Caring For Employees’ Emotional Wellness
Lou Lacey is the Director of Emotional Wellness at Children’s of Alabama. She began her journey at Children’s in 1999 as a counselor in the Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS) center. After being promoted to Director of the CHIPS center, she realized there was a need for the CHIPS center counselors to receive emotional care themselves.
“Compassion fatigue is a real phenomenon within the healthcare community,” Lou explains. “People who work in this field tend to have a lot of compassion for their patients, which can lead to emotional vulnerability. This can cause staff to feel less confident in their jobs, which in turn takes a toll on their work and well-being. The Director of Emotional Wellness position was created to bridge this vulnerability gap and provide a support service for our employees.”
As the Director of Emotional Wellness, Lou gives insight on why her role is important and the dedication Children’s has to caring for employees as well as patients.
What A Director of Emotional Wellness Does
“As the Director of Emotional Wellness, I am an onsite counselor for employees of Children’s of Alabama. It’s a free and confidential service that was created to assist our staff and provide them with the extra needed support that they may not regularly seek. We recognize that, even though Children’s is a great place to work, the work we do can be stressful for many different reasons. We want to provide emotional support for employees so that they can continue providing our patients with compassionate care.”
How Employee Wellness Comes to Life
“Employee wellness can include many things such as physical wellness, financial health, and mental and as well as emotional wellness. My days are rarely the same. I provide one-on-one counseling, group sessions after certain events, and learning sessions in the hospital as well as out in the community. We have great employees and the care they provide drives me. It makes me want to be a source of support for our team members no matter their position.”
How Children’s Fuels Lou’s Passion for Employee Wellness
“Children’s of Alabama has always been supportive of me and my ideas. Anything I’ve sought to do that creates positive changes in our community, leadership has encouraged me and backed me up. This supportive philosophy is a trait of all team members at Children’s. I’ve seen it not just in top positions, but in all positions. You will have chances and opportunities to excel here, no matter what role you play.”
Succeeding at Children’s
“Working at Children’s, you need to be someone who does whatever it takes to get things done, whether it’s for a patient, employee, family member, or the community. Any person willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, ask questions, and even admit when they don’t know something will prosper here. I can’t imagine working anyplace else.”
If you are ready to join an organization dedicated to its employees as well as its patients, apply to join our team today.