New York, NY – July 8, 2024: NYC Health + Hospitals today announced it was recognized as a 2024 WellBeing First Champion for its efforts to remove invasive mental health questions on physician credentialing applications. The award was given by ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare, a coalition of major healthcare organizations led by The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global, and the CAA Foundation. NYC Health + Hospitals is one of 19 health systems nationwide recognized by the coalition. According to a 2023 survey by the Physicians Foundation, 4 in 10 physicians were either afraid or knew another physician fearful of seeking mental health care given questions asked in applications for medical licensure, credentialing, or insurance.
“When doctors feel like they have to choose between providing care for others and seeking it for themselves, we exacerbate our health care crisis and deny New Yorkers the help they deserve. That is why NYC Health + Hospitals has been a national leader in removing invasive mental health questions from physician credential applications and ending the dangerous stigma around this issue,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Congratulations to NYC Health + Hospitals for this well-deserved honor, and thank you to all our health care providers for your work every single day to deliver a safer, healthier New York City.”
“Our staff is at the core of the work that we do at NYC Health + Hospitals,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Machelle Allen, MD. “We are very proud of our efforts to eliminate invasive credentialing questions and prioritizing the mental health of our front-line staff. We would like to thank the ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare coalition for recognizing our work in this area.”
“Over the last few years, NYC Health + Hospitals has invested in the mental health of our workforce, from the Helping Healers Heal program to the 20 newly opened wellness rooms where our staff can decompress during the workday,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Eric Wei, MD, MBA. “Changing our credentialing questions is another way to show current and future staff our health system wants everyone, including our workforce, to seek mental health and wellness support whenever they need it.”
As an example, a reference form for a clinician applying to work at NYC Health + Hospitals used to include the following question about the applicant’s health status:
Have you observed or been informed of any chemical dependency, physical or mental health problems which might affect the applicant’s ability to perform in a competent manner?
Last year, NYC Health + Hospitals replaced this question with the following:
Have you observed any health problems which might affect the applicant's ability to perform in a competent manner?
If “Yes” is selected, the information is communicated confidentially to Occupational Health Services to ensure the medical staff applicant is provided the appropriate support needed to be successful in his or her role.
This work is part of the health system’s commitment to the mental health and wellness of its frontline staff. In March, NYC Health + Hospitals announced a partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to implement the Interactive Screening Program, an online self-screening tool for staff to connect to peer and clinical support before a potential crisis emerges. In addition, NYC Health + Hospitals’ Helping Healers Heal program offers emotional first aid to health care providers who are suffering from workplace stress or anxiety and may be at high risk of depression caused by the demanding circumstances of the job and unexpected patient outcomes.
