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Expertfile Spotlight on National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being

Oct 12, 2022

3 min

ChristianaCare Participates in National Academy of Medicine National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being and Calls for Collective Movement to Address Burnout Crisis


The capacity and well-being of the U.S. health workforce has been under threat for years by an epidemic of burnout, and two years of the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated this systems issue. Now at least 40% of nurses, 20% of physicians, and more than 25% of state and local public health department employees are considering leaving their professions. Recognizing that the function of the U.S. health system is at stake due to dangerously mounting health care system pressures, the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being by the National Academy of Medicine calls for immediate action to safeguard this precious national resource dedicated to protecting the country’s health. ChristianaCare is proud to have contributed this publication.


“The NAM Clinician Well-Being Collaborative’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being will drive urgently needed collective action to strengthen health workforce well-being and reverse existing alarming trends in burnout and turnover,” said ChristianaCare Chief Wellness Officer Heather Farley, M.D., MHCDS, FACEP. “ChristianaCare has served as a strategic network partner with the NAM to design this National Plan, which will coordinate action across several priority areas, including understanding the effects of COVID-19 on the health care workforce, recruiting of the next generation, and increasing access to much-needed mental health resources.”


The National Plan calls on multiple actors to work together to drive policy and systems change to better support the health workforce and the health of all communities – including health care and public health leaders, government, payers, industry, educators, and leaders in other sectors. A draft of the National Plan was made available for public feedback and received nearly 2,000 constructive comments. To date the final Plan has received endorsements from over 25 organizations representing the diverse organizational membership of the Clinician Well-Being Collaborative and the various actors needed to collectively advance the practical strategies laid out in the Plan – including ChristianaCare.


ChristianaCare has been engaged in all National Plan priority areas, such as:

  • The creation and sustaining of positive work and learning environments and culture. Efforts in this priority area include development of the Center for WorkLife Wellbeing, which utilizes a comprehensive, multimodal approach to foster caregiver work-life meaning, connection, and joy. The Center offers multiple support services and culture change initiatives, including the implementation of resident well-being rounds, OASIS rooms for caregiver restoration, and opportunities for caregivers to develop long-standing mutual support systems.
  • The support of mental health and reduction of mental health stigma, which included the championing of the physician mental health bill that became law this year. It also includes psychological first aid training that ChristianaCare has implemented for health system leaders and managers. Additionally, ChristianaCare offers free comprehensive behavioral health support services and an individual peer and group support program to help caregivers when they experience stress in the workplace.
  • The commitment to well-being as a long-term value, which includes integration of caregiver collective well-being as a systemwide strategic goal.


The National Plan visualizes that, when all actors take responsibility, we can create a health system in which care is delivered with joy and with meaning, by a committed care team, in partnership with engaged patients and communities. The National Plan identifies a range of actions for the near-, medium-, and long-term to achieve seven priority areas for health workforce well-being, clearly naming associated goals and responsible actors. Access the full National Plan here to learn more about the priority areas for action.


For more information on the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, of which ChristianaCare is a member, visit this site.


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Nurse Scientist Susan Smith Birkhoff Makes Two Research ‘Firsts’ in Delaware

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4 min

Empowering Recovery Through Lived Experience: The Impact of Peer Recovery Specialists at ChristianaCare Union Hospital

