Northwestern Medicine Healthy Heroes Wellness Fair helps alleviate burnout among medical staff

Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield hosted its annual Healthy Heroes Wellness Fair on Thursday, Oct. 5, to help alleviate burnout among medical staff. Staff enjoyed stress-busting activities including building origami cranes, pumpkin and rock painting, lawn games, pet therapy, stretching sessions and more.

Burnout rates among the nation's physicians and other health care professionals spiked dramatically as the COVID-19 pandemic placed acute stress on care teams and exacerbated long-standing system issues. While the worst days of the pandemic have past, the lingering impact of work-related burnout remains an obstacle to achieving national health goals.

Angie Black, vice president of operations at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, says the Healthy Heroes Wellness Fair was first held three years ago during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and has grown every year.

"We are highlighting the many offerings that Northwestern Medicine provides to support our staff, including programs for mental health, emotional support, physical health and financial health," Black said.

In March 2022, Northwestern Medicine created the Office of Well-Being and named Gaurava Agarwal, MD, as Chief Wellness Executive for the health system.

Current programs offer by Northwestern Medicine's Office of Well-Being include:

• Scholars of Wellness – a professional development program with the objective to create a critical mass of wellness experts to drive meaningful change at NM.

• P2P Peer to Peer Support – a confidential peer-to-peer service that provides acute, emotional, and psychological first aid to clinicians who experience adverse events

• I.G.N.I.T.E. Employee Groups – organization sponsored, peer-led meetings with the goal of encouraging collegiality, shared experience, connection, and meaning in work to improve and support professional well-being.

Northwestern Medicine has earned recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA) as a Joy in Medicine gold-level recognized organization, one of just ten nationally. The prestigious AMA distinction is granted only to organizations that attest to the rigorous criteria of the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program and demonstrate a commitment to preserving the well-being of clinical care team members through proven efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout.