CO-CARES

CO-CARES is the Colorado Alliance for Resilient and Equitable Systems serving the health care and public health workforce. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment proudly launched the CO-CARES initiative to support people who helped Colorado through the pandemic — and continue helping every day. 

Everyone handles stress differently. Many in health care and public health are still recovering from COVID-19, and some are just beginning their recovery. Everyone — from the bedside to support services to executive leadership — deserves to prioritize their well-being. Responding to the pandemic impacted more than individual caregivers.. It also affected how teams and organizations function. Different CO-CARES resources address individual needs, team needs, and organizational needs.

CO-CARES is for health care and public health workers of all kinds, including: clinical and non-clinical staff at hospitals, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, emergency medical service providers, public health, coroners, funeral home employees, emergency managers, behavioral health community providers, home health care, and more.

Connect with CO-CARES

Want to learn more? Schedule a virtual meeting via Google Meet with the CO-CARES team. We have time slots spanning from 10 to 45 minutes. If you are unable to meet any of the times listed in the calendar, we are happy to set a time that would work best for you. We can accommodate conversations in multiple languages. To request accommodations for specific offerings or trainings, or for questions about accessibility, email cdphe_healthcareworkersupport@state.co.us.

What CO-CARES offers

Below are examples of meetings and trainings available to health care workers, including managers and leaders in the health care sector. Find the full catalog of resources for you, your team, and your organization online at CO-CARES.org.

Greater Resilience Information Toolkit training 

The GRIT-4Health course provides helpful information on connecting with peers in the health care industry, supporting strengths, coping, and resilience. The health care industry is often disproportionately impacted by stress. Social support and coping skills are important in combating stress and burnout. GRIT trains participants to promote wellness and resilience in the wake of stress or disasters. Learn more and sign up for GRIT-4Health training.

Toolkit Talks

Toolkit Talks is a webinar series offering a deeper dive into a specific toolkit. Learn workable strategies for facilitating the toolkit at your organization, concepts, and in-depth details.

Joy in Work Toolkit: This six-part webinar series guides supervisors, managers, and leaders at all levels through the Joy in Work toolkit from the National Association of County and City Health Officials. In addition to making valuable peer connections, participants will learn workable strategies to help increase joy in the workplace, reduce burnout, and promote more resilient work environments through conversations. Sessions will be held virtually and recorded. Learn more and sign up for the Joy in Work webinars. Watch the recorded Joy in Work webinars.

Coaching for Change

We are researching the best free resources available to health care workers across Colorado and presenting them in short informational videos so you can decide what  fits your needs.

Topics include burnout, compassion fatigue, stress, outdoor recreation, psychological safety, and more.

NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ)

Resilience roundtable discussions 

These roundtable discussions bring health care leaders at all levels together to discuss pressing issues, build relationships, and share ideas and best practices. Meeting in small groups, participants have space to acknowledge the challenges of the healthcare field, gain insights into new processes, foster collaboration, and troubleshoot problems with others who have shared experiences. Roundtables are currently virtual. Learn more and sign up for resilience roundtable discussions.

TRAILS Ambassador program 

Join the Team of Resilient Ambassadors Innovating and Leading Support and Sustainability to make a difference in your workplace! As a TRAILS member, you will have the opportunity to attend monthly team meetings, educational opportunities, and leadership training to help you foster resilience in your organization. TRAILS offers  a variety of virtual opportunities, in addition to monthly meetings and a newsletter. Learn more and sign up to join TRAILS at one of our TRAILS Coffee Chats.

Past the Pandemic: Individual Well-being, Connection, and Support 

This six-week series from the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Psychiatry and ECHO Colorado allows health care workers to connect with each other and to navigate, normalize, and validate their worries, stressors, and experiences related to working in health care. Participants will become familiar with the Stress Continuum model as they learn tangible strategies to mitigate stress and burnout. Past the Pandemic is available both as a live series and an online, self-paced course. Participants in both the live series and the self-paced course will gain access to weekly Resource Rooms on targeted topics to connect and share experiences, as well as a free toolkit.

