AMA Recognizes Health Systems that Care for the Caregivers

Oct 07, 2021 at 10:27 am by pj



AMA recognizes Orlando Health

 

As half of health care workers report burnout amid COVID-19, AMA acknowledges achievements that improve joy in medicine



The American Medical Association (AMA) recognized 44 health care organizations as recipients of the 2021 Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program. The AMA distinction recognizes health systems with a demonstrated commitment to preserving the well-being of health care team members by engaging in proven efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary stress on physicians and other health care professionals,” said AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, M.D. “While it is always important for health systems to focus on the well-being of care teams, the imperative is greater than ever as acute stress from combatting the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to higher rates of work overload, anxiety, and depression. The health systems we recognize today are true leaders in promoting an organizational response that makes a difference in the lives of the health care workforce.”

A national study examining the experiences of physicians and other health care workers who worked in health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic found that 38% self-reported experiencing anxiety or depression, while 43% suffered from work overload and 49% had burnout.

Candidates for the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program were evaluated according to their documented efforts to reduce work-related burnout through system level drivers. Scoring criteria was based on demonstrated competencies in commitment, assessment, leadership, efficiency of practice environment, teamwork, and support.

The recipients of 2021 Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program are:

Ascension Medical Group

Atrium Health

Atrius Health

Bassett Healthcare Network

Bayhealth

BJC Medical Group

Boston Medical Center

Bozeman Health

Centra Medical Group

Children's Mercy Kansas City

Children's Primary Care Medical Group

ChristianaCare

Christus Physician Group

Confluence Health

Harvard Medical Faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Heartland Health Centers

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Kootenai Health

LCMC Health

Massachusetts General Physicians Organization

Mayo Clinic

MedStar Health

Mercy Medical Group

Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan

MidMichigan Health

New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Northwestern Medicine

Oak Street Health

Ochsner Health

Orlando Health

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Sanford Health

South Georgia Medical Center

Southern California Permanente Medical Group

Spectrum Health

Spectrum Healthcare Partners

Stanford Medicine

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Thundermist Health Center

UCHealth Southern Region

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus

UNC Health

University of Utah Health

UPMC

Launched in 2019, the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program is a component of the AMA’s practice transformation efforts, an ambitious initiative to advance evidence-based solutions that fill the knowledge gap in effective solutions to the physician burnout crisis.

“The recognition program offers a roadmap to guide health system leaders who are interested, engaged and committed in efforts to fight the root causes of burnout in the health care workforce,” said AMA Vice President of Professional Satisfaction Christine Sinsky, M.D. “The 44 health systems recognized this year by the AMA are creating momentum in the health care community for a united commitment to wide-spanning change in the culture of medicine that emphasizes professional well-being in health care.

The AMA continues to work on every front to address the physician burnout crisis. Through our research, collaborations, advocacy and leadership, the AMA is working to make the patient‐physician relationship more valued than paperwork, preventive care the focus of the future, technology an asset and not a burden, and physician burnout a thing of the past.