RESTORING RESILIENCE

NEW EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC MAKES ACCESSIBILITY REAL

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on front-line health care workers, and the Houston Methodist Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health responded last fall by opening an innovative behavioral health clinic for all hospital employees and their families. A major gift from the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation at year end could make it a game changer. “Our front-line physicians, employees and their families have been struggling,” says Dr. Benjamin Weinstein, the C. James and Carole Walter Looke Presidential Distinguished Centennial Clinical Academic Scholar in Behavioral Health and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. “We realized they lacked easy access to behavioral health care that has been sorely needed these past two years. We wanted to do a better job of caring for them.” Many mental health professionals do not take insurance, with the wait to see someone months long. These factors increase the likelihood of someone having a traumatic episode, according to Dr. Weinstein. “If you are having a mental health crisis, you need help now — not in three months,” he says. Dr. Weinstein and vice chair Dr. Alok Madan, the John S. Dunn Foundation Distinguished Centennial Clinical Academic Scholar in Behavioral Health, are leading the clinic that helps employees and their families overcome the extreme challenges of an enduring health care crisis. The Chao Foundation’s gift will help support the clinic’s viability and growth. “We’re building an employee mental health infrastructure from scratch and trying to have it be evidence-based and best in class,” says Dr. Madan. “We have a huge, diverse group of behavioral health colleagues who say they find this work some of the most meaningful work they do.” Dr. Susan Miller, the John S. Dunn, Sr. Research Chair in General

Internal Medicine and director of the Chao International Medical Ethics Program at Houston Methodist, notes the Chao Foundation wanted to invest in a sustainable model for both health care teams and their families. “The program and its goals resonated strongly with the Chao family,” says Dr. Miller. “We talked about the patient care barriers during COVID-19 and the stress and distress our health care team were experiencing. It was affecting their ability to find joy in their careers, and it was impacting their families.” The Chao Foundation’s gift also allows a researcher to dedicate time toward measuring the clinic’s impact, a feat Dr. Miller says is important. “We want to capture data to understand how this program can help employees maintain or recapture their resilience,” she says. “If you have resilient medical teams, then we can bring our own healing to the bedside. We are trying to understand how to have a therapeutic and healing interface that works effectively.” Dr. Weinstein notes this behavioral health clinic may be the first of its kind in the U.S., and services include individual and group sessions offered in-person and virtually. “As far as we know, there is not another program like this anywhere,” says Dr. Weinstein. “The service is completely free to all Houston Methodist health care personnel and their families through their medical insurance coverage.” James Chao, speaking on behalf of his family, shares Dr. Weinstein’s, Dr. Madan’s and Dr. Miller’s goal of finding meaningful ways to care for health care providers and their families. “Our hope is, through this program, we can make a discovery in psychology that will lead the way in making a permanent change to fortify health care workers,” says James Chao. Houston Methodist remains eternally grateful to the Chao family for its ongoing advocacy and support of more than two decades.