The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on health care workers, but for those at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett, there is a place where staff can go to de-stress and relax from their difficult shifts.

The Compassion Fatigue Room opened in 2019 before the pandemic began. It is the brainchild of Shelley Shellenbarger, nursing director at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett, who was given a quality improvement project for her degree in executive leadership at the University of Memphis.

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“I recognized in my clinical hours that I was seeing compassion fatigue in nurses, and it was affecting the retention of staff,” Shellenbarger said. “We were starting to see burnout across the industry in nurses, nurses’ aides, secretaries and the environmental services department. I challenged myself and burdened my dean, but I wanted to do a quality improvement project to give back to my colleagues.”

The result is the Compassion Fatigue Room, which offers St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett staff a calming environment complete with a massage chair, salt lamp, motivational quotes on the walls and bottles of water.

Leaders can recommend that their team members use the room if they sense they might benefit from it, or employees can ask their managers if they can take a 15-minute break in the Compassion Fatigue Room.

“After our first six months, they (employees) would come to us and say, ‘I would really benefit from visiting the Compassion Fatigue Room. Is there any way I can step off the floor? I’m having a really difficult day,’” she said.

Those who visit the room can sign in if they choose, or they can remain anonymous.

Research and recommendations with evidence-based practice show that many health care workers suffer from compassion fatigue. Shellenbarger said it is important to openly talk about the issue, assist and treat it.

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“It’s important to remove people who are suffering and allow them to step away from the situation and give them a 15-minute break,” she said. “Part of compassion fatigue, you have to recognize it to treat it, and there has to be a supportive work environment.”

To fund the project, Shellenbarger created a business proposal and presented it to a volunteer group that does fundraising for the hospital.

“We produced actual ID cards that are magnetic and work in the security system; each leader has a badge,” Shellenbarger explained. “When they recognize burnout or compassion fatigue, they can step in and absorb that workload or redirect that workload. It helps let them (their team) know how much you care about them.”

Cammie Hughes is the stroke and sepsis coordinator at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett, and her background is in ICU care. She has worked for St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett and St. Francis Hospital-Memphis her entire career.

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“We had three deaths back-to-back one afternoon, and it was one of those days that was really rough,” Hughes said. “You could feel the stress, and you don’t want to take that stuff home if you can help it. It (the Compassion Fatigue Room) is very nice, and I think it should be implemented in more places.”

Hughes said she has not heard of other health care facilities having a Compassion Fatigue Room and would like to see more of St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett staff taking advantage of it.

“I think if people utilized the Compassion Fatigue Room more, it might help them decompress,” she said.

While health care workers have been recognized more since the start of the pandemic, it remains a very stressful job that can take a toll on workers, both physically and emotionally.

Shellenbarger said that one thing the pandemic has taught health care workers is that caring for patients has to be a team effort and that self-care is crucial for success on the job.

“We have to recognize, especially as nurses, you have to take time for yourself,” she said. “You have to be conscience of your health and your sleep pattern and incorporate free time or hobbies. You have to make sure you’re happy before you come in and provide hours of care so you can be effective and empathetic.”