Almost every major tool used to secure a patient’s airway has some sort of rechargeable or reusable component in the Emergency Department. There are tools like a laryngoscope that help move the tongue and other anatomic features out of the way in order to allow a provider to see vocal cords, but without a tiny functioning lightbulb, batteries, or energy source all of these tools are fairly useless.

Providers can quickly fall in the same category! ALl the education, titles, connections, and tools in the world are useless if the provider loses empathy or the compassion it takes to heal through simply listening. Ironically, Physicians do not have a place in the hospital to plug in and recharge. An estimated $4.6 Billion is lost yearly on trying to maintain our health professional workforce. However, being in between someone’s worst day of their life and sea of other patient problems can truly affect the soul if Providers aren’t careful in how they protect their most important differentiating factor from machines- compassion.

Sanctuary typically refers to a physical place of refuge, but it can also be thought of a way to find restoration. There must be an intentional effort to reduce moral injury on providers, and ironically, the most powerful investments should generate more conversations, discussions, and community cohesiveness. Providers are an important investment to communities, but this model puts an individual at the center of a community’s needs. Who the will care for the provider on their worst day?