- Playing
- Reducing nurses' stress pays off for Kaiser patients
- From
- KALW
Technology has done great things for medicine: Machines can help keep hearts beating and lungs breathing. Electronic medical records help doctors keep track of their patients’ treatment and prevent mistakes. But all that technology needs a lot of monitoring – and that can be frustrating for nurses who want to be tending people, not machines.
To combat this problem, healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente is implementing a new program to help nurses relax a bit, and shift their focus back to what’s really important. KALW’S Christopher Connelly has more on what they’re doing.
More from KALW
Superman Immigrant
(04:30)
From: KALW
Sandip takes a different view of this very "American" super hero.
Where Twitter and Quakers meet
(11:15)
From: KALW
The mid-Market district of San Francisco is undergoing tremendous change. Construction cranes literally cast shadows over the businesses and charities serving long-time ...
Planting a permanent culture
(07:45)
From: KALW
Permaculture is a design method focused on using space efficiently, working with nature, and sustaining resources rather than depleting them. It aims to get the most use out ...
Fighting the dropout rate for African-American youth
(08:17)
From: KALW
In 2011, about 82 percent of San Francisco’s students graduated from high school. Ten percent dropped out. Break it down by ethnic group and the numbers change in ...
Confusion at the gas pump: which grade is best?
(05:10)
From: KALW
Gas prices in California are always a big problem. And this year, the average price per gallon is set to hit four dollars – the highest average ever. It seems like there’s ...
Taxi alternative Uber faces legal hurdles
(06:59)
From: KALW
Hailing a taxi in San Francisco can be nearly impossible if you’re not downtown. Calling ahead isn’t a guarantee either – often, the cab is late and sometimes it never ...
Gaming museum warps players through time
(08:33)
From: KALW
Lots of people talk about how addicted we are to our screens. We spend our days staring at smartphones, tablets, and computers. But the first digital addiction came before ...
Seeing past the nudity at San Francisco City Hall
(04:51)
From: KALW
San Francisco has long been known as a city where you can let it all hang out. Nudists from all over the world flock here to participate in events like the Folsom Street ...
West Oakland landlords invest in city's most dangerous streets
(09:53)
From: KALW
Mead Avenue is a single block in West Oakland in the triangle where San Pablo Avenue and Market Street meet. Like streets in a lot of low-income communities, Mead Avenue has ...
Inside the Adjustment Center at San Quentin State Prison
(26:32)
From: KALW
In 1851, the government of the new state of California legalized executions. But it wasn’t until 1891 that the state legislature required all executions take place within the ...
Transcript
CHRIS CONNELLY: Okay, everyone: Close your eyes. Now, take a deep breath.
BANU PERIASAMY: As you breathe in, breathe in loving kindness, equanimity...
It feels good, right?
PERIASAMY: As you breathe out, you breathe out frustration and anger.
Now, picture doing this every day, right when you get to work.
PERIASAMY: Breathe in gratitude and trust.
Do you think you’d do a better job?
PERIASAMY: Breathe out despair or pain. The pain you have been holding on, just let it go.
Okay, you can open your eyes now. The woman you’re listening to is Banu Periasamy. She's the afternoon managing nurse at Kaiser's Richmond Medical Center. She works on the medical surgical floor. And she leads her staff in this centering exercise every day at the beginning of their shift. The whole thing lasts about three minutes.
On the other side of the Richmond Hills, at Kaiser’s Antioch h...
Read the full transcript




