 in 5 planned to reduce clinical hours over the next year(2). In that same survey, 46% of the responders reported at least one burnout symptom. In 2017, volume of medical school applications dropped by 14,000 (AAMC) with predictions of staggering physician shortage by 2030.
What are the top causes of burnout?
The practice of clinical medicine. We take care of hurt, sick, scared, dying people and their families, every day. We witness and help with the most difficult and challenging aspects of our communities.
Your specific job. Limited or even lack of resources for patients, third party interference with treatment plans, electronic health record issues, patient population quality measures and other non-direct patient care related stressors in our work weigh us down naturally.
Having a life. We don't live in bubbles and we are accountable to others (and ourselves) outside of our work. We've been trained since medical school to do this "when time allows."
The conditioning of our medical education. “The patient comes first." Many of us have not learned, seen modeled or have practiced how to FIRST take care of ourselves outside and inside of our work to do a better job of putting the patient first.
How can we mitigate burnout?
Begin the day with taking care of yourself.
Get plenty of rest, eat well, be active and engage in activities that fill you with joy.
Be kind and patient with yourself.
Be forgiving and understanding with yourself.
Be the healer to yourself before healing others.
When we learn to lead, listen, learn, let go, and love we are helping ourselves which in turn, helps patients.
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well -intentioned words" said Rachel Naomi Remen.
References: