Wellness Office Story
The Michigan Medicine Wellness Office was established in 2019 under the guidance of the inaugural Chief Wellness Officer Kirk J. Brower, MD. The charge of the new Wellness OFfice was to improve the well-being of our faculty, staff and learners. During the pandemic, the Wellness Office website was launched as a centralized, coordinated hub for well-being resources, programs and initiatives.
The Michigan Medicine Wellness Office works with leaders and key partners across Michigan Medicine and the university community to ensure an environment in which our values, attitudes, and behaviors align with Michigan Medicine’s core values –including caring, which is to treat everyone with dignity, kindness, and respect, promoting the well-being of self and others. By doing this, Michigan Medicine is prioritizing well-being at the organizational level for learners, staff, and faculty.
Michigan Medicine received the AMA Bronze Recognition in 2021 for their commitment to advancing the well-being of faculty, staff and learners at Michigan Medicine
Michigan Medicine Model of Workforce Well-Being*
*The workforce environment extends to learners as well as faculty and staff, and to research and education as well as clinical care. Thus, the academic workforce environment includes learning, research, and clinical areas.
The impact of the pandemic on the emotional health and well-being of our onsite, frontline, and remote faculty, staff, and learners accelerated much of the necessity of our work. Through this, our goals were to ensure there was a voice for well-being throughout Michigan Medicine and to serve as coordinated, centralized resource hub for those seeking support.
Read the Wellness Office Inaugural Report to learn about progress in advancing well-being at Michigan Medicine!
Learn more about the Wellness Office!
Center for Positive Organization Webinar: Michigan Medicine Wellness Office [Q & A Session]
Professor Amy Young hosts an informative Q & A session with Dr. Kirk Brower, former Chief Wellness Officer and Dr. Sandy Goel, Administrative Director from the Michigan Medicine Wellness Office. The Michigan Medicine Wellness Office works with its senior leaders and key partners on organizational-level strategies and best practices to improve workforce well-being for its faculty, staff and learners. Kirk and Sandy will discuss the principles that guide the work of the office, strategies used to address well-being in a large organization, and the challenges faced, particularly as a new office during a pandemic when well-being was more important than ever.
Guiding principle: give voice and visibility to well-being and incorporate well-being into every decision-making across the organization
Strategies to improve workforce well-being: measure well-being, communicate consistently, align well-being improvement goals with missions and values of the organization, and more
Invite people to co-design solutions: People feel a better sense of belonging and inclusion when they can be part of the decision-making and their voices reveal what is truly needed
Reframing barriers as opportunities: find a new language to talk about well-being to connect and identify places the team can do better
Measuring well-being: frame questions that help collect information on things your team want more of (e.g., improve well-being)
Example practices: Wellness Advocates Network, Workforce & Learner Well-Being Grant Program, Well-being Survey
