Harassment Resources

Resources for Support of University of Colorado Hospital Clinical Team Members 

A ​few months ago I shared with you a story of personal experience with being a witness to harassment occurring in the hospital and a call for all of us to be active bystanders speak up when we observe this behavior.  I have brought the topic of sexual harassment to the UCH Medical Board which strongly supports the right of medical staff to practice in an environment free of sexual harassment or discrimination and our collective obligation to set expectations, provide support, and be an advocate for behavior we expect in patients, staff, and colleagues.  Jean Kutner and I, along with partners within UCH, UCHealth, and the School of Medicine have been meeting to compile resources, revise policies, and develop training to support this objective.  We wanted to share with you the resources below for reporting and support following these events.  Thank you, 

Ethan Cumbler MD President of the University of Colorado Hospital Medical Staff

Jean Kutner MD Chief Medical Officer University of Colorado Hospital.   

Resources for Support of University of Colorado Hospital Clinical Team Members 

University of Colorado leadership recognizes that while our organization is focused on Patient Centered Care there is a tremendous need for clinical team members to engage in self-care. Our staff and providers are our greatest asset, without each and every one we could not provide the highest quality care each and every day.  This document details resources that are currently available at University of Colorado Hospital to support clinical team members (including staff, providers and learners). 

1.     For occurrences of disruptive or violent behavior by a patient and/or a patient’s family member: Call the House Supervisor at 720.848.4296 and Security at 720.848.7777.  For issues of harassment or discrimination requiring immediate action or advice the House Supervisor can serve as a resource.  

2.     For other harassment or discrimination issues resources include:

a.     UCHealth Human Resources for support of, or incidents involving, UCHealth Employees 1-855-694-7824 or 720-848-694-7824 HRservicecenter@uchealth.org

b.     The Office of Equity for University of Colorado faculty, residents, fellows, or medical students.  303-315-2567.  https://www.ucdenver.edu/offices/equity/

c.     The Office of Professional Excellence for unprofessional behavior involving faculty, fellows, residents, or students 303-724-4776

https://www.cuanschutz.edu/offices/professionalism 

 3.     Resilience Education Support Team (REST) 

The REST objective is to guide clinical team members in therapeutic self-care following a potentially stress-inducing workplace incident in an effort to reduce burnout, endorse healthy lifestyle habits, and promote an institutional culture of processing stressful incidents productively. Clinical team members who have experienced a negative interaction with a patient and/or a patient’s family member resulting in emotional harm or unrest are asked to please submit an incident report through the REST SharePoint site found here:

4.     HeartMath Resilience Advantage Workshops 

HeartMath® provides a unique set of techniques to lower stress and boost resilience, while at the same time engaging the power of positive emotions to promote well-being and self-care.  In this workshop series, participants will learn techniques that can be used personally to build and sustain resiliency and can be readily shared with patients and families to lower anxiety, facilitate self-healing, and improve mood and positive outlook.  This series is open to all clinical team members at the University of Colorado Hospital.

https://www.uchealth.org/today/uch-team-gets-to-the-heart-of-stress-reduction/ 

 5.       Prevention of Harm Quality Case Review Committee

The healthcare industry has seen a marked increase in incidents that fall under the workplace violence category. While these incidents cannot always be prevented, University of Colorado Hospital would like to formalize a standardized review process and revisit our policies regarding the support of our clinical team members to prevent harm. Please submit an incident report through RL Solutions so our multidisciplinary group can review and identify next steps to address logistical breakdowns that jeopardize staff safety and well-being, in order to avoid such an incident in the future and better assist and advocate for staff and providers. 

File an occurrence report by going to the "Clinicians" OR "Apps" top navigation bar on the Source and select RL Solutions. For those with UCDenver email addresses, be sure to select University (UCDenver) as the domain before logging in.

 6.     Phoenix Center

The Phoenix Center at Auraria | Anschutz serves students, staff, and faculty associated with CU Denver, CU Anschutz, Community College of Denver, and MSU Denver. It provides free and confidential resources and assistance to survivors of interpersonal violence (relationship violence, sexual violence, and stalking), as well as their friends, families, and concerned others. Support services include academic advocacy, assistance reporting to the school and/or law enforcement at the survivor’s request, safety planning, court accompaniment, emotional support, and more. 

24/7 Free and Confidential Helpline: 303-556-CALL (2255)