The UAB Medicine Office of Wellness is growing! Recently, the team moved into their own brick-and-mortar space, an office located on the ground-level of the Kirklin Clinic parking deck in KCPD 509. The office sits between the Office of Patient Experience and Harbin’s Pharmacy.
Led by David Rogers, M.D., MHPE, chief wellness officer, the UAB Medicine Office of Wellness collaborates with UAB employees and students to support them on their wellness journey. What started as a burnout prevention curriculum for faculty has evolved into a total wellness program for all staff, students, faculty, residents, and fellows. Rogers says that the program’s vision is aligned with the organizational goal of UAB Medicine of being a preferred place to work. By reducing the unnecessary demands associated with work and by providing support programs, work-place wellness will undoubtedly improve.
The Office of Wellness utilizes several tools to help individuals maintain their wellbeing, including digital assessments, counseling services, resilience training, and professional development. Currently, the new office accommodates several services in-house, such as mental health counseling and financial counseling. Individuals can take advantage of mental health services on Mondays from 8 a.m.-noon, and financial wellness services on Wednesdays from 1-4 p.m. by scheduling an appointment with the EACC (205-934-2281). Ultimately, the goal of the space is to house as many wellness services as possible in one location.
Rogers recently hired Nisha Patel, MSHA, MBA, executive director of Operations, Wellness, and Administration and Katherine Meese, Ph.D., director of Wellness Research.
When asked about the most exciting facet of the new office space, Rogers stated: “The new space allows us to improve access to programs that help members of the UAB Medicine community. This can include people who are in distress, those who want to improve their resilience, or those who want to gain a better understanding of themselves as it relates to their work. We partner with groups at UAB who are already involved in promoting wellness (e.g. Employee Assistance and Career Counseling), and we are also adding new programs. The new space provides a reminder to employees of senior leadership’s commitment to wellness, as well as a reminder that improving wellness needs to be a priority of every leader in UAB Medicine.”
One important aspect of the program is the Well-Being Index (WBI), a brief online self-assessment that offers immediate feedback to the individual, while providing attainable tools to address personal well-being. The assessment identifies the individual’s top three areas for growth and points them to a local resource within the UAB enterprise or locally in Birmingham. Last year, the WBI tool was rolled out to faculty, trainees, medical students, APPs, and nurses, and yielded unanticipated participation. The Office of Wellness is excited to announce that the WBI will be rolled out to employees and staff in early spring.