Georgia’s enactment of SafeHaven™ creates a safety net for physicians facing stress and burnout.

ATLANTA, GA (May 7, 2024) The Medical Association of Georgia is pleased to announce that help is on the way for physicians in Georgia who are still dealing with the strains of workplace challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Now, physicians have options to allow them to seek support and well-being services while they provide care to others. SafeHaven™ resources and benefits are also extended to family members of physicians while protecting the healthcare clinician’s confidentiality and medical licensure. In other states, SafeHaven™ has seen a 47 percent utilization rate, far exceeding the traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) proving the demand for a protected assistance program.

SafeHaven™ offers a comprehensive set of Well Being Resources that include coaching, and behavioral health resources focused on work/life balance and well-being for physicians that can also be extended to other members of the care team.

Georgia continues to experience a shortage of healthcare workers as physicians, nurses, PAs, and other healthcare workers exit due to stress and unsustainable work expectations. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 400,000 healthcare professionals have left the field. The American Medical Association (AMA) recently surveyed their membership reporting 43% of respondents experienced work overload and 49% burnout.

“In always putting our patients first, physicians and healthcare workers have been reluctant to seek support for their mental health for too long,” says Charles Wilmer, MD, President of the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG). “Mental Health Awareness Month is just the beginning of the education and advocacy that the MAG and SafeHaven™ program will be doing.
We can no longer allow these heroes to suffer in silence.”

The prolonged shortage of healthcare staff has raised the need to address burnout and behavioral health struggles of healthcare workers. SafeHaven™ will launch several campaigns throughout the month of May on its social media channels and website.

“Through our conversations with our members and stakeholders, we learned very quickly how much physicians and the entire healthcare team needed SafeHaven™,” said Medical Association of Georgia’s Physician Resilience Chair Keisha Callins, MD, MPH. “Caring for the people of Georgia is also about healthcare workers caring for their mental health. SafeHaven™ is here to make it easier for them to get the access they need to behavioral health resources,” says John Antalis, MD, Vice-Chairman of the Medical Association of Georgia Foundation.

MAG is thrilled to introduce Dr. Sterling Ransone from the Medical Society of Virginia, the catalyst behind Safe Haven, as a special guest on President Dr. Wilmer’s monthly Fireside Chat. The live webinar will take place on May 16, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Please visit www.mag.org to RSVP for this compelling conversation.

About SafeHaven
SafeHaven was founded in 2020 after recognizing a greater need to provide physicians and PAs with the support they need to stay well and prevent burnout. SafeHaven ensures clinicians can seek support for burnout, career fatigue, and mental health reasons without the fear of undue repercussions to their medical license.

About the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG):
The Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) is the leading voice for physicians in Georgia, dedicated to advocating for patients and the medical profession. With a membership spanning the state, MAG works tirelessly to advance healthcare policies, promote physician leadership, and enhance the quality of patient care.