Mental Health America has awarded Sanford Health the 2025 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health. This is the third year in a row Sanford Health has received recognition from Mental Health America and the first time achieving platinum status.
The Bell Seal is a workplace mental health certification that recognizes employers who strive to create mentally healthy workplaces for their employees. Sanford Health underwent a rigorous evaluation of its policies and practices in four areas: workplace culture, benefits, compliance and wellness programs. Only two in five employers meet the standards for Bell certification. Sanford Health is the only organization that is 2025 Bell Seal-certified in North Dakota and South Dakota.
“Sanford Health is proud that our commitment to workplace mental health continues to grow and adapt to meet the needs of our employees,” said Ashley Wenger-Slaba, senior vice president of employee experience, education and workforce relations at Sanford Health. “Our caregivers and staff are all different, which is why we offer a variety of tools and resources to best support them at work and at home. The enhancements we’ve made over the last year are based directly on employee feedback and we’re committed to continuously improving our offerings knowing that employee needs are always evolving.”
Mental health steps at work
Sanford Health has led efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout through resiliency groups, training, a clinician assistance program, counseling, a physician wellness council and comprehensive mental health resources to help employees take care of themselves physically and emotionally while caring for patients and residents.
Sanford has also developed a program called BeHEARD: Behavioral Health Education and Response Development, which is an interactive virtual course designed to increase participants’ knowledge, skills and confidence to support people with behavioral health concerns. This course is intended to support a culture where employees are comfortable reaching out to each other, patients, residents, visitors, family and friends when behavioral health concerns are noted. All supervisors and above are required to take the course to ensure they know how to best support the behavioral needs of their team.
This month, Sanford Health was recognized on Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies list for the third year in a row.
MHA is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health, well-being, and illness prevention for all. MHA has spent decades researching mental health in the workplace and introduced the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health in 2019 to recognize organizations that value and implement policies and practices that support employee mental health and well-being.
Learn more
- Where to start mental health care? Your doctor’s office
- Staff wellness therapist cares for the caregivers
- How Sanford Health supports clinician well-being
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Posted In Awards & Recognition, Behavioral Health, News, Workplace Health
