The Emory WHSC Office of Well-Being (EmWELL) hosted an Appreciation Mixer on December 9th  reflecting on the collective wins shared in the year-end report, highlighting  foundational programs and acknowledging individuals and teams who went above and beyond to improve employee well-being at Emory in 2024.

Held at the Rollins School of Public Health, attendees heard personal stories from staff and faculty about the positive impact EmWELL programs made this year. Christine Abdullah, spiritual health clinician at Winship Midtown, shared her experiences recently becoming an EmBRACE Peer Supporter in which she works to decrease the burden of secondary trauma experienced by employees.

Other speakers included Stephanie Pieroni, RN, unit director at Emory University Hospital – the first team to pilot the GROSS (Getting Rid of Stupid Stuff) initiative and James O’Shea, MD, assistant professor at Emory School of Medicine, who was among the EmWELL Microgrants recipients in 2023 and led a successful pilot focused on residents.

EmWELL also acknowledged 12 individuals with the Above & Beyond Award, celebrating the contributions and exceptional efforts of team members who made a significant impact on the well-being of people and teams across the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.

Individual awards included:

• Pearlie Evans from the EHI Patient Access Team
• Jen McMillan from the Emory Primate Center
• Jennifer Mascaro from Emory School of Medicine
• Marianne Baird from Emory Decatur Hospital.

Team impact awards were given to:

• Jeanne Hatcher, MD, ENT physician at Emory University Hospital Midtown and Dhaval Desai, MD, Hospital Medicine physician at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, for their physician-focused work, including suicide awareness and mental health stigma
• Zach Grunewald with EHI, and Natasha Mckie and Nick Iannitti at Emory University Hospital Midtown for their successful advocacy efforts resulting in removal of the employee parking at EUH and EUHM and the introduction of tiered health care insurance rates
• Mike Bacha, Kip Hardy and Lenny James with the Emory University Hospital Food & Nutrition Team for their notable work with the popular plant-powered pilot.

Those interested to learn more about EmWELL’s recent accomplishments can read their FY 24 Year In Review report here.