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Fostering Wellness & Resilience for U of U Health Employees

Our Location

Spencer F. and Cleone P. Eccles Health Sciences Education Building
26 South 2000 East
Room 5775
SLC, UT 84112

Center Hours

Available by appointment

Contact Us

801-213-3403
resiliencycenter@hsc.utah.edu

About the Resiliency Center

The Resiliency Center is designed to foster wellness and resilience for all employees within University of Utah Health. The Resiliency Center serves as a hub for coordinating and expanding innovative programming while also housing resources essential to professional fulfillment. We aim to promote personal resilience, reduce individual burden and create an optimal work environment.

  • Our vision: Faculty and staff passionate about and energized by work.
  • Our mission: Promote faculty and staff wellness through advocacy, collaboration and innovative programming focused on individual and system resilience.

Self-Assessment

If you think you may be suffering from burnout, anxiety, depression, or other disorders, there are a number of screenings that will help you identify whether you may benefit from health services.

  • Burnout screening
  • Screenings for anxiety, depression, PTSD, & substance use 
    • University of Utah Health employees can contact the Resiliency Center for a confidential, 20-minute screening for these issues.

If you have questions or would like to follow up with someone after completing the screenings, please contact the Resiliency Center at resiliencycenter@hsc.utah.edu or 801-213-3403 or Employee Assistance Program at 801-587-8319 or 800-926-9619.

Services

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

EAP is a confidential and free counseling service for employees, their dependents, and other family members residing in the employee’s household. EAP provides assessment, counseling and/ or referral for a variety of personal and work-related concerns. EAP can also provide advice and referral related to financial or legal difficulties and senior care assistance.

EAP is offered at multiple locations within the Salt Lake Valley, including at the Resiliency Center.

Please call 801-587-9319 or 800-926-9619 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Peer Support Program

The Peer Support Program provides institutional-level support to University of Utah Health (U of U Health) employees during, or after adverse clinical events and other stressful situations like medical error or malpractice litigation. The Peer Support Program consists of a diverse network of U of U Health professionals who are trained as Peer Supporters.

The Peer Support Program is activated via contacting Dr. Jake Van Epps directly at jake.vanepps@utah.edu or the Resiliency Center at resiliencycenter@hsc.utah.edu or 801-213-3403.

Once the program is activated, a Peer Supporter reaches out to you to talk via phone or in-person. These conversations are private and confidential. They are designed to be helpful but are not a substitute for mental health services.

If you are concerned about yourself or your colleague, please contact the Peer Support Program.

Peer Support Volunteer

Please contact the Resiliency Center if you are interested in being a Peer Support Volunteer or if you would like to nominate a colleague to volunteer. Peer supporters are individuals who:

  1. excel in listening and communication and
  2. others tend to look up to and seek out for support.

Resilience Consultations

Resilience consultations are available to all University of Utah Health employees. These consultations are designed to provide support, motivation and direction in addressing various aspects of work-life integration.

They can vary in structure and function, including receiving support and referral to EAP or psychotherapy, learning about mindfulness techniques, identifying resources to enhance personal resilience, or exploring how to better advocate for yourself and your team.

For more information, contact the Resiliency Center at resiliencycenter@hsc.utah.edu or 801-213-3403.

Debriefings & Group Support

The Resiliency Center formed a Crisis Response Working Group in November of 2017. The purpose of this group is to design a support protocol for adverse events and provide evidence-based support guidelines to departments for smaller critical events that can be managed as they arise. More information on debriefings and group support will be available soon.

Other Local & National Resources

  • In immediate crisis: Call 911, go to your nearest emergency department
  • National Suicide Hotline: 800-273-8255
  • University of Utah Emergency Department: 801-581-2291
  • University Neuropsychiatric Institute: Crisis Line (urgent) 801-587-3000; Warm Line (non-urgent) 801-587-1055
  • University of Utah Spiritual Care Team 801-213-2484
  • Utah Recovery Assistance Program (URAP): 801-530-6106

Programs

The Resiliency Center can customize our services to meet the needs of your group. Some examples from our menu of options include: presentations on burnout, mini-workshops on resilience and mindfulness, facilitation of focus groups, and all-day retreats.

