At the recent LEAD Conference, the North Carolina Clinician and Physician Retention and Well-being (NCCPRW) Consortium reaffirmed its dedication to improving the professional well-being of healthcare workers across the state. Earlier this year, NCCPRW joined forces with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation (DLBHF) to launch the ALL IN: Caring for North Carolina’s Caregivers initiative.

On Saturday, DLBHF CEO Corey Feist, JD, MBA and CMO Stefanie Simmons, MD, FACEP addressed conference attendees to share progress on Phase 1 of ALL IN: C4NCC and preview Phases 2 & 3 of the initiative. Phase 1, which began in April, called on hospitals and health systems to remove invasive and stigmatizing mental health language from credentialing applications, addendums, and peer review forms.

Since April, five North Carolina Health Systems, representing 45 hospitals and benefiting 14,000 credentialed health workers, along with the NC Department of Insurance, have audited, changed, and verified that their credentialing applications are free from intrusive and stigmatizing questions regarding mental health conditions and treatment.

We recognize the following recipients as Wellbeing First Champions:

  • HCA Healthcare
  • Novant Health
  • Sentara Health
  • UNC Health
  • WakeMed Health & Hospitals
  • NC Department of Insurance
    • revised its Uniform Credentialing Application, enabling many hospitals across the state that use this form to benefit from the change and further update their own supplemental forms.

 

 

 

Corey Feist, CEO of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation addresses LEAD attendees during Saturday afternoons session hosted by the NC Clinician and Physician Retention and Well-being Consortium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the latter part of the NCCPRW Consortium session, Dr. Stefanie Simmons led a panel discussion titled “Leading Sustainable Systems-Change for a Healthy Workforce.” Panelists included Dr. Christina Bowen, Chief Wellbeing Officer at ECU Health; Dr. Nadia Charguia, Executive Medical Director of the Wellbeing Program at UNC Health and Medical School; and Dr. Jeffrey Hatcher, Chair of Physician Professionalism at Cone Health. They shared evidence-informed strategies being used within their organizations to drive and accelerate structural reforms, along with practical advice on initiating changes when resources and budgets are limited.

From left-right: panelists Jeffrey Hatcher, MD, FACP, Cone Health; Nadia Charguia, MD, UNC Health and Medical School; Christina Bowen, MD, ECU Health; moderator Stefanie Simmons, MD, FACEP, Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.

 

Be sure to continue checking Morning Rounds, as we share more photos and details from a weekend of recognition and celebration!