WHY Mental Health First Aid At Work Training

This is the 3rd Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) At Work certification training being offered by WHY, SCHA’s comprehensive effort to improve the healthcare work experience.

WHY, an acronym that stands for Work, Harmony, You, aims to restore harmony to the relationship between work and the people who do it. SCHA’s goal is to find solutions for systemic, root causes contributing to healthcare worker burnout, disengagement, and turnover. MHFA At Work training is one of several WHY initiatives to address sources of stress for healthcare workers. Much the way CPR prepares people to respond to a medical emergency, MHFA At Work training equips hospital staff members to support those who are experiencing a mental health or substance-use related challenge or crisis.

Virtual and in-person MHFA training sessions are being offered for member hospitals throughout 2024. The next session is scheduled for August 28th from 10am – 2pm in person at Self Regional in Greenwood. Enrollment is limited, so click here to register today. Two hours of pre-work are required, and lunch will be provided.

MHFA At Work is an interactive, skills-based training program that teaches participants how to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges. Participants will gain skills and confidence needed to provide initial support to a colleague who’s struggling.

“Peer support programs like Mental Health First Aid just make sense at Tidelands Health,” said Renee Shore, director of the Employee Assistance Program and Wellness at Tidelands. “Like any healthcare organization, the employees at Tidelands Health have an inner, empathetic calling to care for others, and the Mental Health First Aid program offered the opportunity, tools, and resources for our trained first aiders to support the emotional needs of peers with that same compassionate care used to support patients, family members, and our community. The interest of so many in stepping up as a trained Mental Health First Aid responder was moving and overwhelming, but not at all surprising. “

The MHFA course will cover:

• risk factors and warning signs of mental health and substance use challenges,
• strategies for helping in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and
• where to turn for help.

For more information, contact Emily O’Sullivan at eosullivan@scha.org. WHY is generously funded by a grant from The Duke Endowment. Learn more at scwhy.org.

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