As part of its mission, the American Nurses Foundation delivers programs to enable better health outcomes for patients and the nurses who care for them. The Nurse Well-Being: Building Peer and Leadership Support Program was developed by nurses for nurses to offer evidence-based tools and resources to improve their recovery from stress reactions. Made possible through a three-year, $3.1 million grant from the United Health Foundation, this innovative program:

• Utilizes the Stress First Aid (SFA) Model, a framework to improve recovery from stress reactions, both in oneself and in coworkers. The SFA peer support model was originally developed for those in high-risk occupations like military, fire and rescue, and law enforcement. A new version of this model has been curated by nurses and for nurses.
• Provides access to real-time resources and tools to help nurses understand the science behind what they are experiencing, and how to manage moments of extraordinary stress.
• Leverages solutions that assist individual nurses, nurse leaders, and health care organizations to respond to and lessen the severity of nurse burnout and disengagement.
• Creates a shared language around stress and burnout to lessen the stigma nurses may encounter when in need of help.

The American Nurses Foundation piloted the program in four health care organizations including:

• BayCare Health, Tampa Bay, Florida
• Indiana University Health, locations throughout Indiana
• University of South Alabama Health Hospital, Mobile, Alabama
• Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Winston-Salem, North Carolina