Syosset Hospital's Lavender Lounge gives workers a place to 'decompress and refresh'

Nothing could have prepared Dr. Ryan Parnell for the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the son of a doctor, Parnell — director of hospital medicine for Northwell Health’s Syosset and Plainview hospitals — grew up in the profession. But not even that upbringing was enough, he said, when faced with life inside the hospital during the biggest public health crisis of his lifetime.

“COVID was the most trying time of my career as an attending physician,” Parnell, 38, of Dix Hills, said. In New York State, more than 30,000 people died from the virus in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Finding ways to cope while working, he said, was difficult.

“Even in times where you could get away from the pressure mentally, you’re still in a patient care area, so physically separating yourself from the stress was important as well,” he said.

Though the pandemic has waned, the pressure on medical professionals has continued. With the well-being of hospital care workers in mind, Northwell Health recently opened a “Lavender Lounge” at Syosset Hospital — a two-room sanctuary where staff members can pause and reflect after intense on-the-job experiences. The new lounge has transformed a back-of-the-house area of the hospital, once used for COVID testing, into a peaceful, quiet place to retreat from the demands of health care life.

“This is my unplug place,” Parnell said. “It’s where I come to refocus during the workday.”

The employees-only area, one of several available to staffers at Northwell hospitals, is named after Team Lavender, a Northwell-wide program started 10 years ago wherein supportive volunteers aid coworkers through traumatic moments.

“We wanted to create a space where staff members who are having a tough day or are dealing with a heavy patient load can take some time away from their work to decompress and refresh,” said Kyra Grill, who leads Team Lavender at Syosset Hospital.

RESPONSE TO LOSS

Team Lavender was first implemented by Northwell Health after a succession of significant patient losses in the labor and delivery unit at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Lake Success.

“I remember sitting with the staff as they were being debriefed and watching the pain it caused them, the loss of sleep and difficulty in thinking about the people they lost,” said Aggie Barden, Northwell’s deputy chief experience officer. “I thought that there had to be a better way to do things.”

In late 2013, Barden said she traveled to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio to study its Code Lavender program, where spiritual care, healing services and other hospital-based support such as employee assistance, music therapy, ethics consultation and art therapy are provided to staff members in distress. At the world-famous clinic, Barden said she compiled procedures and best practices that served as the foundation of Team Lavender’s launch at Northwell in 2014.

“I looked into places around the country that had similar programs. …They all had funding and specialized people to work with, but we did everything budget-neutral,” Barden said. “I was able to create a program made up of volunteers at all the specific sites, so the power of Team Lavender is colleagues helping colleagues.”

Initially, services were offered only when the hospital staff was affected by an intense incident. But in the 10 years since it was implemented, support from Team Lavender has become available to Northwell staff members around the clock, Barden said.

Team Lavender includes many health care specialists, including doctors, nurses, social workers and clergy members. Volunteers are trained in how to respond when their colleagues seek help. And when a request is made at any Northwell facility, a representative from Team Lavender responds within 30 minutes, Barden said.

Beyond interpersonal support, the program also now includes “app-based resources” and a variety of call-in hotlines, where employees can find guidance and discreet counseling.

“Working in health care is not easy. Sometimes very bad things happen that can be difficult for team members,” Barden said. “As a clinician, you have to still feel empathy for the people that you care for and you have to process your emotions or you end up taking it home with you.”

She added, “The lounge is a wonderful place to provide that quiet respite. …We’ve learned, through COVID, that dedicated space for employees is very important.”  

MANAGING STRESS

Although the impact of COVID-19 on hospitals has stabilized, health care workers continue to manage their workload in stressful environments. In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a survey found that 46% of health care workers felt burned out in 2022, up from 32% in 2018. The same study also noted that 44% of health care workers intended to look for a new job in 2022, an increase from 33% in 2018.

“Health workers faced overwhelming demands and experienced crisis levels of burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic presented unique challenges that further impaired their mental health,” the report’s authors wrote.

