Resources for Resilience

In fiscal year 2021-2022, Resources for Resilience (RFR) partnered with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), Eastpointe MCO, and Edgecombe Community College to pilot a new iteration of our Reconnect for Resilience (Reconnect) curriculum. This training, which was designed to meet the unique training needs and learning objectives of North Carolina first responders, was first introduced by our team in 2022. Following its successful launch, NC DHHS and Eastpointe extended the program into the 2022-2023 fiscal year, awarding us an additional $413,367.00 to continue training first responders and to expand our reach to include healthcare workers across the state. This expanded project not only involved the re-contextualization of our content for a new target audience, but also necessitated the development of a modularized version of the Reconnect curriculum to meet the scheduling needs of both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking healthcare workers. Instead of delivering our core curriculum across two consecutive days, direct care staff, administrators, and leadership working in North Carolina healthcare settings were invited to attend up to five live, interactive training modules. Each session was delivered in two- to three-hour sessions with time built in to review content from the previous module and, through our partnership with Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), participants were offered continuing education units (CEUs), including nursing credits (NCPD). Our team fostered strategic partnerships with healthcare agencies and delivered a total of 35 modules in English and 10 modules in Spanish to healthcare professionals from the coast to the mountains throughout Spring 2023. Our team received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with participant surveys revealing that 95% of respondents reported feeling better able to help others as a result of this training and 97% reporting that they felt the training will be helpful in responding to their own feelings of burnout, compassion fatigue, and/or toxic stress.

Recharging Resilience for First Responders Workshop Also in 2023, RFR was awarded $14,400.00 by Vaya Health to develop and implement an innovative self- care and burnout prevention program for North Carolina law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel. Recognizing the toll that unaddressed stress can take on first responders physical and mental health, RFR set out to create an interactive workshop to share foundational neuroscience concepts related to the science of stress and resilience, practical stress management tools, and resiliency-planning frameworks with both those who serve our communities and their own natural supports. This six-hour specialty workshop, Recharging Resilience, was designed to help participants dive more deeply into resilience-related topics and learn tools to manage the demands of these vitally important, yet high-stress professions. The program was piloted in Spring 2023 in both Alamance and Buncombe counties, reaching 44 North Carolina first responders and their identified supports. Of those who responded 87% reported that the workshop helped them understand the impact of trauma on their brain, body, and behavior and 100% reported that it helped them understand why resilience tools and supports are important and how they work to reset the nervous system. In addition, 100% of respondents noted that they found the workshop valuable and 100% stated that they planned to use the tools they learned to support others in their workplace or community.

Leading Through Hard Times: Advancing Resilience in Healthcare Leadership Workshop As part of the same $413,367.00 award from NC DHHS and Eastpointe to expand our efforts to support North Carolina healthcare workers, RFR began conceptualizing a specialized workshop designed to meet the needs of those working in healthcare leadership. Development of this new pilot, Leading Through Hard Times: Advancing Resilience in Healthcare Leadership, began in 2022 and targeted healthcare leaders who wanted to do more to support resilience among their staff, their patients, and themselves. In this seven-hour, interactive event, participants learned strategies to help their staff avoid burnout and strengthen their personal and professional relationships. They also explored concrete ways to promote a culture of resilience within healthcare organizations, develop a common language around the science of stress management, and learn practical tools to support themselves and others while working in fast- paced, demanding healthcare professions. The program was released in late Spring 2023 and delivered in partnership with the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the eastern region and with Asheville- Buncombe Technical Community College in the western part of the state. Two pilot workshops were delivered in Summer 2023, reaching 30 North Carolina healthcare leaders; of those who participated, 98% reported that the training was helpful in responding to their own feelings of burnout, compassion fatigue, and toxic stress.