by Cheryl Regan

City of Hope employees, like so many who work in health care, deal with stressful situations every day. Now the iCARE project and the Division of Spiritual Care Services are sharing tools to help City of Hope employees deal with their stress and relax.

Meditation calms the mind. (Photo by Walter Urie)

Spiritual Care Services and iCARE have posted an intranet Web page on meditation techniques for faculty and staff members, and a stress-reduction session for employees will be held Nov. 4.

City of Hope’s Service Excellence Steering Committee developed iCARE to improve the outpatient experience and compassionate care delivery at City of Hope. The goal of iCARE is to enhance staff members’ interactions with patients and ensure that patients are satisfied with their care at City of Hope.

“We know that employees can find themselves in tense, difficult situations or may feel tired after a long day of caring for others,” said Tricia Kassab, R.N., B.S.N., M.S., vice president of quality and patient safety. “If staff members can take some time to get centered and take care of themselves, that often results in better interactions with others, including our patients and their families.”

With the help of City of Hope’s Terry L. Irish, D.Min., a chaplain in the Division of Spiritual Care, iCARE has provided City of Hope employees with two relaxation exercises that can reduce stress. The exercises take about 15 minutes and can be used anywhere. Both of the exercises can be found on the iCARE website.

Some tips include:

• Take a slow breath in through your nose for five counts, and then let it out slowly through your mouth for five counts.
• With every breath, breathe in any positive thought, and then breathe out anything negative that you may feel.
• Think about a place that is special and relaxing to you, and know that you are safe and totally relaxed.

Irish will hold a stress-reduction session for employees in conjunction with iCARE on Nov. 4 at 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room B. For more information about iCARE and meditation techniques, visit www.coh.org/icare and click “Resources” in the Navigation box on the left side of the screen.