When Nurses Get to Exhale: What We Learned from Supporting NELC’s Home Infusion Team

Home infusion nursing is intimate work.

It happens in patients’ living rooms and kitchens. It happens in moments of vulnerability. It happens when families are overwhelmed, when diagnoses are new, and when the stakes feel high. Unlike hospital-based nurses, home infusion nurses often work alone, driving from house to house, carrying clinical responsibility and emotional weight without the built-in team support that inpatient settings provide.

That isolation matters.

Recently, MASStrong partnered with New England Life Care (NELC) to offer a structured GPS support group for their home infusion nurses. Their responses to post-support group surveys tell a powerful story about what happens when caregivers are given space to slow down and connect.

A First Step Toward Connection

For nearly every participant, this was new territory:

97% reported this was their first time participating in a GPS support group.

This matters, because when structured peer support becomes available in settings where it has never existed before, it signals cultural change. Not just an event, but a shift.

Despite this being a new experience, nurses engaged meaningfully:

• 52% described their experience as “Excellent”
• 32% described it as “Good”
• 77% said they would recommend GPS support groups to others

For a first-time offering in a clinical culture that often prioritizes productivity over pause, those numbers reflect real impact.

When asked to describe their experience in three words, nurses chose: Supportive, Safe, Validating, Calming, Grounded, Compassion, Trust, Resilience, and United, among others.

One nurse described it simply as “Much needed support,” while another wrote “Grounded, acknowledged, united.” These are not small words. They reflect psychological safety, something that cannot be mandated, only built.

The Power of Pause

Many nurses highlighted the grounding elements of the group:

“I appreciated the time in the beginning to ground myself and relax before starting.”

“I realized it is ok to take a break during my day and take a breath.”

“Self care: Take time to breathe, relax.”

In high-demand clinical roles, permission to pause can feel radical.

The structure of the GPS model (clear guidelines, confidentiality, facilitated reflection) was repeatedly noted as meaningful. One nurse appreciated that participation expectations were clear and that the space felt “sacred,” while another reflected that “…it is good to know that we all share some of the same feelings and frustrations.”

Home infusion nurses carry responsibility independently in patients’ homes. Being able to name stress, boundaries, and fatigue in a non-judgmental space builds emotional sustainability. Several participants specifically noted learning that it is okay to set boundaries, say no, speak up, and and a break. All of these can be essential protective factors against burnout.

Why This Matters

Home infusion nurses work at the intersection of clinical precision and emotional presence. They enter patients’ homes during fragile moments. They absorb anxiety, fear, gratitude, grief, and more. And then they get in their car and drive to the next visit.

Structured, trauma-informed peer support gives them somewhere to put what they are carrying. This MASStrong partnership with NELC demonstrates that when nurses are offered space to breathe, reflect, and connect they feel supported, validated, and less alone. They also begin to articulate boundaries and self-care practices while recognizing shared resilience among colleagues.

That is not just a “nice to have.” It is workforce stabilization. Because sustainable care systems depend on nurses who can exhale, not just endure. And sometimes, the most powerful intervention is simply giving caregivers a structured space to be cared for.

Bring MASStrong to Your Workplace

GPS’s MASStrong program offers free GPS training, support groups, curriculums, and toolkits for Massachusetts medical, behavioral health, and community care workers and organizations. Eligible organizations can also apply for GPS partnership support and grants up to $10,000.