Methodology for a Mental Health Plan for Health Care Workers

ABSTRACT

The risk and prevalence of mental health concerns for health care workers has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Frontline health care workers are particularly vulnerable to professional burnout, anxiety, depression, substance use, and trauma. Although health care organizations have responded rapidly to the health and well-being needs of the patients and communities they serve, swiftly adapting to increased patient volumes, new protocols, resource shortages, and other needs as driven by the volatile environment, a similarly agile and robust effort is essential to support the mental and emotional well-being of health care workers. This article outlines the agile methodology used to mobilize a multidisciplinary team at a large academic medical center to amplify mental health support options for its workers and address barriers that prevent them from seeking that help. With the support of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and the People and Culture Committee through active executive sponsorship and funding, an internal team strategized and swiftly activated procedures to deal with urgent mental health barriers for frontline workers, despite the compounding challenges caused by the pandemic. This systematic approach to modeling a mental health strategic plan for health care workers featured engaging stakeholder teams through active listening, collective goal setting, and delineated short-term and long-term objectives while leveraging values-aligned and employee-centric principles. After 1 year, employees have increased the use of mental health services by as much as 14%-26%.