Advancing Workforce Mental Health: Progress, Pitfalls, and Practical Solutions

July 20, 2023 12:00 pm Central

Register 1 CHES Credit Available

Guest Panelists:

Join HERO’s Senior Fellow and Scientific Advisor for Workforce Mental Health, Dr. David Ballard, in a candid discussion exploring successes, challenges, and lessons learned in protecting and promoting worker mental health. A follow-up to HERO’s 2022 Fall Think Tank, this webinar will delve into practical strategies for advancing mental health at work and tackle thorny issues that employers face in the real world.

Last September’s Think Tank examined recent and emerging workforce mental health guidance and asked whether the abundance of new resources will lead to significant, sustainable change. Experts and Think Tank participants explored efforts from outside the United States and the impact they are having, the response from employers, lessons learned, and barriers/facilitators to effective uptake. We also discussed implementation issues for employers, such as finding evidence-based guidance and resources, setting a strategy, prioritizing actions, customizing efforts to meet the needs of a diverse workforce, and measuring and monitoring results.

In this webinar, we’ll highlight key takeaways from the Think Tank discussions as a starting point, so whether you participated in the meeting or not, this panel will help sustain the conversation and move us forward in effectively addressing workforce mental health.

Learning Objectives

After this webinar, participants will be able to:

• List potential barriers to successful implementation of available workforce mental health guidance.
• Describe challenges and success factors related to addressing worker mental health in real-world settings.
• Discuss lessons learned from employer efforts to address workforce mental health.

 

Speaker Profiles:

Suzy Harrington, DNP, RN, MCHES, is a respected national well-being speaker, strategist, and leader. Currently, she serves as the AVP of Workforce Well-Being at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston Texas, where she is transforming well-being practices at the renowned institution. Prior to this role, Suzy spent a decade in higher education championing the promotion of health promoting universities on national and international levels. She was the first dedicated chief wellness officer in higher education. With a background in various nursing roles, including Air Force, ICU, radiology, open heart, and recruiting, Suzy discovered her passion in school health. She holds a master’s in health services/health promotion and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in business and leadership of health care, with a focus on health promotion. Throughout her career, she has been a leader in population health and clinical settings, leaving behind a legacy of sustainable well-being successes.

Kati Lohr, LPC-MHSP, NCC, ACS, CET II, is a Cofounder of Synchronous Health, serves on the executive leadership team as the Chief Clinical Experience Officer, and sits on the Board of Directors. At Synchronous Health, Kati combines her clinical expertise and creative innovation skills to develop programs and products that provide an authentic experience of the organization’s culture, community, and services. She focuses on promoting inclusion and belonging in both human and digital experiences and has successfully improved accessibility and quality of mental health care for non-profit, for-profit, and B-Corp entities. Kati is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 25+ years of experience in mental health. She is also a National Certified Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a Level II Certified Experiential Therapist. She holds a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of Denver and a master’s in experiential education from the University of Minnesota.

Krystal Sexton, PhD, is the Global Health Analytics Manager at Shell. She began her career at Shell as an epidemiologist and helped develop the holistic approach to health that covers physical, mental, and social health. In her current role, Krystal leads a global team of epidemiologists and health analysts who support cross-discipline and cross-functional work across Shell with a primary focus on holistic health and its association with business and health outcomes. She obtained an MS in biostatistics and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Krystal completed postdoctoral fellowships at both MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

Ryan Sledge, MBA, MPH, is the Vice President of Workforce Health & Safety at HCA Healthcare. Ryan partners across teams—both clinical and non-clinical including human resources, infection prevention, HCI, and performance improvement—to ensure caregivers receive great care so that they can focus their passion and energy on providing great care. In his previous role as Director of Worksite Operations and Product Development for OhioHealth, he was for creating a sustainable culture of health for OhioHealth’s 29,000 employees, as well as the employers served by the program in the Columbus region. Ryan is Treasurer on the HERO Board of Directors and also serves as co-chair of the HERO Healthcare Summit Planning Committee. Ryan’s academic background includes a BS in exercise science, an MPH degree from Michigan State University, and an MBA degree from the University of Michigan.

Emily Wolfe, MSW, LCSW, is HERO’s Director of Learning Experience, providing leadership and project management for HERO Committees and the various projects that the committees produce. In addition to committee project management, Emily supports HERO’s Senior Fellow in planning HERO Think Tank meetings. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and received her master’s degree in social work from UNC-Chapel Hill with a concentration in adult mental health. She has experience working in hospital settings, including oncology and clinical care management, employee work-site wellness programming, transitional community housing, and private mental health practice. Emily has a strong interest in the intersection of workplace culture and employee mental health, and the unique health and well-being needs of lower-wage earners.

David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, is a Senior Fellow and Scientific Advisor for Workforce Mental Health at HERO. His work focuses on organizational effectiveness, occupational health promotion, workforce mental health, program design and evaluation, and systems-level workplace interventions. David has provided research, consultation, and training services to government agencies, industry groups, corporations, private equity firms, medical schools, and universities. He currently serves on the boards of directors for The Health Project, which presents the C. Everett Koop National Health Awards, and Sound Mind, co-chairs the Advisory Committee for The Carolyn C. Mattingly Award for Mental Health in the Workplace, and is a member of NIOSH’s Cross-Sector Council on Healthy Work Design and Well-being.

This webinar is available to members only.

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