Human Understanding Award finalist creatively inspires staff and patients

It's often said that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

When it comes to caring, Jay Kaplan, M.D., FACEP, Emergency Physician and Medical Director of Care Transformation at LCMC Health in New Orleans, knows it's all about the relationships we foster:

'Connection to our colleagues, to our work, to our patients-and, if you will, to something greater than ourselves.'

Dr. Kaplan's life work has been partnering with physicians, hospital leadership teams, medical groups, and hospital staff to provide them with tools and tactics to improve patient care while changing the work environment's culture to inspire and motivate everyone to succeed. He is a catalyst who focuses on countering negativity to improve teamwork and facilitate change even among individuals who are usually 'no/can't/won't' people.

In the trying days, weeks, and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Kaplan has found himself in another much-needed capacity: caring for those who care for patients. The pandemic has created a stressful time for everyone in healthcare. Even doctors and nurses who are used to seeing patients die don't generally see six pass away in one night-often without their families at the bedside. On top of that, these patients are sick from a disease for which there is currently little treatment other than supportive care, and healthcare workers are worried for their patients, their families, and themselves. Dr. Kaplan now finds himself serving as a counselor, acknowledging staff members' feelings and offering messages of resilience.

Dr. Kaplan visits all five adult hospitals and the one children's hospital in the LCMC Health system and has developed a 'Be Well' program for the organization. He and his program coordinator visits frontline units to deliver hope amidst tragedy and confusion. He also keeps teams updated on the latest information about the disease, understanding that the work done in healthcare now is 'life and death' in real time. He encourages his teams to get through it by acknowledging their feelings and taking it one step at a time.

NRC Health recognizes Dr. Kaplan's level of care as a Finalist for the Excellence in Human Understanding Award. This article is one of a series celebrating the achievements of healthcare workers who have had a transformative impact on patient care; Dr. Kaplan recently sat down with us for an interview.

Q. What does Human Understanding mean to you?

We happen to be in a culture that's very success-oriented and very task-oriented, and the same goes for healthcare. And particularly with the electronic health record and the pressures that folks sometimes feel regarding productivity and issues like that, people get very task-oriented, asking, 'What do I have to do? Who do I have to see next?'

In some ways, that really defeats the purpose of healing, which is about connection; it's about holding someone's hand or looking someone in the eyes. To me, when people come to us, they don't come to us with their joy. They come to us with their pain, anxiety, and fear, because they don't understand what's going on with their body, and they need some help. And so, our job is not just to throw things like medications and diagnostic tests at them-our job is to say, 'Okay. I'm here for you.'

Empathy and compassion are really about, 'I'm here for you. Now let's find our way through this.' Because in my experience, the one thing people don't want to feel is alone and helpless. COVID is the ultimate in being out of control when something is attacking your body. The same goes with diagnoses like cancer and similar illnesses-but COVID just happens much more quickly.

And it's even more important because when people come into the hospital these days, we can't allow their family members to be with them. And so, doctors, nurses, and others in non-clinical services like environmental services have become patients' confidants and held their hands as they are dying.

It's also unfortunate for the healthcare workers now, because it places a substantial moral strain on them. And so that's really where I see a significant part of my role now, which is to help my health system focus on the well-being and support of our staff. Unhappy doctors and unhappy nurses don't make for happy patients, and it doesn't make for good clinical outcomes either. And so, while there needs to be a focus on the patient, there simultaneously needs to be a focus on creating an efficient and fulfilling work environment for the people who are giving that care.

Q. COVID accelerated a lot of burnout in the medical field. How have you helped your health system overcome these challenges? What is the feedback?

I'm somewhat known for connecting with folks, and they've known about my interest in clinician well-being. I got a call from a CNO saying, 'I really need you,' and then she talked about the difference that I made with her staff to the other CNOs. And then my boss, who is the CMO of the system, basically said, 'I want you to stop doing this other stuff.' I was doing work with employee health and trying to get adequate testing, and this was early on in the pandemic.

I got a note today from a physician who works at a children's hospital, who said, 'Jay, I've been watching some of your talks and just wanted to let you know how inspirational they are. I'm trying to learn from you to improve my skills. Thank you for sharing them online. I appreciate your outstanding work to improve the health and well-being of all.'

Another piece of feedback I received was a note from a nurse that read, 'I've been a nurse for over 16 years, and I've received awards and been recognized as great 100, a great 39 at one hospital, and a Daisy award winner at another hospital. It's an honor to be recognized by your peers and patients like that. Still, what you did and your persistence and ensuring you got in touch with me, and how you went out of your way to do so, surpassed anything I've experienced in my 16 years as a nurse; I've never felt so cared for and genuinely appreciated for my work in the leadership role as I did today. I was really at a breaking point mentally with personal stress and struggles, financial struggles, and everything associated with my role as a director. I broke down in tears as you walked away, and it took me a little while to stop. I want you to know that I can't say thank you enough for all of it. And making me feel like I'm important. No one's ever shown this amount of gratitude and appreciation towards me. And I will never be able to say thank you enough.'

Q. We understand that you wrote several poems during the pandemic to share with staff, permitting them to feel, providing hope and help in getting to the other side, and encouraging them to continue to connect with their patients and their colleagues. Will you share one with us?

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