Update from the Well-Being Team

Dear Colleagues,

Now that fall is underway and we have returned to the swing of things, I thought I could share a few thoughts and updates on the well-being front.

Since we last wrote to you in May, the Well-Being team has made significant progress in our efforts to promote well-being at CUIMC. At VP&S we have met with each clinical department chair to review the CUIMC Well-Being Survey data and align on next steps to achieve the well-being goals for each department. Department leadership is currently working on identifying their local well-being teams, who will collaborate and work with the Well-Being Office to develop local action plans. We are excited to embark on the next phase of this work with the clinical departments and look forward to beginning conversations with the basic science departments soon. In addition to our work with VP&S, the Well-Being Office will continue to identify opportunities and discuss partnerships with the School of Nursing, Mailman School of Public Health, and College of Dental Medicine to advance well-being across the medical center. As a reminder, our CopeColumbia team remains available to provide individual and team-based peer support, as needed.

Another notable early outcome of this work is the CUIMC Well-Being Toolkit for Leaders. This is a valuable shared resource. The toolkit is grounded in practical and evidence-based best practices for fostering an environment that enhances well-being in the workplace. The Well-Being Best Practice group has made sure to address key issues based on valuable feedback from our faculty, staff, and survey data. This toolkit is a living document that will continue to evolve as we incorporate new input and insights. We invite you to review the toolkit and send any feedback to us at well-being@cumc.columbia.edu.

Finally, I wanted to share a progress report on the Simple is Better initiative, which has already made significant early strides. The CUIMC community has submitted more than 300 ideas for consideration, and several projects are already underway. These include everything from coordinating with human resources to expand gym benefits and overhaul onboarding, to working alongside partners in the clinical and research environments to make your daily work in Epic and RASCAL more seamless. Simple is Better is here to make your daily work life easier, and we are always happy to hear your feedback and ideas for improvements around the medical center. A request submission form as well a full a summary of projects and their status can be found on the Simple is Better website.

We thank you for your engagement in this work and I look forward to sharing more updates as the process unfolds. In the meantime, my thanks to D. Anne Stewart, Nehal Galal, Cortessa Russell, Jonathan Touson, and Nina Heyman for their efforts to bring this work to life. Achieving a culture of well-being is a collective effort and we all have a shared responsibility. I am grateful to all of you for your interest, collaboration, and participation in this important work.  

Be well,

Lou Baptista, MD
Chief Well-Being Officer, Columbia University Irving Medical Center