Cottage Health launches Kindness Campaign as staff face continued aggression

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - At some point in our life, each one of us has probably heard the adage Be Kind to Others. Cottage Health has launched Kindness Campaign to encourage everyone to make an effort to Share Kindness.

As the number of patient cases rise, doctors at the hospital believe every ripple of positivity we can offer individually is meaningful and will contribute to making our community a better place to live.

Health professionals at the hospital say in the past several weeks they are seeing more patients, especially in the ER.

Some of the hospital's nurses have gone on a leave of absence due to patients becoming aggressive during treatment.

But healthcare workers are there to help others.

The hospital is seeing violence toward healthcare workers on the rise and has been for the past decade.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare and social service industries experience the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence.

In 2018, healthcare workers accounted for 73 percent of all workplace injuries due to violence. Unfortunately, this is true in our community as well.

While being in a hospital especially during an emergency can be stressful for patients and families, Cottage Health is asking everyone to share kindness.

They say healthcare workers are people just like you, and the work they do can take an emotional toll.

Most of us learned early in life the importance of kindness, and we also probably learned along the way that kindness truly does matter. Not only does it matter to the recipients of our kindness, the benefits to those who practice kindness are plentiful and undeniable.

Kindness is known to be good for the heart in more ways than one:

• Being kind to others boosts your serotonin, which is the neurotransmitter responsible for mood stability, eating, sleeping, and feelings of satisfaction and well-being.
• Being kind to others releases the hormone oxytocin which in turn leads to a chemical reaction that dilates blood vessels and decreases blood pressure.
• Practicing kindness toward others—and yourself—helps reduce stress and anxiety, improve self-esteem, increase compassion, and boost happiness.
• Being kind leads to better relationships and can open the door to new friendships.
• Acts of kindness have a ripple effect. Your kindness may inspire someone else to spread kindness to others, leading to more and more compassion and positivity. We are hopeful that our message of Share Kindness will do just that for our community.

Kindness can be defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, helpful, and considerate. There are so many ways to show kindness – at home, with friends, in the community, at work, in public places, on social media…just about anywhere.