Mercy Hospital Opens New Lavender Room for Staff
“Code Lavender” was coined by Dr. Earl Bakken in 2004 in response to his staff’s need for holistic, mind, body and soul care. The code, which includes a rapid response protocol, has been implemented by innovative leaders in hospitals across the country. A code lavender is a tool to support staff—focused on crisis intervention from a team of nurturing colleagues.
At Mercy, our TLC team has created a new physical Lavender Room, for all to use. The intention of the Lavender Room is to promote the importance of the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of our frontline staff and help with healing and relaxation in the workplace. It is a physical EAP room on the second floor, in the medical staff hallway. The room was funded by the Mercy Hospital Foundation with a gift from the Borman Family Foundation. Barbara (Borman) and Michael Metzdorff and their daughter Alyson, are passionate about helping caregivers and transforming the human experience in healthcare. Michael Metzdorff was flown by our Mercy Flight for Life team to SAH in 2020, kicking off his journey in the Centura Health system. The family’s gratitude for caregivers, for their compassion, and their service to others inspired this gift.
The Lavender Room provides:
- Solitude to practice techniques like mindfulness
- A reading library that associates can use to expand and educate themselves on healing
- iPad + apps for guided meditation
- Music
- Yoga mats and yoga blocks for somatic movement
- Calming teas
- Light therapy
- Gratitude journals
- Affirmation cards, mantras, and short meditations
- Massage chairs in both the waiting room and main relaxation room
The Lavender Room has a 24-hour, week-long sign-up sheet on the medical staff hallway door, across from the elevators on level 2. You can reserve the main relaxation room up to a week in advance.