AURORA, Colo. — UCHealth is celebrating the two-year anniversary of its Recharge Room, which was created to combat health care staff burnout.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly half of health workers reported often feeling burned out in 2022, up from 32 percent in 2018. Nearly half of health workers intended to look for a new job in 2022, up from 33 percent in 2018.
The Recharge Room, located in the University of Colorado Hospital, is a place to relax and recharge. It has become vital for health care workers and employees.
Elisha Murray, a registered nurse in the hospital's care clinic, comes to the Recharge Room a few times a week.
“Where I work is pretty crazy over there. It’s kind of nice to get away,” said Murray.
The room has zero gravity and massage chairs, virtual reality, a space with projections of the beach or mountains on the walls, yoga mats and calming sounds of nature and birds chirping.
“I feel like it does help me through the rest of my shift,” said Murray.
Jenny Ricklefs is one of the creators of the room. She said it’s been a success since it opened.
“It's is sometimes difficult to get in here,” said Ricklefs.
Ricklefs said her team used a stress survey designed by the U.S. Navy to see what people thought of the room and tracked that data over the last two years.
“We asked them vaguely what their role is within the hospital, as well as how they were feeling when they entered the space and after about 15 minutes how they felt leaving the space,” said Ricklefs.
Results show around 82 percent of workers came into the room in a diminished state. Roughly 76 percent left the room in an improved state, and 84 percent left the room in a ready state.
“Just in talking with people and looking at the data, we really do have a sense that it’s making quite a big difference,” Ricklefs.
“I find it to be kind of a peaceful reset. You know, five minutes, it’s a nice break,” said anesthesiologist Dr. Matthew Stratton. “I think it could be useful in any profession, especially when there’s a lot of stress.”
While Murray said she hasn’t reached burnout yet, she believes having a room like this could go a long way in slowing down burnout.
“If it can help me at least just push through the rest of the day, I think that just having a place to relax and everything, it’s small but will help for sure,” said Murray.
UCHealth said some of its other clinics and hospitals do have a smaller version of the Recharge Room. The group is working on expanding the room to some of its other hospitals.
