The SEED Wellness Model: A Workplace Approach to Address Wellbeing Needs of Healthcare Staff During Crisis and Beyond

Abstract

Workplace wellness has gained new meaning and significance in the healthcare workforce in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers across the world have carried the burden of responding to the public health crisis by having to work under new pressures and constantly changing environments, take on additional shifts, risk their own health and lives, and cope with the ongoing psychological and emotional strain. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a workplace wellness model applied across hospitals in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, a regional area in New South Wales, Australia. The description of the development, components, and lessons learned from the SEED Wellness Model illustrates one possible solution about how to provide better care for the staff thus not only preventing staff burnout and turnover, but also creating lasting organizational benefits. The detailed model description can assist in developing a larger and more rigorous evidence-base to improve staff wellness in healthcare settings, both within Australia and internationally.

Leading wellness in healthcare: A qualitative study of leadership practices for wellness in hospital settings

“…Practical examples include ensuring staff took breaks, providing quiet spaces, providing food, having yoga sessions. Critically, each site decided themselves what they wanted and how it would be done (see [ 37 ] for a detailed program description). As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare staff across the district, the SEED program was subsequently adopted in five other hospitals and administration sites during 2020 and 2021, when this study took place.…”

The SEED Team journey: A phenomenological study of a multidisciplinary healthcare team's experience using the new creative tool ‘photovoice’ for critical reflection.

“…The Stability Encompassing Endurance Direction (SEED) Program is an innovative workplace wellness model that commenced in 2019 in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), a regional area in New South Wales (NSW), Australia (Pai et al 2022). The SEED model uses co-design and implementation science to enable consumers (healthcare staff) to become equal partners in the improvement process (Agency for Clinical Innovation 2022).…”

“…The SEED Program was born out of the 2019 bushfires in the southern part of the district (Milton Ulladulla) and further cumulative natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The ISLHD initiated a strong focus on staff wellbeing, resilience and recovery, coinciding with the publication of the Elevating the Human Experience guide to action by the NSW Ministry of Health (NSW Health) (NSW Health 2021b; Pai et al 2022). The SEED Program's success in 2019 led to further interest and investment from the ISLHD Chief Executive (CE) and the NSW Health Chief Experience Officer to support the development of a new SEED Team.…”

A Narrative Inquiry into the Practices of Healthcare Workers’ Wellness Program: The SEED Experience in New South Wales, Australia

“…SEED used a strengths-based approach to ascertain the needs of staff and implement staff-led wellbeing initiatives that build resilience and aid recovery processes. Some of the SEED initiatives that were implemented across different ISLHD sites include: (1) Coffee Buddies—a planned coffee break with a nominated staff member as a form of collective care for each other, (2) Quiet Room—a space inside the hospital for staff to take a moment each day for a quiet reflection, (3) 24/7 Wellness—weekly wellness sessions in the workplace to promote staff wellbeing, (4) (S)Crap book—a communal journal to share and reflect on stressful stories occurring during the pandemic (for details on the SEED model, history, and activities, see [ 20 , 21 ]).…”