October 6, 2020 – Plantation General Hospital, University Hospital and Medical Center, and Northwest Medical Center, part of HCA East Florida’s Broward Market, announced that it has collaborated with EVERFI.
EVERFI is an international technology company driving social change through education, to launch an interactive, mental health and wellness digital education course for middle and high school students in conjunction with Mental Illness Awareness Week. The course will be available in Broward County communities.
HCA East Florida’s Broward Market is part of HCA Healthcare, a leader in behavioral health with the knowledge and data from nearly 200,000 annual behavioral health patient encounters that enable the organization to make positive advances in educating the community about mental illness.
Called Mental Wellness Basics, the course is targeted to reach more than 12,000 middle and high school students in an estimated 105 school districts in Southeast Florida, Western North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. HCA Healthcare is investing nearly $1 million over the next three years to sponsor the course.
The investment and collaboration with EVERFI deepens HCA East Florida Broward Market’s commitment to promote whole person wellness and respond to the growing need for mental health education in the community.
Mental Wellness Basics is designed to provide teachers with the additional curriculum to equip students in grades eight to 10 with the knowledge and skills necessary to build, maintain and promote positive mental health in themselves and their peers. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in six U.S. youth (ages 6 to 17) experience a mental health disorder each year. The course provides learners with accurate information about mental health disorders, the sharing of peer experiences with mental illness and messaging that treatment is effective and available.
“It is critical to approach the challenge of mental health with awareness from all perspectives,” said EVERFI Founder and President, Jon Chapman. “We wanted to design an educational program that benefits those who are impacted by mental health challenges, those who want to build and maintain positive mental health, and those who have the opportunity to positively impact the mental health of a friend or peer.”
HCA Healthcare also has a long-standing collaboration with the Jason Foundation whose primary mission is the prevention of youth/young adult suicide. This collaboration provides educational resources and youth suicide prevention training to students, parents and teachers in our communities.
In addition, HCA East Florida’s Broward Market increased essential access to mental wellness resources for colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
•Nurse Care: a unique and confidential mental health program for the needs of HCA Healthcare hospital-based nurses.
•PsychHub: a COVID-19 mental health resource hub, created by a national mental health coalition to meet the mental health needs of individuals during this pandemic.
•Beacon Health Wellbeing Program: a program where employees can schedule confidential in-person, phone or video call sessions with a licensed counselor.
•Bright Horizons Care Advantage: access to programs to support employees looking for a babysitter, nanny, support for a special needs child, elder care provider, dog walker or housekeeper.
•Doctor on Demand: a telemedicine app currently free for all employees and their dependents that connects them with board-certified physicians via video on a smartphone, tablet or computer. In addition to colds, sinus infections and skin and eye conditions, physicians can also provide care for anxiety, depression and stress.
•American Nurses Association COVID-19 Resource Center: access to tools that support the mental health and resilience of nurses by the American Nurses Foundation.
For more information about HCA Healthcare’s collaboration with EVERFI, please email Community.Engagement@HCAhealthcare.com.
About HCA East Florida’s Broward Market
Northwest Medical Center, Plantation General Hospital, University Hospital and Medical Center and Westside Regional Medical Center are facilities of HCA East Florida. HCA East Florida is the largest healthcare system in Eastern Florida and an affiliate of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). HCA East Florida has 14 hospitals, multiple ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, and free standing emergency care facilities, as well as a supply chain center and an integrated regional lab. Together, HCA East Florida employs more than 18,000 employees and has nearly 7,000 physicians on staff. For more information, visit HCAEastFlorida.com.
About EVERFI, Inc.
EVERFI is an international technology company driving social change through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to prescription drug safety to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is fueled by its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) community engagement platform and has reached more than 41 million learners globally. Recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2020, EVERFI powers community engagement in a sustained manner to empower individuals and organizations to make an impact within their communities. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, as well as Advance, Rethink Education, Rethink Impact, The Rise Fund, and TPG Growth. To learn more about EVERFI and how you can #answerthecall please visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @EVERFI.
