Wellness grants offer mental health support for aged care employees

A new wellness grant has been designed to benefit aged care, healthcare and frontline workers by providing easy – and free – access to professional mental health support services and information. 

Created with the aim to deliver impactful outcomes, it’s an opportunity for aged care leaders who want to reduce the risk of burnout in employees to help them build awareness of proactive mental health care strategies. 

Key points

• A Parliamentary report into the mental health of first responders found they have an increased risk of suicide compared to the general public
• The reported rate of diagnosed mental health conditions in healthcare workers and first responders is also twice as high (39% vs. 20%)
• The Sana Wellness Grants are a result of a partnership between Sana Health Group and Healthcare Heartbeat, with individual grants valued at $500 per person

Aged care workers have experienced a considerable amount of challenges over the past few years, above and beyond the usual demands of the industry. COVID-19 restrictions, workforce shortages and increased role requirements are just a few of the pressures that have caused burnout and mental health strain.

Georgie Blundell, Sana Health Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and former occupational therapist, has seen the impact on aged care and healthcare workers and knew something more had to be done to increase their knowledge and awareness to help workers better look after their needs.

“I spent ten years clinically working in hospitals as a frontline healthcare worker… But with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was quite shocking to see the mental health impact on a lot of healthcare workers, including my friends, and it really struck home to me,” Ms Blundell said.

“Post-pandemic and post-lockdown we’re just not doing enough [to support them]. For me, the importance is really around the care we give to healthcare workers and making sure that we’re putting them first. The grants are a way to give back to healthcare workers so they can access education and strategies around how to improve their own mental health.”

Healthcare and aged care workers in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria are eligible to apply for the grants. And even though the grants can be delivered individually, content focuses on coping strategies and proactive mental health care that’s industry-specific and can be shared with colleagues. 

“Often with mental health, it’s about asking somebody how they’re doing, listening to and supporting them. When you’re working as a team in a healthcare environment, you have that camaraderie. So even if it’s a team session or one person accessing it, there are knock-on benefits to everybody they’re working with,” Ms Blundell explained.

What’s on offer for employees?

The Grants offer free access to professionally-led services with individual and team-wide benefits by building awareness and promoting positive well-being. Ms Blundell highlighted the importance of the resources as additional learning opportunities for staff who have limited knowledge regarding mental health and personal well-being.

“You’re not taught about the mental health impact before working in aged care or in hospitals, or how you manage triggers for burnout and stress and how to manage it proactively so you don’t get to the point where it’s too much,” she said.

Successful applicants will therefore have access to:

• Work on Wellbeing Assessment: A multi-dimensional evidence-based assessment providing valuable insights regarding the extent to which individuals and teams are thriving and areas that would benefit from additional focus and development. 
• Reflect, Reset & Renew (RRR) Session: A two-hour online group coaching experience to check in, explore foundational well-being practices and develop an action plan for integrating three well-being habits into day-to-day experiences. 
• Wellbeing Booster Program: Four 90-minute group sessions that build upon the RRR experience. This includes practical science-based strategies so participants can strengthen their mental and emotional agility, improve foundations for good physical health and learn how to monitor and sustain wellbeing. 
• A delivery of authentically home-cooked meals by FoodSt.  

The Sana Wellness Grants are available to all aged care and healthcare employees and Ms Blundell called for managers, leaders and CEOs to encourage staff to apply and take positive steps towards managing their mental health. More information about the Sana Wellness Grants is available here.