The nursing staff, these heroes. Heroes who spent months, tirelessly on the front lines of COVID. Some have lost their lives there. In consideration of these exemplar behaviors, citizens are mobilizing to improve the lives of caregivers on a voluntary basis. This is how the Rennes University Hospital (Brittany, France) saw the arrival of five “nap cocoons”. New facilities put in place to allow nursing staff to rest. How are individuals mobilized and especially how are these “cocoons” promoting micro-naps. Explanation.
An aid fund for the CHU
It is the Nominoë fund that is behind this initiative. Created in 2014, this investment fund collects donations from people of good will to improve the life of health centers in the region. These often criticized structures can also improve the lives of our fellow citizens. And this is not the first project to be hosted by the University Hospital Pontchaillou in Rennes. In April, tests for all nursing staff in 10 hospitals had already been financed by the Breton fund. The fund wanted to go further. “At the heart of the health crisis, improving the rest rooms for caregivers has become obvious. It has attracted many donations from Bretons from all over,” said Marie Louis, the manager of Nominoë. A project which also allowed Nominoë to expand its field of action and help new people. “Nominoë is in principle focused on helping patients and their families. But with Covid-19, our donors were concerned about the well-being of the healthcare teams,” says the fund manager.
Nap & Up, a specialist in corporate micro-naps, was chosen to equip the rest areas. They will be disseminated in three poles of the hospital: in the emergency room, in intensive care and in geriatrics.
Help with micro-naps for well-being at work
These five “nap cocoons” thus offer nursing and medical staff the opportunity to relax to the point of falling asleep to recover during their breaks. The “cocoon” consists of an ergonomic chair and a fabric structure. The caregiver on break only has to fold back the fabric after settling in the chair. This allows visual and sound isolation. Everything is in place to trigger a recuperative micro-nap. To increase the level of relaxation, audio sophrology guides are also available. Recreating an environment completely detached from the work environment (while you are in the middle of it) to promote rest, this corresponds to the methodology displayed by the startup Nap & Up.
The first feedback from users convinced the Nominoë fund of one thing. The “cocoons” are very popular with the nursing staff and the demand for well-being is a real need. Its president Marie Louis promises in any case that the next projects will go in this direction.
It is not yet clear to what extent the COVID epidemic has changed our world. What we can see in any case is that it has awakened the sense of solidarity of many of us. After applauding the nursing staff every evening at 8:00 pm, initiatives abound to make their lives easier (meals, improving working conditions, etc.). And if it democratizes ergonomics and showcases French startups, no one will complain.
Source: Le telegramme