Wellness at MHRI

The MHRI Wellness Committee has provided an abundance of valuable resources and information to our associates this month. If the last two years have taught us anything, taking care of ourselves is critical to maintaining our health and wellness. I encourage you to share these resources with others and join us on our journey to staying healthy!

MHRI Wellness Experience Program

The MHRI Wellness Committee launched the MHRI Wellness Experience Program for leaders and associates. This program provides funding from MedStar Corporate Wellness for onsite and remote teams throughout the MedStar Health system to create their own wellness experiences.

Here are a few examples that teams can take advantage of:

• Virtual Tastings (https://sifted.co/pages/about-the-kits)
  
• Online Fitness Challenges (https://www.mooveteam.com/step-count-challenge/)
  
• On-site wellness events (e.g., Wellness Speakers, On-Site massage, etc.)
• Team lunches (e.g., virtual or on-site post pandemic restrictions)
• Virtual Events (https://www.airbnb.com/s/experiences, https://www.teambonding.com/virtual-events/, https://www.reelivate.com/)

We encourage you, our leaders and associates to take time to identify ways that we can promote wellness for ourselves and our coworkers. For questions, email MHRIWellness@medstar.net

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MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing

The MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing (MCW) was launched to further develop and promote an innovative and supportive wellbeing culture that prioritizes optimal health, professional fulfillment, and quality of life for MedStar Health associates and providers. MedStar Health formally established the Center in November 2021 after years of successful foundational wellbeing activities that earned Joy in Medicine™ recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA).

The MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing strives to make a positive impact by supporting individuals and creating a culture of wellbeing. The team wants to fundamentally transform how associates cope with the stresses of working in health care, and support those who help others do so. The Center works to overcome healthcare associates’ hesitancy to seek care for themselves by driving meaningful engagement in and expansion of wellbeing initiatives and resources.

Learn More Here.

Free Meditation and Mental Health Resources

• Smiling Mind offers mindfulness programs for adults, parents, healthcare workers and more
  
• Soothing meditations and sleep meditations from Calm
  
• Burnout and other support through the Medical Society of DC's Physician Health Program
  
• Peer Support Line
• COVID Coach: a government-developed, free mobile app, designed to provide resources and enhance emotional support during this pandemic. The app is private and secure, no email account or password is required, and user data are not collected. This app is intended for EVERYONE in the community and is available for iOS and Android.
  
• MedStar Mind Body Medicine Meditation Series (Please note: You must be logged into the MedStar Health Network to access this resource on Starport)
  
• Virtual wellness opportunities

A Checklist for Depression 

What's the difference between a bad case of the blues and the painful mental disorder known as depression? According to the experts, impaired functioning is usually a clear-cut indication of a major depression.

Here's a quick checklist of depression symptoms. If the list sounds familiar, you may want to see a counselor or a  psychiatrist.

• Depressive Mood: Do you suffer from feelings of gloom, helplessness or pessimism for days at a time?
• Sleep Disturbance: Do you have trouble falling asleep at night or trouble staying asleep, waking up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning? Are you sleeping too much?
• Chronically fatigued: Do you frequently  feel tired or lack energy?
• Isolation: Have you stopped meeting friends for lunch?  Increasing isolation and diminished interest or pleasure in activities  are a major signs of depression.
• Appetite Disturbance: Are you eating far less than usual -- or far more? Severe and continuing appetite disturbance is often an indication of depression.
• Inability to Concentrate: If you can't seem to focus on even routine tasks, it's probably time to get some help.
• Dependence on Mood-Altering Substances: If you depend on alcohol or other drugs to make it through the day, you may be suffering from depression. Often the substance abuse causes symptoms that mimic the appearance of clinical depression, but are in fact due wholly to the drug use.
• Feeling a sense of inappropriate guilt or worthlessness.
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation/attempt.

Expedited Mental Health Access

We recognize how important it is for you to take care of yourself, even as you are busy taking care of others. Through this initiative with the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, MedStar Health providers and associates can establish contact with a mental health clinician within 1-2 business days of the initial call. The mental health clinician will identify the issues and either provide individual support immediately, or, if deemed helpful, will refer the associate to a mental health provider within Georgetown Psychiatry. Providers with expertise in adult, child, adolescent, and family mental health are available.

To set up an appointment, call 202-944-5400 and choose option 2. For urgent needs related to mental health access, please contact BHS at 866-765-3277. (Note BHS is the MedStar Health employee assistance program.)

Care for the Caregiver

Did you know that Care for the Caregiver support is not just for clinicians? And it’s not just for concerns related to work! The team provides free confidential 24/7 care to all associates and physicians system-wide.

• Real time attention using a nonjudgmental presence, focusing on listening and  understanding
• Informal debriefings, exploring the meaning of events and offering resiliency-building techniques
• Information about additional services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or crisis intervention services for larger scale stress reduction

Call: 866-674-9355 (866-MSH-WELL)
Email: c4c@medstar.net

Wellness Associate Support & Resources

There are many resources available from MedStar Health, all listed at medstarhealth.org/wellbeing. For questions or concerns, please email MHRIWellness@medstar.net.