Transform your culture. Transform your patient experience.
Our programs have been delivered in hundreds of hospitals to thousands of employees and patients. HeartMath’s science–based approach has transformed hospital cultures and achieved significant improvements:
Nurse retention
Patient satisfaction/ HCAHPS scores
Employee engagement
Healthier employees = reduced claims cost
Kaiser Permanente: Self-Care & Resilience
Baptist Health Employees Share Benefits
Our Mission is to Care for the Caregivers and their Patients
Simple, practical, evidence-based tools: to manage the stress response in the moment.
A strikingly different culture of genuine care: individuals build resilience and respond in new ways to change and emotional challenges with more presence, flow, flexibility and connection.
Valuable best practices developed over 20 years: to sustain engagement and achieve cultural shifts.
Return on investment with measurable outcomes: improvements in communication, teamwork, employee satisfaction, staff retention and patient satisfaction; reductions in new hire drop-out rate, sick time, health care claims costs.
Supports existing initiatives: easily integrated with existing initiatives or launched as a blended Caritas HeartMath™ program with our featured alliance, the Watson Caring Science Institute.
Case Studies
Click on a title bar, to reveal each organization’s goals and results:
Baptist Health Network implemented a Caritas HeartMath program, which integrates the Caring Science theory with HeartMath’s science and techniques and emphasizes caring-healing for practitioners and patients alike.
Continuity of Benefits
- Baptist Health leaders were intrigued to learn that in previous studies, HeartMath participants reported that the benefits of using these tools did not decrease after 6 months for 85% of participants
- Baptist Health leaders wanted to verify this in their hospital culture
- They settled on three data points:
- Before training baseline
- Second at 1 month
- Third at 1 year
Sustainable Improvements
Data at 1 Month:
- 9 metrics of Engagement increase, such as gratitude, motivation, goal clarity, communication effectiveness, positive outlook, and productivity
- 6 metrics of Stress decreased, including fatigue, anxiety, depression, anger management, and resentfulness
Data at 1 Year:
- 13 metrics of Engagement continued to increase
- 6 metrics of Stress continued to decrease
We felt that HeartMath, with its heart-centered methods, gave our staff a technique and tool to connect them to Dr. Watson’s caring theory. The Caring Theory and HeartMath complement each other and together, they give you a more robust way to approach a caring environment.
Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Home Health and Hospice Continuum worked with HeartMath to design a study that reduced staff stress, increased staff resilience and improved member satisfaction.
Goals of the Caring Science and HeartMath™ Program
- Reduce staff tension and stress created by uncertainty and fast paced innovations
- Enhance self-care, creativity, ease and resilience
- Guide staff to become authentically present when providing care
Reduced Staff Stress:
Statistically significant reductions in Stress Related Measures (p < .001) Fatigue, anxiety, depression, anger management, resentfulness
Increased Member Satisfaction:
HH-CAHPS “rate agency 9 – 10” scores improved 1.7 percentage points - to 83.6%. *
Caring Science and HeartMath™ was an effective leadership strategy to support the Continuum and its staff within a constantly evolving healthcare environment
* Member satisfaction with care was measured using the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Services (HH-CAHPS)
HeartMath helped Fairfield Medical Center transform their culture; staff experienced less stress, more resilience, and more satisfaction. This caused a large decrease in health care claims costs.
Client Goals
- Reduce stress for leadership, staff and patients
- Create a coherent, caring culture
- Improve employee wellness
Turnover Rates for First Year
- Employee satisfaction survey showed large improvements in communication scores and much higher job satisfaction for the HeartMath-trained staff
- Health care claims decreased by $130 per member per month
- Short-term disability claims decreased by $309.93 per member per year
We have experienced very positive results from the use of HeartMath in our organization and realize the importance of incorporating HeartMath’s program into our culture. We continue to reach our goal of exceptional performance by lowering the stress of our employees, which increases the quality of care our patients receive and overall patient satisfaction.
Mayo Clinic, Arizona - published research study – nurses in oncology practiced HeartMath techniques and experienced improved health and reduced stress. The results after 7 months were enviable.
Compelling Reasons for the Intervention:
- Documented high stress levels of health care workers
- Impact that stress has on individual health status
- Stress-related mistakes resulting in adverse patient outcomes
Key Results
- Oncology Staff who responded “often to always” decreased by these percentages:
- Fatigue 85%, Anxiety 86%, Depression 100%
- Inadequate Sleep 83%, Headaches 81%
- Rapid Heartbeats 100%
- Combined Results with other initiatives:
- Turnover on the oncology unit was 13.12% pre-intervention and 9.8% at the 7-month timeframe.
