How Ochsner Health promoted employee resilience at the height of the pandemic

In the March Ragan Communications Leadership Council Member Call, Leigh Ann Christovich, assistant vice president of internal and executive communications, and Taylor Murrow, supervisor of internal communications, shared how Ochsner Health used empathy and vulnerability to reassure and rally frontline medical staff during the height of the COVID crisis.

Starting from scratch

In many ways, the southeast Louisiana health system was ahead of the curve on employee wellbeing. In addition to discussing burnout, in 2019 they began talking seriously about professional well-being, but mainly in terms of physicians and advanced practice providers — think nurse practitioners or physician assistants. The focus of those early efforts was looked to improving efficiency, rather than develop personal resilience.