Welcome to the Heroes Health Initiative
Heroes Health is a free mobile application from the UNC School of Medicine that allows healthcare workers and first responders to track their mental health and access mental health resources. We invite healthcare workers and first responders to join independently or through their employers:
Heroes Health empowers workers to care for themselves and each other
Anonymously let your organization know how they’re doing
Track your wellness with a 5-minute set of weekly surveys
Access mental health resources specific to your organization
By taking 5 minutes to complete weekly surveys, healthcare workers and first responders can track their own wellness throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Heroes Health connects healthcare workers to vetted mental health resources and uses the power of collective data to support the development of new programs tailored to current needs.
When combined, these surveys paint a dynamic picture of the health and needs of the healthcare worker community, allowing for units, healthcare organizations, and policymakers to develop tailored solutions to support our heroes.
Our Mission for Heroes Health
Healthcare workers and first responders are, and always have been, heroes. They brought many of us into this world, cared for us through our weakest moments, and comforted our family members when their final hours drew near. This Initiative was borne out of a determination to give back to the nurses, doctors, EMS, and allied health professionals that make life possible.
A Collaboration between UNC Chapel Hill and Many Others
Heroes Health was designed by a team of researchers from UNC School of Medicine and Cooper University Health Care. The Initiative’s principal investigator, Dr. Samuel McLean, is an Emergency Medical Physician at UNC Health and COVID-19 survivor. He conceived of the idea to connect front-line healthcare workers with existing resources at healthcare organizations during a COVID shift in March 2020.
Latest Heroes Health Updates
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How the Emotional PPE Project is Breaking Barriers for Healthcare Workers Across the Country
April 13, 2021 ● 3.5 min read By Shivam Bhargava Have you been working on the front lines of COVID-19 as a healthcare worker, and are struggling immensely with your mental health? You want to talk to a professional about … Continued
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Adjusting to Life after the Pandemic: Challenges and Resources for Health Care Workers
April 5, 2021 ● 5 min read By Grace Burud, Rebecca Dasema, and Nicole Short Impact of COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers During the pandemic, health care workers have coped with numerous stressors, ranging from worry about their patients, themselves, and their family, … Continued
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When the Support System Needs Support
March 12, 2021 ● 3.5 min read By Emily Bradfield Throughout the past year, the pandemic has undeniably left a mental health crisis in its wake. The reality that anxiety, depression, loneliness and substance abuse are on the rise … Continued
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What Do You Need to Know about the COVID-19 Vaccines?
January 20, 2021 ● 3 min read By Shivam Bhargava and Emily Bradfield As of January 2021, over twenty-two million COVID-19 cases had been reported in the United States alone, and at least 91 million worldwide; the rollout of a vaccine is a long-awaited reprieve after … Continued