- Incremental overtime on the oncology unit dropped from 1.19 to 0.74 during the same time period.
The tools help me on the spot in crisis or in unexpected situations where I need to stay un–rattled.
Using HeartMath, I have been able to manage my stress better. Moments when I usually feel my heart rate elevate, my face flush and my nerves stand on end have now changed to moments where I feel more in control, moments where I feel I can make a clear decision and feel good about it.
Decreased frequency of migraines, decreased low back pain, decreased shoulder tension.
Tampa General Hospital integrated HeartMath’s resilience skills into their Vizient/AACN Nurse Residency Program. HeartMath content was delivered in 20 min. monthly modules over 11 months for 402 residents. divided into four cohorts.
New Graduate Nurses - Examples of Stressors they voiced:
- Fear of harming a patient or making an error
- Fear of being yelled at or doing something wrong
- Fear of appearing incompetent or looking stupid
- Child care or caregiving for family member
- Not knowing who to trust or to ask for help
- Overcommitted, finances, trust, schedule, shift
- Away from family or country
- Unsure they made the right career choice
New Graduate Nurse Stress - Casey-Fink Survey:
- Pre adding HeartMath modules:
- 6 months - large spike in stress
- Stress higher than the national average
- Post adding HeartMath modules:
- 6 months - no spike in stress
- Slight decrease in stress observed
- Stress below the national average
Positive results are already trending. Typically there is a spike in stress levels at month 6. This is the first time stress levels have slightly decreased at month 6. Our VP of HR said every employee should attend this workshop.
Leaders at Riverside Medical Center launched a HeartMath initiative hospital–wide when stress was identified as the top opportunity for improvement, based on the employee attitude survey.
Client Goals
- Reduce employee stress
- Maintain single–digit turnover
- Improve patient satisfaction
“Employee satisfaction equals patient satisfaction.” - CEO
Key Results
- On the next employee opinion survey, over 200 employees mentioned HeartMath, thanking the hospital leaders for bringing us in to help with stress
- In one targeted department, voluntary turnover reduced from 37% to 2% and stress reduced from 23% to 9%
- After training 928 employees, turnover for HeartMath-trained staff was half the overall organizational turnover for all staff
We have heard countless stories from our HeartMath-trained staff, thanking us for giving them tools that have helped them make a personal difference in the organization. The techniques have helped leaders and staff in the following situations: decreasing patient anxiety, improving patient safety, providing performance feedback and dealing with conflict, and increasing creativity, innovation and ease in communications and decision making. Even more importantly, we see life as a remarkable journey. We continue to hear how our HeartMath-trained staff have used these techniques with their loved ones at home to help provide an appreciative and supportive environment. We see our employees as caregivers – and the HeartMath program allows us to care for them!
Background: Health care providers must think clearly and make critical decisions under stressful circumstances. Providing effective strategies for managing stress in the moment helps mitigate the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts associated with caring for others and promotes resiliency. Staff may also utilize these techniques with patients and their families to help alleviate the symptoms of stress that may be experienced as the result of illness.
Over a 6-month period, six 8-hour HeartMath classes were conducted. Study participants included nurses, physicians, patient care assistants, & technicians, care coordinators, administrators and leadership staff.
Conclusions:
The goal of this study was to determine if HeartMath training decreased stress and increased resilience in health care providers. The preintervention and postintervention scores of the POQA-r4 primary scales and subscales support this premise.
This study supports existing evidence that HeartMath techniques are effective in managing stress and increasing resiliency. These techniques are also valuable tools for health care providers to use with patients and their families in the management of symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and sleeplessness related to hospitalization and illness.
Teresa M. Buchanan, MBA, RN & Patricia M. Reilly, MSN, RN, The Impact of HeartMath Resiliency Training on Health Care Providers DIMENS CRIT CARE NURS. 2019;38(6):328-336
Personal & Organizational Quality Assessment–Revised 4 Scale Results:
| Pre | Post | Change | Significance* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organizational Stress | 4.27 | 3.81 | - 11% | .001 |
| Relational tension | 4.93 | 4.26 | -14% | .01 |
| Stress | 8.80 | 6.38 | -28% | .001 |
| Emotional Stress | 2.78 | 2.10 | -24% | .001 |
| Anxiety and depression | 2.77 | 2.14 | -23% | .001 |
| Anger and resentment | 2.79 | 2.07 | -26% | .001 |
| Physical stress | 3.25 | 2.56 | -21% | .001 |
| Fatigue | 3.98 | 3.18 | -20% | .001 |
| Health symptoms | 23% | 8% | -15% | .001 |
Senior leadership at IU Health Bloomington endorsed HeartMath as a wellness initiative – to address and transform the chronic stress employees were experiencing at work and in their lives.
