Heather Washington, a nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at Texas Children’s Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower, says one thing she enjoys most about being a nurse is seeing her patients making progress during their stay in the CICU and the excitement on their faces when it is time to go home.
While she finds these moments incredibly rewarding, she says some days on the unit can take a mental and emotional toll – like when it comes to sharing not so good news with her patients and their families.
“Each day, we are dealing with new circumstances and new challenges,” Washington said. “It is easy to get caught up in the emotions and sometimes you need to step away for a moment to collect yourself.”
With the recent opening of 39 respite rooms across the system, Washington and other frontline medical staff now have a quiet place where they can remove their face masks and other personal protective equipment and take a moment to relax and decompress so they can provide the best possible care to their patients.
“In response to the additional stress on frontline staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our leaders worked together to identify underused spaces that could be easily converted into respite rooms,” said Tarra Kerr, director of Nursing at the Emergency Center at Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus. “We collaborated with Employee Health and our Facilities and Operations teams to prepare these rooms for self-care purposes.”
The respite rooms – 31 at the Medical Center Campus, four at West Campus and four at The Woodlands Campus – are equipped with a recliner, lamp, end table and chair. The rooms also include self-care supplies like essential oils for aromatherapy, coloring books, a massage chair, yoga mats, stress balls, and guides on stretching techniques and how to manage stress in order to achieve optimal relaxation.
“It’s really nice to have respite rooms available for staff who need them,” Washington said. “I can come into the room and relax, look outside the window, and pretend to be somewhere else for at least a few minutes.”
To maintain social distancing practices, the respite rooms can be assessed only by one person at a time. Disinfectant wipes are located in each respite room. Users are required to wipe down all of the furniture in the room before another person uses the room. Wellness Ambassadors will be assigned to the respite areas to ensure the rooms are cleaned and to make sure supplies are restocked as needed.
Click here for a list of the respite locations across the system.