“There was a guy standing at the end of my hospital bed that I didn’t know,” recalled Brandon Younce. “I’ll never forget this. He had a shirt on that said ‘Got Narcan.’ He introduced himself as Aaron from Voices of Hope. He said he was a peer recovery specialist, and he asked me, ‘Hey, man, are you ready to go to treatment?’” This encounter took place before the peer recovery specialist program at Voices of Hope formally partnered with ChristianaCare’s Union Hospital and the Cecil County Health Department in 2023 to grow the program into the robust offering it is today. For Younce, the program has meant not only a path to reaching and maintaining his own sobriety: It has also allowed him to become a specialist himself. And for the over 600 patients assisted through the program in fiscal year 2024, 440 of whom were connected to long-term recovery treatments, the program has meant receiving a chance at healing under the stewardship of peers who have themselves experienced addiction and recovery. Emily Granitto, M.D., of Emergency Medicine at Union Hospital, said that the process “works really seamlessly: We have a discussion with a patient and say ‘hey, we have someone available. Would you like to talk to peer recovery and see what we can do to help?’ Then a specialist comes, and they talk through the resources and options.” By having the specialist located in-hospital and ready with resources at the patient’s bedside, said Granitto, the chances for a patient’s successful transfer to long-term treatment are much higher than if the patient is expected to fend for themselves upon discharge. “We’re able to address their substance abuse concerns and tie it all into their visit here in the Emergency Department. That opportunity may not necessarily arise otherwise in the community — so offering it here and providing that olive branch can be a good bridge to the next step,” she said. The need for programs like these has never been more urgent. According to a 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment report from ChristianaCare and the Cecil County Health Department, Cecil County’s “drug poisoning death rate” is nearly double the statewide rate and triple the national average. Services like the peer recovery specialists at Union Hospital are a critical lifeline for many. Harnessing the Power of Lived Experience The peer recovery specialist program currently places 10 trained peer specialists at Union Hospital to provide supportive coverage for patients admitted to the emergency room in active withdrawal or with a history of addiction. “The peer program at Union Hospital is the perfect example of what is possible when you harness the power of lived experience and strong community partnerships,” said Health Officer Lauren Levy, JD, MPH, of the Cecil County Health Department. “The collaboration between caregivers and the peer workforce has been integral to strengthening linkages to care and improving health outcomes for people with substance use disorder.” In collaboration with caregivers — including doctors, nurses and social workers — these specialists help to support patients and to connect them with longer-term treatment and rehabilitation options within and outside of ChristianaCare. They’re present and available at the hospital from 8:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week. Doctors and nurses who work alongside peer recovery specialists can pair patients with specialists based on patients’ needs; some patients are admitted in active withdrawal, whereas for others, a need for treatment comes up as part of their intake. “What the peers do is really very magical because they can connect to the patient,” said Lisa Fields, manager for community engagement on ChristianaCare’s Cecil County campus, “They can tell their story to the patient and say, ‘This is where I have been. I do understand.’” Partnerships Support People in Need Voices of Hope, with a primary mission of supporting addiction recovery for Maryland residents and their families, trains peer specialists alongside the Cecil County Health Department, another vital partner in the peer recovery specialist program. Training requires 500 hours in the role and 25 hours of supervision from a registered peer supervisor. Peer recovery specialists provide a form of connection that is unique and impactful for someone struggling with substance use disorder: empathy informed by personal experience. For Erin Wright, Voices of Hope’s chief operations officer, this partnership has enabled all the involved providers to build a unique, vital community to support people in need of help. “The opposite of addiction is connection,” she said. “I’ve had doctors come to my peers, and say, ‘How did you just do that?’ A peer can walk in the room and, in 20 minutes, walk out and say, ‘Listen, here’s the plan.” Back in 2019, Younce’s emergency-room encounter with Aaron led to a treatment plan that included rehab, which led to his graduation from treatment and ongoing sobriety, which then led to his decision to become a peer recovery specialist himself and eventually, he hopes, a social worker. “It’s very surreal,” he said, “working at Union Hospital and actually telling patients, like, ‘I know how you feel. I’ve been in this position.’” Recovery Support Through Project Engage in Delaware ChristianaCare’s commitment to supporting patients with substance use disorders is systemwide. Project Engage, a vital initiative serving ChristianaCare’s Newark, Wilmington and Middletown campuses, aids patients struggling with alcohol or drug use by providing early intervention and referrals to substance use disorder treatment. Peer recovery specialists engage with patients in the emergency department and at the bedside, helping them understand their substance use and offering treatment options. Since 2012, Project Engage has served more than 13,000 patients and conducted over 27,000 patient engagements, with more than 60% of these engagements resulting in referrals to community treatment at discharge.

3 min

The Road to Treating Substance Use Disorder Starts in the Primary Care Office

For a groundbreaking offering in the treatment of substance use disorders, ChristianaCare’s Family Medicine residency program team received a Wellness Hero Award in the 2024 Delaware Lt. Governor’s Wellness Leadership Challenge. ChristianaCare was recognized for creating “a comprehensive program designed to address the pressing need for behavioral health services in Delaware.” ChristianaCare’s Family Medicine residency established a substance use disorder treatment program in 2020 to identify and provide targeted substance abuse treatment to patients in need and, importantly, to train future providers in the specific and unique issues that patients with addiction often face in primary care settings. “The purpose,” said James LaRosa, M.D., associate residency program director, “is to create an eager and competent workforce of providers ready to help this population.” LaRosa, an alumnus of ChristianaCare’s Family Medicine residency, is also lead for the Family Medicine substance use disorder treatment program. “James was intentionally recruited to our program to carry the torch for this important work,” said Erin Kavanaugh, M.D., FAAFP, chair of Family and Community Medicine. “He has taken the program and department to new heights, particularly in terms of grant-funded work and educational opportunities, all anchored in dedication to comprehensive patient care and improved outcomes.” “Family medicine practitioners take a holistic approach so patients receive personalized and consistent care for better health and well-being for them and their communities,” said Anna Filip, M.D., FAAFP, director of the residency program. “With opportunities like the substance use disorder treatment program, we are preparing the next generation of doctors to treat the whole person.” At the 2024 presentation, then-Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long praised the program for “its impact on closing the gaps in treatment capacity for those with substance use disorders” and “taking measurable steps to expand access to care in our community.” The primary goal of the program is to support patients through withdrawal, LaRosa said. Patients identified for the program via ChristianaCare’s hospitals and emergency departments are connected with the Family Medicine Department to open the door to primary care. The program also provides vital social supports for these patients through the robust ChristianaCare network. “We utilize the services of our in-house social work, behavioral health and case management teams to help provide wraparound services to a population where those things are as crucial as the medical care,” LaRosa said. Third-year resident Deanna Gorgei, D.O., said she chose ChristianaCare’s Family Medicine residency for its “forward-thinking and innovative leadership” who support residents in exploring their interests in the field. One of her interests in addiction medicine. “Not only are residents like me getting this experience in how to treat different substance use disorders, but we’ve also gained exposure on how to set up a program like this,” she said. “It’s been a huge part of my training and has shaped my interest going forward.” Family medicine provides an especially effective setting to treat substance use disorders, in part because its providers are qualified to identify and treat comorbid conditions like hepatitis as well as a host of other illnesses and injuries. “Since starting the program,” said LaRosa, “we have stabilized multiple patients’ chronic medical conditions, identified and treated a patient with bladder cancer, and cured 26 cases of hepatitis C.” Combining care for substance use disorder with primary care, said Gorgei, is appealing for residents and fosters better patient experience and outcomes. “I like being able to have both opportunities,” she said. “It’s so beneficial to have addiction medicine rotate with routine primary care, because it is primary care.”

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