With the theme of “Doing Well By Doing Good,” HERO Forum 2023 shared innovative ways that organizations are addressing societal challenges. Held in Salt Lake City in September, the conference spotlighted a successful partnership between Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Vanderbilt Health Employer Solutions (VHES). MNPS also won the C. Everett Coop Honorable Mention Award, which recognizes organizations with evidence-based programs designed to improve workforce health and achieve meaningful results.
One of the sessions at HERO Forum spotlighted how MNPS and VHES have collaborated to design a nurse navigation program, a faster, more convenient way for MNPS employees to get care when and where they need it throughout the Vanderbilt Health System.
In the session, “Addressing Increasingly Complex Mental Health and SDOH Needs in High-Stress, High-Burnout Workforces,” MNPS Benefits Director David Hines and Vanderbilt Health’s Martha Shepherd, DO, MPH, FAAFP, and Donna Skupien, RN, MBA, discussed how a mind-body-spirit approach was making inroads in combating SDOH needs commonly experienced by employees in the large and highly diverse school system.
In a May 2022 survey, MNPS employees had requested support around time management, stress management and emotional health. A Vanderbilt Health nurse navigation program gives that added emotional and spiritual support along with physical and mental care that can be accessed from a single point of contact.
Employees contact a nurse navigator, who filters requests to the appropriate level of care, which can include in-person or telehealth primary care or urgent care. A licensed clinical social worker and a chaplain are also on deck to provide mental health care, community resources or spiritual guidance.
To read more about the presentation and see the slides, go to this link.
