Northern Health’s wellbeing team is announcing two initiatives to support staff wellbeing and health at this difficult time: “Sleepfit at Home” and “TREAT – 6 weeks online rest and recovery program”.

Created by Jo Gibbs, healthcare worker, Therapeutic Relaxation And Enhanced Awareness Training or ‘Treat’ is a unique self-care and self-awareness workplace program that has been evaluated extensively in public hospitals and has been shown to significantly reduce burnout in health professionals.

“The second COVID-19 wave in Melbourne has taken healthcare worker stress to a new high. Now is the time to take care of yourself with the Treat Rest and Recovery sessions. Calm your nervous system to help deal with this unprecedented event,” Jo said.

The 6 week Treat Rest and Recovery online sessions offer our staff an invitation to create a still point in life –  to feel grounded and steady. It helps to avoid getting caught up in old habits and the anxious spiralling of the mind and to enhance clarity, emotional calm and focus.

Alison O’Sullivan, Workforce Wellbeing Coordinator, explained that practising self-care to help cope with what life throws your way is now more important than ever. It also helps us to feel centred and calm and be proactive in looking after yourself and others.

“Regular Treat sessions have been in place for over a year now at Northern Health, and given current circumstances, delivering this program online ensures this great program can continue to support staff,” she said.

This free program for all staff will be available every Thursday – from Thursday, 23 July until Thursday, 27 August, 2 pm – 2.30 pm online via MS teams.

“Please email ohswb@nh.org.au to get the link to access the Microsoft teams sessions,” Alison said.

The “Sleepfit Home” is an online resource and one-stop-shop for everyone who would like to learn how to sleep better and healthier.

“It is a program especially developed for everyone finding their sleep patterns disrupted during the pandemic and in some instances may be working from home. There are personalised guidelines to optimise your schedule based on your natural biological rhythm – your circadian rhythm,” she said.

“Through guided meditation, soothing sounds, and numerous tools to manage sleep, stress and anxiety – it can be a very useful resource when we need some time out,” Alison explained.

For more information, please head to Sleepfit Home  or click here for more information about the TREAT 6 week program.

For the ongoing THRIVE staff wellbeing offerings at Northern Health and further details on the above, please visit the THRIVE intranet page.

Featured Image: Jo Gibbs hosting an online TREAT rest and recovery session with ED staff.