Supporting the Frontlines
When Natalie Anderson stepped into the Supporting Our Staff SOS Peer Support Coordinator role, she brought nearly a decade of Emergency Medicine experience and a clear understanding of how unaddressed trauma affects frontline workers.
Years of witnessing moral distress, grief, and burnout fueled her determination to rebuild peer support within acute care at Red Deer Regional Hospital.
Peer support efforts began in 2012 with CISM debriefs, but many were led by non clinical facilitators, leaving staff feeling misunderstood.
Natalie’s own psychological injury in 2020 highlighted gaps in structured support. By 2021, six volunteers were ready to help colleagues, but funding for training and assessments was missing.
The Foundation secured $30,000 in grant funding, enabling formal training and psychological assessments aligned with best practices.
Today, the program supports multiple units including ICU, the Operating Room, providing confidential support after trauma, loss, and burnout, with growing demand and vision for expansion.