Donor-supported Comfort Therapies help Good Sam teams during their darkest hours

At the beginning of the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital had nearly 110 COVID-19 patients at one time.

“We’ve been the COVID-19 hospital here at MultiCare,” says Kristi Hartway, MA, BSN, RN, CNML, chief nurse executive at Good Samaritan Hospital. “Of all the COVID-positive patients we’ve taken, the majority are in the intensive care unit. Especially with this last wave, it’s been extremely difficult because of the age of the patients and how many that we lost. I’m concerned about the nursing staff and what they’ve had to endure every day.”

            In the COVID ICU; photo taken by Danielle Bates, RN.

To support health care professionals emotionally, psychologically and spiritually during this crisis and beyond, Hartway expanded Good Samaritan Hospital’s patient Comfort Therapies program to front-line staff.

Traditionally, Comfort Therapies seek to prevent or relieve suffering and improve quality of life for patients in the medical palliative care unit. The program has been supported by philanthropy since its inception at Good Samaritan Hospital and has spread across the health care system, soothing patients experiencing pain or needing solace.

With this new initiative, Hartway is partnering to bring care teams comfort by catering to the five senses.

“When I was rounding on patients, I was listening to the harpist, and it’s just the most soothing atmosphere,” she explains. “We now have the harpist coming into all the COVID-19 units and that’s music therapy for staff that provides a calming presence amid the chaos.”

Along with music therapy, the program offers massage and other forms of touch therapy. Hartway also hopes to bring in pets for hospital visits.

“Staff can sign up for a 15-minute massage. Sometimes, it’s just the shoulders that they will get worked on — you’re so tense there,” Hartway says. “And we’re getting phenomenal feedback. If we can even reach one staff member, it makes a difference.”

Hartway’s vision for Comfort Therapies also includes invigorating the sense of smell with aromatherapies and creating dedicated serenity rooms within the hospital. These spaces would allow individuals to take a few minutes and regroup in surroundings that inspire stress relief and relaxation.

To promote healing and to build a healthier community within the walls of Good Samaritan, the Good Samaritan Foundation has invested in the program with donor contributions funding harp and massage therapists.

“I’m worried, but I’m hopeful,” Hartway says. “I want to be part of that hope and have that vision that we’re going to get through this. We’re going to figure this out, but it takes organizations like the Foundation for us to be able to navigate and move forward.”

You can lift up hospital workers across MultiCare with a gift to the COVID-19 Response Fund. Donations support programs like Comfort Therapies that directly assist employees.