Ranch Ehrlo has introduced a new, innovative crisis management tool to help improve safety at the Ranch.

Ukeru, Japanese for “to receive,” is a crisis management approach that prioritizes comfort over control. It is not intended to replace any existing practices at the agency but rather to complement our CARE principles and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention techniques, further enhancing the quality of life for our participants and the safety of our staff.

“We were listening to our staff feedback about the importance of safety in the workplace. We all understand that the work we do is hard but rewarding. We work with some difficult participants with highly complex needs and staff safety needs to be a priority,” explained Natalie Huber, Ranch Ehrlo CEO.

A project team of directors and vice-presidents from multiple disciplines across the agency was created to address this issue and determined that Ukeru would be the best fit for the Ranch.

Ukeru has been implemented in over 600 organizations across the world similar to ours and has been proven to reduce staff injury, improve staff’s sense of safety, and drastically decrease participant crises. These results benefit the staff and lead to an overall positive care experience for our participants.

We began training staff and implementing the technique in the north. Training in the south began in January and will continue until the spring.

Natalie added, “We know our young people and participants who come to the Ranch often have experienced traumatic events. If we can add a tool that helps reduce future traumatic events and keeps staff safe, then it is a win-win.”