When Banner's Zero Suicide multidisciplinary team at Banner Health’s Northern Colorado campus in Greeley heard about H.O.P.E. Certification, a program that is helping build resilience and wellbeing in industries facing acute suicide and other mental health crises, they were intrigued. The team knew that workers at their hospital were exhausted and traumatized, and needed a variety of mental health supports.
H.O.P.E. stands for “Helping Our People Elevate” through tough times.
“Post pandemic, everything was just so much harder for our staff, from top to bottom,” says Paul Hooten, a licensed professional counselor who supervises the team. “Everyone's threshold was so much lower. Our team members were struggling with burnout and emotional fatigue, both at home and at work. As soon as we heard the goal of the program, we knew H.O.P.E. was something we needed to prioritize.”
Banner’s North Colorado Medical Center is a 306-bed full-service tertiary hospital and along with two other Banner Health campuses in Northern Colorado – the Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland and the Banner Fort Collins Medical Center – is a cornerstone of health services in the state, employing about 3,000 workers.
Nationally, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona with 30 acute-care hospitals across six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming, with a total of over 50,000 staff members.
Addressing mental health challenges at the roots.
As we saw in our previous blog post about a how nurse with lived experience of suicide helped integrate the Zero Suicide for patients framework with H.O.P.E., which focuses on healthcare staff, into his large hospital, H.O.P.E. is a novel program for organizations seeking to engage their workforce, promote resilience, and develop and sustain a caring culture.
The program is implemented over a 12-month culture-changing period with quarterly training and ongoing coaching on how to implement the 9 evidence-based best practices developed from research literature and lived experience that form the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention. Similar to how LEED Certification promotes environmental health in organizations, H.O.P.E. Certification provides a path to psychological health and safety in the workplace. It begins with leadership buy-in and then gets at the root of whatever is eroding workplace resilience.
Because the program is customized according to the participating organization’s strengths and weaknesses, it addresses the root causes of mental health challenges within that specific workforce in that specific workplace and builds upon what is already beneficial. In addition, there is third-party verification of completion and external verification to ensure guidelines are met.
“When we heard Dr. Sally’s presentation [sponsored by the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention], we knew it was what our people needed,” says Hooten. “We took it back to our senior leadership team and talked about what we'd heard and why we thought this was important for our team members. They 100% agreed. It wasn't a difficult conversation at all. They were immediately on board and supporting that.”
Amplifying what is already good, addressing what is not.
As with any large-scale initiative, there were challenges to overcome. One of the most significant was ensuring that all team members, across various shifts and departments, were aware of and could access the mental health resources available to them. Banner conducted campus-wide surveys which revealed that while some services, like the employee gym, were well-known, others were underutilized due to a lack of awareness.
“The H.O.P.E. certification process helped us recognize how many really good mental health support offerings we already had available, things our people were completely unaware of and did not know how to access, so they were just going to waste,” recounts Hooten.
To expand awareness, Hooten and his team created an email and other intra-campus marketing campaign highlighting the hospital’s available mental health resources and initiatives, ensuring that the information reaches all corners of the organization. Another key feature of their H.O.P.E. certification has been the creation of a successful monthly lived experience storytelling series where staff members volunteer to share their own struggles with mental health challenges. The stories are delivered systemwide via email.
Another program highlighted and expanded was a peer support group called TALK2Me.
“That's a program for people who are struggling whether because of something that happened at work or maybe something going on at home and maybe it interferes with that person’s ability to do their job,” says Hooten. “All of our house supervisors are required to go through the TALK2Me training. They are the boots on the ground for whatever problems may be going on throughout the hospital. They also serve as a go-between for senior leadership and staff, and they are familiar with the policies and procedures for things like emergencies and abnormal events.”
While programs like the TALK2Me peer support were valuable, survey respondents called for alternative therapy options and quicker access to services. Banner Health responded by expanding their EAP provider pool and exploring new ways to integrate mental health resources across different platforms, making it easier for team members to find and use them.
Another significant challenge was the need for postvention procedures to handle worst-case scenarios, such as a team member's suicide. The H.O.P.E. certification process guided Banner Health in developing these critical protocols, ensuring that they were prepared to respond effectively and compassionately in such situations.
Positive Impact and Ongoing Efforts
The success of these initiatives is reflected in the post-survey findings, which show an uptick in awareness and utilization of mental health services. However, Banner Health recognizes that there is still much work to be done.
“We still have a ways to go… it can be very easy for people to walk past our displays or overlook our emails, even with how much work we’ve been doing,” says Hooten.
To keep the momentum going, Banner Health is focusing on continuous improvement. They plan to conduct regular resource audits, increase the availability of mental health services, and continue to promote psychoeducation courses like QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer). These efforts are aimed at creating a resilient and supportive work environment where mental health is prioritized.
Looking to the Future
Banner’s Greeley campus completed its H.O.P.E. certification in May 2024. The goal, says Hooten, is that a year from now, every team member will be fully aware of the resources available to them and feel confident in accessing them.
Meanwhile, executives across the Banner Health network have taken notice of the positive effects of H.O.P.E. in Colorado and are discussing expanding the certification across other Banner Health campuses, making resilience a lasting part of their culture.
