Episode 56 – Integrating Well-being into Daily Work – Jeremy Segall

Jeremy Segall, MA, RDT, LCAT, is assistant vice president and system chief wellness officer at New York City Health + Hospitals (NYCH+H), the largest municipal public health system in the U.S. Mr. Segall started his career in healthcare as a licensed creative arts therapist, moving from there into system process improvement, and ultimately into his current role as chief wellness officer (CWO). In this role, he oversees team members wellness and resilience, process improvement, and patient experience. In addition to his responsibilities as CWO at NYCH+H, Mr. Segall was the coordinator of the Healing Education Resilience and Opportunity for New York’s Frontline Workforce (HERO-NY) taskforce bringing together the U.S. Department of Defense, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Fire Department of the City of New York to create a five-part “train the trainer” series based on military expertise in addressing trauma, stress, resilience, and wellness to be adapted for civilian audiences to support the mental health and well-being of frontline workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In this episode, Mr. Segall and I talk about the interconnectedness of wellness and process improvement, particularly at this time when team members have experienced such intense stress and trauma and when staffing shortages are rampant. We delve into the need to integrate well-being into the daily work and operations of the health system so that team members have a chance to debrief and begin healing from stressful events without needing to carve out additional time. Finally, Mr. Segall lays out a vision for the future that rethinks the role of wellness and resilience as a core leadership responsibility.

• Health Security article, Combat Stress Management and Resilience: Adapting Department of Defense Combat Lessons Learned to Civilian Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Health Affairs commentary, Coping With Trauma, Celebrating Life: Reinventing Patient And Staff Support During The COVID-19 Pandemic
• HERO-NY Train the trainer resources
• Breaking Through Mental Health Stigma at the Workplace: discussion between Mr. Segall and Dr. Mitch Katz, president and CEO of NYCH+H
• Storytelling for healing, Harlem Hospital CMO
• Helping Heal Healthcare Heroes