Contact us at resiliencycenter@hsc.utah.edu or 801-213-3403 to discuss your ideas.

Communication Skills

Utah Advanced Communication Training (UACT)

UACT is a hands-on, interactive all-day workshop that aims to expand the communication skills of health care providers and staff. Led by a core group of communication experts, topics covered include: techniques for quickly building patient trust, delivering bad news, disclosing medical errors, conflict de-escalation, and how to use Risk Management as a helpful resource. Upon completion of UACT, all participants will leave with a new set of practical communication tools to use during their next patient or peer interaction.

Register for UACT here.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is awareness with openness, flexibility, curiosity and kindness. The Resiliency Center offers a variety of mindfulness programs to learn and engage in.

Try out this 15 minute mindfulness exercise by Professor Trinh Mai.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is an intensive training in developing mindful awareness and accessing our innate capacity for health, healing, and growth.

Wellness Champions

Wellness Champions across departments & divisions of University of Utah Health act as change agents by identifying needs within their group. They are assisted in implementing a practical and evidence-based intervention to improve health and wellness, while measuring the out​come of their efforts.

Participants in the Wellness Champions program include faculty and staff from all over University of Utah Health with an emphasis on enhancing personal resilience, improving efficiency of practice, and further establishing a culture of wellness.

Learn more here. Program Contact: Mike Day, Resiliency Center Operations Manager, mike.day@hsc.utah.edu

Faculty & Staff

Amy Locke, MD
Chief Wellness Officer
Associate Professor
Department of Family & Preventive Medicine

Email Amy

Megan Call, PhD
Director, Resiliency Center
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry 

Email Megan

Jake Van Epps, PhD
Well-Being Specialist, Director of Peer Support

Email Jake

Jamuna Jones, LCSW
Well-Being Specialist

Email Jamuna

Jennifer Ellen Mueller
Well-Being Specialist

Email Jennifer

Betsy Holm
Program Manager
801-213-3403

Email Betsy

Mike Day
Operations Manager
801-213-1477

Email Mike

Ethan Evans
Research Assistant

Email Ethan

Mindy Vanderloo, PhD
Research Development Associate

Email Mindy

Piper West
Academic Programs Manager

Email Piper

News & Events

Utah Advanced Communication Training (UACT)

UACT is a hands-on, all-day workshop that expands the communication skills of health care providers, residents, fellows and clinical staff. All UACT participants will gain new communication tools to enhance patient or peer interactions. Skills include techniques for quickly building patient trust, delivering bad news, disclosing medical errors, conflict de-escalation, and properly using Risk Management.

Register Here

Mindfulness in Medicine

Enhancing Quality of Care, Quality of Caring, and Resilience. Mindful Practice® programs were created by the University of Rochester Medical School to help advance the quality of health care, improve provider relationships with patients and colleagues, and enhance self-awareness, wellness, and resilience of health professionals. Participants have shown improvements in burnout scores, presence, attentiveness, and curiosity, allowing for greater awareness and insight into their work. Three approaches--narrative medicine, appreciative inquiry, and mindfulness--have been used to acquire the skills that transform participants' overall clinical approach.

Register Here

Everyday Mindfulness

Experience our own renewal and rebirth. Through mindful practices, we will reconnect with ourselves and our lives. This four-week course serves as an introduction or a refresher to the full eight-week MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) course, covering primary MBSR lessons and practices.

Register Here

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

MBSR is an intensive training in developing mindful awareness and accessing our innate capacity for health, healing, and growth. Guided instruction in various practices is provided, including sitting and walking meditation, body scan, gentle yoga, and mindful communication. CME is offered for this class.

Register Here

Osher Center for Integrative Health at University of Utah Services

Wellness & Integrative Health

At University of Utah Health we focus on providing a customized and integrated approach to empower patients, employees, trainees, and health care professionals to live a healthy life. We are an integral part of the health care solution that maximizes preventive care—the health in health care.

Find Out More

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View the Professional Well-Being Toolkit