The Kindness Coalition: Transforming Health Care Through Compassion
#Communities
Prerak Juthani, MD, and Amity Eliaz, MD, at a Kindness Coalition event, promoting compassionate care at Stanford Hospital’s ‘Kindness Kickback’
It was 3 a.m. on a brisk mid-November night. Flu season was in full swing, and Stanford Hospital had been at full capacity for two weeks straight. Inside the team room, internal medicine residents Prerak Juthani, MD, and Amity Eliaz, MD, finally found a fleeting moment of respite. The room, dimly lit and filled with the hum of medical equipment, was their temporary sanctuary. Both physically and emotionally drained, they sank into their chairs, exchanging sighs of relief.
The two residents began to recount the past several nights. They spoke of responding to urgent messages, racing between units, and coordinating ICU transfers. Amid the chaos, a pattern emerged in their stories. It was the small acts of kindness and moments of clear, respectful communication that stood out. These simple gestures had the remarkable power to transform challenges – and even moments of crisis – into opportunities for connection and resilience.
Eliaz and Juthani were onto something. In fact, they had stumbled upon an issue that was endemic to hospital systems nationwide. A study published in The British Medical Journal found that communication failures are a common cause of inadvertent patient harm. The study emphasized the importance of fostering an environment where individuals could speak up, express concerns, and share common “critical language” to alert team members to unsafe situations.
As Juthani and Eliaz sipped their lukewarm coffee, an idea began to take shape in their minds. What if they could create an initiative to foster a culture of kindness throughout the hospital?
And so, in the middle of the night, The Kindness Coalition (TKC) was born. Juthani and Eliaz’s vision was clear: to create a hospital culture where kindness was not just an occasional gesture but a fundamental practice, enhancing both patient outcomes and team morale.
The Kindness Coalition team at Stanford Hospital’s ‘Kindness Kickback,’ gathering to celebrate the power of compassion and support in health care
“Kindness builds community. It reduces isolation, decreases burnout, and even cultivates resilience.”
– Amity Eliaz, MD
Kindness Kickbacks
In the bustling break room at Stanford Hospital, the latest event hosted by TKC gathers momentum. Over 50 healthcare professionals from diverse fields – doctors, nurses, social workers, technicians, and more – convene not just for the provided boba and cookies, but for a cause much more vital: fostering kindness within the stress-laden corridors of the hospital.
This event is called a “Kindness Kickback.” It’s a monthly initiative organized by TKC that allows healthcare workers to build relationships, share communication strategies, and unwind together.
As the event unfolds, people stream in and out of the break room. Some arrive with heavy expressions, visibly weighed down by the stressors that lie just beyond the break-room door. However, after a few minutes, their energy visibly shifts. Expressions soften, the room rings with laughter.
“Kindness builds community,” shares Eliaz. “It reduces isolation, decreases burnout, and even cultivates resilience.”
These monthly events are one of the many core strategies employed by TKC. Another strategy is the “Kindness Recognition Form,” which allows staff to acknowledge and celebrate the kind acts of their peers. Whenever a form is submitted, both the recognized individual and their supervisor receive an email, reinforcing the value of kindness and acknowledging its positive impact.
Additionally, TKC distributes symbolic pins for name tags, designed to remind and encourage staff to engage in kind interactions throughout their day.
Exploring the Science Behind Kindness
Kindness, while seemingly simple, can be difficult to define. It manifests in myriad ways and varies across different perspectives. One study simply characterizes kindness as “an action that benefits another, as perceived by the recipient of the kind action.”
Eliaz and Juthani encourage the event attendees to define kindness themselves. A large bulletin board reads, “What does kindness mean to you?” The attendees write their answers on colorful Post-it notes, with responses ranging from “Smiling and saying hello to each other in the hallways” to “Helping one another without expectations in return.”
At the Kindness Kickback, one healthcare provider has found her way into the break room. She’s totally new to TKC, but she’s heard the rumor of free boba and is drawn in. She asks about TKC’s mission, and her eyes widen in pleasant surprise. “Sometimes all it takes is for me to see a warm smile to turn my entire day around. I am so glad to know this mission exists, and I will be spreading the word wide and far.”
Echoing this sentiment, Chief Resident Hayley Galitzer, MD, an active participant and leader in TKC, adds, “In the high-pressure world of health care, a simple act of kindness can profoundly impact someone’s day. An act of kindness reminds us that our greatest impact comes from our ability to understand and care for one another.”
Research shows that kind behavior in health care is not just about being nice; it involves deliberate, prosocial acts that benefit both the giver and the receiver, ultimately enhancing the overall workplace atmosphere. However, in high-stress situations, such as night shifts or emergencies, kind communication often diminishes.
TKC is now developing a comprehensive tool kit aimed at guiding kind communication in critical healthcare situations. This tool kit is based on evidence-based principles, providing practical advice and strategies to help healthcare workers communicate more effectively and compassionately.
Personal reflections from attendees on what kindness means to them, shared during the Kindness Kickback event at Stanford Hospital
Expanding Reach and Impact
TKC has rapidly gained momentum, drawing more than 100 attendees from diverse healthcare professions to each event.
“We see TKC not just as an initiative but as a movement,” says Poonam Hosamani, MD, one of the faculty sponsors. “One that we hope will inspire other institutions to weave kindness into their fabric of operations.”
As TKC plans to expand, the hope is to set a new standard for healthcare environments, not just at Stanford but nationwide.
In advancing medical excellence and innovation, The Kindness Coalition highlights a crucial frontier: integrating compassion in health care. TKC serves as a model for healthcare systems globally, demonstrating that the future of medicine focuses not only on healing patients but also on strengthening the well-being and camaraderie of the healthcare teams that deliver care.
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