Parnell has seen the impact of these challenges firsthand.

“When traumatic situations come about, the perception is that we are like robots, but we react like human beings because we aren’t machines,” Parnell said of doctors, nurses and other medical staff. “When the outcome is not what we want it to be and the moment becomes stressful, our vulnerabilities can become very apparent.”

The exhaustion that staff members felt because of crowded hospitals and the sad outcomes of many COVID cases was not lost on the administration at Northwell Health, which has the largest group of health care providers in New York State. During the pandemic, Barden said that 20,000 Team Lavender packets were distributed to ensure Northwell employees were kept abreast of the rapid-response support system that is in place for them.

COVID’S TOLL

“Team Lavender has had a tremendous impact on the caregivers, which we saw very acutely during COVID,” said Michael Fener, who until recently was executive director of the Plainview and Syosset hospitals. “We saw the toll that watching people who seemed otherwise healthy expire had on our team members.”

For Syosset Hospital’s staff, the Lavender Lounge is meant to provide a comforting reprieve. Grill said she worked with Northwell’s engineering department to turn what was a nondescript space into something that has the cozy feel of a nicely finished basement. One very large room was divided into a large “activity room” with TVs and couches and the lounge itself, which includes what Grill describes as the “interfaith prayer room.”

In the lounge, there are LED candles, comfortable chairs and positive affirmations written by staff. A small sign instructs visitors on grounding techniques. In the prayer room are religious texts, for people of different faiths to reflect and meditate.

With a team already in place to aid staff members at the most critical times of their workday, Grill said establishing the Lavender Lounge was the next step in creating a more robust program to aid employees.

“Team Lavender is embedded in the culture of our building,” said Grill, senior manager for patient and customer experience at Syosset and Plainview hospitals. “In addition to responding to stressful situations, we also try to take proactive measures, so the lounge was just another layer of what we provide for the staff, and I know the room is being very well used.”

While most Northwell facilities are outfitted with rooms where employees can find solace, Barden said not all have been given the “Lavender Lounge” treatment. Currently, Northwell officials said, there are eight Lavender Lounges or staff respite rooms at Syosset Hospital; South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore; Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Glen Oaks, Queens; Glen Cove Hospital; Huntington Hospital; Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan; Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

Grill said Northwell officials will consider creating additional lounges wherever there is the space to accommodate one. “We’re a 24-hour operation, we want to make sure it’s open and available during every shift,” Grill said.

Grill said Northwell is also hoping to extend the reach of its Team Lavender program beyond the hospitals and into ambulatory sites within the network.

NO MORE SITTING IN CAR

For Dessire Ponce, the new space at Syosset Hospital has already proved to be a beneficial resource.

During the pandemic, Ponce, 33, of Bay Shore, saw firsthand how chaotic a hospital can be in a global health crisis.

“We worked 12-hour shifts during COVID seeing patients,” she said. “It got to a point where we couldn’t step out anywhere.”

Ponce has worked as a medical assistant in the testing lab at Syosset Hospital since 2016. She said she was drawn to the career because she likes helping people and she doesn’t mind staying late when she’s needed. However, the demands of her job still leave her feeling stressed out. Over time, Ponce said she has seen Northwell work to promote a healthier environment for its employees.

“Our department is small, and sometimes we’ll see nearly 30 patients in a day,” Ponce said.

“When I would go on break, I would leave the hospital completely, but I don’t have to do that anymore.”

Now, instead of walking around the block or sitting in her car on cold or hot days, Ponce has shifted her breaks to the comfortable confines of the Lavender Lounge.

“Hospital settings are always first and foremost about the patient,” said Ponce. “Working somewhere where it’s actually about the patients as well as the employees means a lot.”

Ryan Parnell is the director of hospital medicine for Northwell Health’s Syosset and Plainview hospitals. Kyra Grill is senior manager for patient and customer experience at the two hospitals. Their titles were incorrect in an earlier version of this story.