New Book Blog! Still Standing - Leading Well-Being in Crisis-Tested Healthcare Systems
On a chilly day in mid-January 2026, I received a text message that immediately brought sunshine and smiles to an otherwise dreary post-holiday afternoon. Laurinda Calongne, EdD, former AIAMC member and board director, reached out to let me know she had published a book and wanted to send me a complimentary copy. How wonderful to hear from an old friend with whom I’d had little to no contact since she left AIAMC-member Our Lady of the Lake during the pandemic. Still Standing: Leading Well-Being in Crisis-Tested Healthcare Systems is research-based yet practical approach to systemic well-being, layered with Laurinda’s personal stories and observations.
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What’s
Unusual About This Book
I read it in one sitting. It is that good. Granted, I admit to being motivated to see the AIAMC’s National Initiatives referenced (chapter 8) and the AIAMC as first organization listed in the opening acknowledgements. That aside, what made this book unique to me was how quickly I was drawn into Dr. Calongne’s personal story, starting with her early career days as a clinical social worker. Trauma can be a daily occurrence in this field, and to top it off, Laurinda worked in southern Louisiana, where hurricanes and flooding abound. As she wrote, “Crisis was not abstract; it was Tuesday.”
The author’s personal traumas painted pictures so vivid
that my heart felt heavy and my eyes filled with tears. Dr. Calongne’s memories
were incredibly moving: keeping her two-month-old
daughter Emilie safe; her sister sweeping away mud after their childhood home after
being ravaged by Hurricane Rita; and her colleague’s grandmother dying while
waiting on an ambulance during Rita. The colleague, by the way, directed the
hospital’s emergency command center. Her nickname was “The General.” But she still could not save her own
grandmother. Resilience, anyone?
Breaking
it Down:
The book has three major
components:
1.
Understanding burnout and depletion
2.
The operating system and “recovery-first
leadership”
3.
Measurement and momentum.
Systems, of course, cannot
change without strong leadership. In the AIAMC, we often talk about leaders
needing to be big-thinking visionaries AND providing them with practical “tools
in their toolkit.” It is not just
publishing white papers; it is taking meaningful actions that result in
outcomes. What I particularly admire about this book is the author’s ability to
merge evidence-based rigor and personal stories with truly practical approach
and tips.
Examples
of Practical Approaches & Tips
Throughout her writing,
Laurinda drops short snippets of wisdom that stay with the reader. Some of my
favorites included:
· Resilience
keeps you standing. Recovery makes you human.
· Resilience
without recovery is endurance, and endurance runs out.
· Real
change does not happen from slogans. It happens from structures.
· People
need time – not platitudes or pizza.
· Healing
systems begin by healing their people.
Five Commitments to Carry
Forward: I will…
1.
Ask, “how are you doing” and wait for the
answer.
2.
Treat rest and recovery as a responsibility,
not a reward.
3. Acknowledge
moral distress and seek solutions, not silence.
4. Advocate
for well-being like any critical clinical tool.
5. Not
confuse professionalism with emotional suppression.
Powerful
stuff.
During my 20+ year tenure with the AIAMC, I have had the
privilege of meeting some truly exceptional and extraordinary leaders. Dr.
Laurinda Calongne is one of them. And I am so incredibly thankful that she has
crafted an extraordinary book for us all to continue learning from her
expertise and wisdom.
PS – Be on the lookout for a podcast episode with Dr. Laurinda Calongne discussing her book with me next month!
About Kimberly Pierce Burke, MA has
been the Executive Director of the AIAMC since July 2003. She loves reading,
hosting family gatherings, and cheering on her beloved Buckeye football team
from THE Ohio State University.