First Priority Peer Support Program 

This hybrid training program from the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience equips participants to become peer supporters who are able to proactively reach out to peers to support work and life stressors and respond after stressful events. Peer supporters will learn about a variety of mental health topics, confidentiality, and crisis navigation. The program also offers continuing monthly support and quarterly trainings. Register for the First Priority Peer Support Program. Questions? Email FPPeer@uccs.edu.

Work and Well-being webinars 

These webinars from the University of Colorado Anschutz provide an opportunity for attendees to learn evidence-based information about essential wellness topics as well as engage in activities that support their health and well-being. Participants will explore these topics with their peers across Colorado, share skills and strategies, set goals, and practice wellness activities that help to maintain sustainable change. Learn more and sign up for Work and Well-being webinars.

Work and Well-being office hours 

For over a decade, the Behavioral Health & Wellness Program at CU Anschutz has helped organizations create a realistic blueprint to achieve a healthier, happier workforce one change at a time. For the CO-CARES initiative, the program provides a unique opportunity for health care supervisors, managers, and senior leadership to share and discuss timely worksite wellness topics. Through facilitated dialogue, Work and Well-being office hours will identify strategies to build and sustain a wellness culture for organizations. Office hours will start with a brief summary of a wellness topic and allow discussions to evolve based on participant interests and organizational needs. Separate office hours will be provided for specific health care settings including hospitals, primary care, and emergency medical services; behavioral health and integrated care; local public health agencies and coroners’ offices; long-term care, skilled nursing, and other residential facilities. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from experts and peers, identify tools and resources, and build relationships with organizations across the state. Learn more and sign up for Work and Well-being Leadership Forums.

Leadership Learning Series -

Cultivating Organizational Wellness: A learning series for health care managers and leadership

This series of self-paced, web-based modules from CU Anschutz provides health care managers and leadership to promote a culture of organizational wellness. New modules will be released monthly. Examples of topics include organizational tenacity, tailored whole health, transparency and trust, suicide prevention and mental well-being, decreasing employee churn, critical conversations with peers and employees, enhancing staff autonomy, trauma-informed leadership, and high utility wellness metrics. Learn more and sign up for the Leadership Learning Series.

Organizational Wellness Consultation 

The Behavioral Health and Wellness Program at the University of Colorado offers health care organizations individual consultations to support tailored workplace wellness goals. National subject matter experts will work with your organization's leadership and wellness champions to assess your wellness needs and meet your organization where it is at in setting realistic health system change goals. The CU team will identify resources and foster relationships that help you advance a culture of wellness. Contact the Behavioral Health and Wellness Program at the University of Colorado to learn more and sign up for an Organizational Wellness Consultation.

Health Links, Total Worker Health Program 

Based in the Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health, Health Links is a program that champions health and safety at work. It offers Healthy Workplace Certification and one-on-one advising to help organizations and team members achieve Total Worker Health— a holistic approach to worker well-being that enhances safety, health, and productivity. Health Links offers a workplace mental health module which includes an organizational survey, toolkit, customized recommendations, and advising to help improve employee mental health and resiliency.

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. The mental health module will help organizations assess existing mental health support and provide recommendations to meet the needs of employees. Learn more and sign up for Health Links.

Resources

Visit our CDPHE Personalized Resources and Support List to find resources that may be useful to you, or use the filters to narrow down your search. While some resources may be popular with certain audiences, feel free to explore any resource that you think would be helpful to you.

**If you have a resource that is not on this list, and you think it should be shared, suggest it here.**

CO-CARES is made possible because of an incredible alliance with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience,  the University of Colorado Department of Psychiatry, the University of Colorado School of Public Health, the Colorado Hospital Association, and the Switchback Institute.