After several weeks of practicing HeartMath tools and techniques, employees tell this story:
| My life is deeply fulfilling | 13% increase |
| I am peaceful | 16% increase |
| I am fatigued | 27% decrease |
| I am worried | 21% decrease |
| Experience body aches | 18% decrease |
Does HeartMath sustain or is it short-lived?
For employees who participated in a HeartMath training within the last 5 years:
- 72% reported using the techniques at work.
- 67% reported using the techniques at home.
- The bottom-line: 3 out of 4 continue to use HeartMath techniques months and years later.
Our LiveWell team trained over 1,000 employees. We celebrate the dramatic improvements in our staff’s quality of life. They feel less fatigued, less worried, have fewer body aches and pains, are more at peace and describe their lives as more fulfilling. All HeartMath participants earn 150 LiveWell Points.
Delays in GI lab schedule – had to go tell room full of families in waiting room about the 1.5 hour delay. I used Quick Coherence Technique, calmed down, spoke clearly and was relaxed. Families took it well and I walked away thinking: that went well…
The HeartMath initiative at Delnor–Community Hospital transformed their culture – in employee and patient satisfaction – to become the hospital of choice in their primary market.
Client Goals
- Reduce turnover, vacancy rates and costs
- Become a national leader in patient satisfaction
- Be the hospital of choice in their primary market
Key Results
- Turnover dropped from 26.9% to 5.9% for HeartMath-trained staff
- Improved patient satisfaction from the 73rd to a strong and climbing 94th percentile
- Ranked #1 in employee satisfaction nationwide – Sperduto and Associates national database
- Hospital leadership sustained peak performance and managed more efficiently in a changing environment
- Leaders improved work/life balance
HeartMath has given us tools to make the difference between required courtesy and genuine care. As a result, we have achieved our benchmarks in patient satisfaction and employee satisfaction excellence. Without HeartMath, we could not have reached our potential.
The HeartMath initiative at Sierra Providence Health Network was designed to reduce turnover, but also sparked improvements in morale, patient care and productivity.
Client Goals
- Reduce employee turnover by 3%
- Help staff manage stress caused by time pressures and communication issues
- Support cultural change initiatives in customer service excellence and professional growth and development
Turnover Rates for First Year
- Support cultural change initiatives in customer service excellence and professional growth and development
- From 21% to 3% for HeartMath trained nurses (107) = 18% = 19 positions saved
- Turnover savings = $2,160,000
Obviously, we have been pleased with HeartMath.
In a meeting with a mother reciting a litany of ill-focused complaints, I grew frustrated – but I consciously stilled my impulse to react and practiced one of the HeartMath tools in the moment. Now, with my breathing and emotions calmed, I began to hear the woman in a different way. Her problem, I realized, wasn’t with the quality of care – it was her own apprehension at the approaching release of her baby from the preemie unit. Once I understood how frightened she was, I was not only able to stay calm myself, but to calm the woman.
HeartMath helped Methodist Hospitals of Dallas reduce staff stress, and improve relationships, turnover and vacancy rates.
Client Goals
- Stabilize two nursing units that were experiencing stress and high staff turnover and vacancy rates
- Reduce staff turnover and stress for the overall hospital staff
Key Results
- 5 staff losses vs. 12 staff losses in the previous 6 months
- Licensed staff vacancies dropped from 7.8% to 1.5%
- Non-licensed staff vacancies dropped from 4.8% to 0.5%
- Percent of sick hours has decreased post HeartMath (was growing pre HeartMath)
I feel much more relaxed and I have more energy. I feel that I can give even better care to my patients.
We want to help our employees learn how to better manage their stress. In return, our employees’ success in this program will help us reach our goals of reduced sick-time, increased employee morale, more coherent communication, optimal mental clarity and creativity, and ultimately greater patient satisfaction.
HeartMath Hospital Programs:
Leadership program, trainer certification, patented technology, research measurements, sustainability program
We listen to your needs and suggest program components that fit your culture and budget.
Please send me more information on the HeartMath Hospital Program
Robert Massy, Ph.D, Director, Healthcare Systems
Paula Elliott, Co-Director, Healthcare Systems
Robert Browning, PhD(h.c.), Co-Director, Healthcare Systems
Sheva Carr, MA, L.Ac.,Co-Director, Healthcare Systems
