The global pandemic and other life pressures have increased mental health challenges for caregivers, making mental health benefits a must-have for healthcare employers.
During a webinar, Caring for caregivers: How to address healthcare's mental health crisis held in February, hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by Lyra, Chris Jackson, area vice president of Lyra Health, facilitated a discussion between Shawn O'Connor, regional chief nursing officer of Chicago-based Amita Health, and Heather Sprague, chief human resources officer of Adena Health System in Ohio, about their mental health program best practices.
Four key insights:
1. Caregivers’ mental health needs are on the rise, calling on employers to provide robust mental health benefits. According to a new Lyra survey, the number of employees saying their mental health declined over the past year was 31 percent in 2021, up from 24 percent in 2020. Among employees surveyed, 59 percent said their mental health affected their ability to do their job in the past year and 33 percent sought mental health care in 2021, up from 19 percent the previous year.
However, despite the growing importance of mental health, many employees are dissatisfied with the assistance provided by their employer. "Employee perceptions of their employer regarding mental health challenges are not as positive," Mr. Jackson said. "We're seeing about a 50 percent split, with only half of employees feeling that their employer cares about their mental health." Employers also tend to overestimate the ability of their benefits to effectively address workers' mental health challenges. While 76 percent of employee benefits leaders surveyed said they believe their company's benefits effectively address their workforce's mental health needs, only 44 percent of employees think their current benefits effectively address their mental health needs.
2. For employers, programmatic approaches must be holistic and flexible. Among employees, 84 percent said it was important for employers to offer comprehensive and robust mental health benefits. That means a benefit that covers the full spectrum of employees’ mental health needs and a variety of ways to access care.
Adena Health System employees appreciate the availability of telehealth mental health visits. "We rolled out a holistic well-being program last fall," Ms. Sprague said. It moves beyond asking about diet and physical activity to provide assistance with financial, mental and spiritual wellness. "We're trying to look at the whole person because everyone has unique needs."
3. In offering programs to help employees' mental health, best practices include leadership involvement and addressing stressors throughout the day. "Employees have not always been able to pursue programmatic options like employee assistance programs or virtual support groups," Ms. O'Connor said. Lack of time is frequently cited as a barrier. "Today, we're [AMITA Health] looking at how we can create a means for [caregivers] to feel positive, refueled and renewed right in the moment." Adena Health is doing the same, offering pastoral rounds during shifts, setting up "being rooms" for mindfulness exercises and providing massage chairs for breaks.
Both organizations stress the importance of leadership participation and visibility. "Our culture has been very open," Ms. O'Connor said. "If leaders themselves have reached out to employee assistance programs and are willing to share their personal experience, that helps reduce the stigma." Ms. Sprague added that Adena prioritizes leadership training. "We need to train our leaders to recognize what's going on and how to be in a moment with someone who might need a pause," she said.
4. Addressing mental health concerns will be essential in attracting future caregivers. "Mental health impact is having a definite effect on the pipeline of new caregivers," Ms. O'Connor said. Having robust, holistic mental health support as part of a benefits package can help. "We have to approach it from a multidisciplinary focus; it can't just be standard recruitment anymore." Ms. Sprague said.
If you are interested in learning more from these insights, you can download Lyra’s State of Workforce Mental Health in 2022 Report here.
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