Baystate Wing Hospital Selected As Participant in Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association's Healthy Work Environment Academy

PALMER, Mass. - Baystate Wing Hospital (BWH) was chosen as one of ten Massachusetts hospitals to participate in a statewide Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Academy, launched by Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA). This initiative will empower nursing teams to lead sustainable improvements in workplace culture, nurse retention, and patient outcomes.

The HWE Academy is part of a broader initiative to make the commonwealth a leader in healthy and innovative work environments for nurses and care teams. Every hospital has committed to adopting one evidence-based program to support frontline professionals, with the Academy serving as one opportunity for participation.

Baystate Wing Hospital will work with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and participate in its Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy’s Nursing Workforce Solutions program. The AACN program is a nationally recognized initiative that places frontline nurses at the center of workplace problem-solving.  Nursing Workforce Solutions is an intensive 18-month process led by AACN. Nursing leaders at Baystate Wing Hospital will identify a nursing team from one unit to address a specific on-the-job challenge that is hindering their ability to work at their best. The team will design, implement, and sustain projects to address that challenge. They will have access to educational sessions and expert mentoring throughout their journey, and will be offered “train the trainer” resources to help scale their projects to other units in the hospital.

“We’re thrilled to have been chosen as a cohort for the Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Academy. Baystate Wing nurses are the heartbeat of our hospital. They are highly- skilled, compassionate, and deliver the highest standard of care to our patients and their families. Being part of this initiative will strengthen our commitment to a healthy and innovative workplace,” said Karli Barrett, MS, RN, NE-BC, President & Chief Operating Officer, Baystate Wing Hospital.