“Maintaining our ability to care is absolutely fundamental to health care.”
That’s a core belief of Dr. Cara Geary, UTMB’s first-ever chief wellness officer.
A neonatologist by training with more than two and a half decades’ worth of experience caring for some of the most fragile patients a health system will ever serve, Geary found herself constantly exploring what it would take to maintain an open and caring heart in the midst of emotional challenges, clinical inefficiencies, team dynamics and more during her time in the field.
“The challenges in academic medicine are profound,” said Geary who, throughout her career, has championed many programs and initiatives aimed at supporting wellbeing. “Our number one resource is our people and their ability to do their job and care about their work on a day-to-day basis despite the current demands of the industry. We must protect and strengthen that ability and desire to care for the sake of our people and the communities and populations we serve.”
That’s where Geary’s work leading the newly formed MyWellbeing team at UTMB comes into play.
A survey on wellbeing
Committed to championing wellbeing for all throughout health care, Geary and her team have kicked off their work with the launch of a Wellbeing Survey that is open to all UTMB employees. Conducted through the Professional Wellbeing Academic Consortium (PWAC), the 2024 Wellbeing Survey is available to UTMB employees through April 19. The questionnaire is estimated to take approximately 15 minutes and will assess factors related to wellbeing.
Survey findings will help the institution better understand the needs of the UTMB workforce so an evidence-based, fiscally responsible action plan to enhance the culture of wellbeing can be created for the institution.
“Effectively addressing wellbeing requires a myriad of coordinated approaches because each situation and the demands around it are unique,” Geary said. “True institutional wellbeing comes through optimizing our system to reduce inefficiencies, building community and connection along with a sense of safety, offering growth opportunities, and more.”
To ensure survey participants’ privacy, the survey will be administered by the SullivanLuallin Group, an independent survey administrator. More information about the safeguards and measures in place to ensure security and confidentiality is available in the full, online privacy statement. To encourage participation, the department plans to give all individuals who complete the survey a free phone wallet with ring stand. A link for receiving the phone wallet will be provided at the end of the survey.
To learn more, visit the MyWellbeing website.
Jessica Wyble is a senior communications specialist in the office of strategy and communications, as well as a member of the media relations team.