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The Heroes Health Initiative launched nationally on Tuesday, July 14th, 2020. See what our partners at Google Cloud and news organizations like The Today Show have to say about this groundbreaking project:

Couch Talks: An In Depth Look Into The State of Mental Health Within Highly Impacted Communities

June 4, 2021 ● 1 hour video ● Heather Jin meets with Heroes Health Principal Investigator, Samual McLean, MD, MPH and Black Girls Smile Founder, Laura Carson. (Passcode: 1kM5?JLy; interview begins at 04:08.)


UNC Health Foundation Impact Series: Mental Health Resources

September 10, 2020 ● 1 hour video ● UNC Health Drs. Cristy Page, Samantha Meltzer-Brody and Samuel McLean joined One Mind president Brandon Staglin, MS, to discuss resources available to help healthcare workers and community members deal with mental health challenges during the pandemic.


Emergency Room entrance

A Digital Tool To Assess Mental Health Is Being Piloted For Emergency Physicians

August 21, 2020 ● 3 min read ● This initiative is a part of a growing trend in medicine, as healthcare and policy leaders are recognizing increasing levels of physician burnout and barriers to well-being.


Dr. Sam McLean, the leader of the Heroes Health Initiative,

Doctor Who Survived COVID-19 Creates App to Help Medical Workers Monitor Mental Health

July 18, 2020 ● 5 min video ● Emergency room physician and Heroes Health app founder, Dr. Sam McLean, joins “America’s News HQ” to discuss the unique mental health burden that COVID-19 has posed for healthcare workers and first responders and how the Heores Health app can help.


A large banner reads "Heroes Work Here"

UNC Launches Mental Health App ‘Heroes Health’ to Support Frontline Workers

July 16, 2020 ● 2 min video ● One UNC physician founded a new health initiative and app after seeing a need for increased mental health support in the medical field.


Dr. Sam McLean, the leader of the Heroes Health Initiative, smiles on video interview with The Today Show

Doctor Creates App to Give Mental Health Support to Front-line Workers

July 14, 2020 ● 6 min video ● The Today Show features Dr. Sam McLean, an emergency physician at University of North Carolina, explaining how the Heroes Health Initiative offers health care workers access to mental health assessments and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.


The Heroes Health Initiative logo, a heart growing from a green stem, is centered in a mint green background. A cardiograph runs along the center of the image.

Caring for caregivers: UNC’s Heroes Health Initiative supports healthcare workers’ mental health

July 14, 2020 ● 3 min read ● The mental health of first responders and healthcare workers is critically important, especially as they face increased stress related to COVID-19. We are proud to support these frontline workers through the Heroes Health app.


Three screenshots from UNC's Heroes Health app: This leftmost is of a question about the user's comfort with the level of PPE supplies at their workplace. The middle screenshot is of an in-app mental health report. The rightmost is of an in-app resources page.

Asking for help and saying “Yes”​ in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic

July 14, 2020 ● 8 min read ● What Obi Felten, head of X, learned while working on Heroes Health, a new initiative to support the mental health of COVID-19 front line health care workers and first responders.


WPTF: News Radio 680, Talk Radio 850

WPTF Interviews Dr. Samuel McLean about the Heroes Health App

July 14, 2020 ● 8 min listen ● How Dr. McLean conceived of the idea to develop the Heroes Health Initiative.


The Heroes Health welcome screen is shown during a live television demonstration.

UNC doctor, after recovering from COVID-19, creates app to help health care workers with mental health

July 14, 2020 ● 2 min video ● A doctor at UNC who recovered from COVID-19 is back to work not only to heal patients but also to help his fellow healthcare workers. He’s created an app to help healthcare workers and first responders monitor their mental health and find support.


Individual in full PPE looks into a microscope

UNC doctor who beat COVID-19 creates app to help frontline workers deal with pandemic

July 14, 2020 ● 2 min read ● Dr. Samuel McLean knows firsthand the great challenges COVID-19 workers are facing day in and day out.


Exhausted doctor wears protective suit to prevent COVID-19

Backed by Google, Heroes Health app tracks mental wellbeing of frontline workers

July 14, 2020 ● 3 min read ● Researchers and clinicians enlisted Google’s help to build a mobile app that helps frontline health care workers monitor their mental well-being and seek help if indicated.


Screen reading "Welcome to Heroes Health" with a green button reading "sign in".

“Heroes Health” Mental Wellness App Launched by UNC School of Medicine

July 14, 2020 ● 7 min read ● The app is available through the App Store and Google Play Store in the United States, free of charge to first responders, healthcare workers, and their organizations.


A healthcare worker wearing a disposable mask looks down. A tear or drop of sweat falls the corner of her eye.

COVID-19 Presents a Public Mental Health Emergency

June 5, 2020 ● 2 min read ● Healthcare workers are experiencing heightened anxiety and depression from the COVID-19 pandemic. How we respond matters.


A team of 5 UNC Health employees, all wearing scrubs and disposable masks, stand or kneel feet apart from one another while forming heart symbols with their hands.

Protecting COVID-19 Workers’ Mental Health

April 3, 2020 ● 5 min read ● Dr. Sam McLean and Dr. Christopher Jones reflect on their experiences as frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.