Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine announced a transformational $20 million donation from an anonymous donor to establish the Healthcare Professionals’ Wellbeing Academy. The landmark initiative is designed to directly address the clinician burnout crisis by embedding comprehensive mental health, coaching, peer support, and resilience education into medical training.
Program overview & objectives
- Target Audience: Launching initially for medical students, resident physicians, and early-career nurses, with phased expansion across the network.
- Core Curriculum: Integrates proactive mental health and wellness resources directly into medical education and ongoing clinical training.
- Evaluation Metrics: Success will be tracked through participation rates, wellbeing indicators, staff retention, leadership development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Leadership perspectives
“Significant philanthropy, like the extraordinary generosity exhibited by this anonymous donor, is absolutely vital to advancing our mission,” Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said. “It is essential that we ensure our physicians are caring for themselves just as well as they are caring for our community.”
Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp, President and Dean of the School of Medicine, emphasized the broader impact: “Combating burnout among our physicians and students is not just a matter of personal wellbeing; it is absolutely essential to the future of healthcare.”
Dr. Howard M. Ross, Chair of Surgery, added, “Developing skills required to support caregiver wellbeing is a necessary step forward in medical education and practice. This initiative will quite literally save careers and lives.”
The $20 million contribution brings the Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation significantly closer to completing its historic $1 billion Be The Difference campaign. The multi-pillared fundraising initiative supports patient care delivery, research and discovery, access expansion, and the evolution of medical education and nursing support.
As the Wellbeing Academy develops over the next six years, Hackensack Meridian Health intends to share best practices, curricula, and outcomes to help inform wellness models across other healthcare systems nationwide.
