In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Novel Coronavirus Disease, COVID-19, a pandemic. Nurses as South-Central Medical Center (SCMC), a 4,000-bed acute care hospital, began their journey into "compassion fatigue", a syndrome resulting from continual exposure to and internalization of the suffering of others. Unlike other crisis situations, the nurses at SCMC (like so many other healthcare organizations) have been exposed to an unusually excessive amount of severe trauma and suffering with continually changing "best practice" guidelines, separation of patients from their families, limited supplies, and fear for their own health (and that of their families) as a result of a newly discovered deadly virus. The seasoned executives and nurse managers at SCMC understand that employees at SCMC feel helpless because this virus is "acting differently" from any other crisis they've dealt with. Staff have seemingly exhausted all the coping measures that have worked for them in the past. Administration knows that ultimately when employees are not being filled up, then they are empty. They reach a point where they feel like they just can't give any more. Couple that with the physical needs and ever-changing external forces and it's a "trainwreck" for the wellbeing of all those tasked with providing care. SCMC wanted to provide support for staff so open forums were scheduled where patient care staff were given the opportunity to voice concerns. Some of the more common concerns included: We don't have enough equipment or staff. When we get a really sick patient on our unit, we have no ICU beds vacant to transfer them. And, we are not equipped to handle patients on vents. I worry about my team. They are tired and frustrated with no end in sight. Sometimes I feel like I'm being irresponsible, coming to work and being exposed to this virus. What if I give it to my family? We go into this profession with the mindset and the calling that we are going to help serve people and save lives. So, when you have failure after failure after failure because you don't know about this virus and there aren't treatment modalities in place that have been extraordinarily successful and you are watching people suffer and ultimately lose the battle it creates feelings of trauma and loss that is weighing on all of us. There is so much pressure and we are all exhausted. We feel like failures. I feel like we are expected to take the vaccine and I don't want to. It was "fast-tracked" how do we know what it will do to our bodies ten years from now? As a nurse manager, I feel like I have to "babysit" the newer nurses so they don't break down. They are tired and were not prepared in school for this kind of workload. And, I sometimes have trouble keeping it together myself! Families are calling all day long. They need information about their loved ones. There are not enough hours in the day to take care of patient needs and those of their families. I know they are both extremely important. Instructions: Think of yourself team as an organizational consultant. Your goal is to improve organizational performance by helping hospital executives and managers develop intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to sustain employees through the crisis. Students will examine a case study and develop recommendations for the organization to address problems identified.

Your case presentation should follow this general format: 1. The Problem Statement The problem statement should be a succinct statement of the main issue in the case. Be sure to separate the main issue (or "root cause,") from symptoms of the problem. Try to make the statement in one sentence and clearly label it in your case analysis. A focused problem statement will lead to a more focused analysis.