CHARLOTTE, N.C., May, 26, 2020 – It has been three months since the United States was first confronted with COVID-19. Since then, many Americans’ lives have been drastically altered. As frontline healthcare and hospital workers cope with the additional stresses of the current crisis, Atrium Health is ensuring teammates have expanded access to Behavioral Health resources.
Martha Whitecotton, Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health, has been working closely with her department to create multiple avenues for teammates to seek support. Most notably, Atrium Health’s Employee Assistance Program now offers expanded services for employees and their immediate family members, including free psychiatry and psychotherapy visits for providers and webinars on a variety of mental health topics. 
Additionally, employees continue to have access to the 24-hour emergency department. Consisting of 24 board-certified psychiatrists, it is the only psychiatric emergency department of its kind in North Carolina. Atrium Health has witnessed a thirty-percent increase in employees using these behavioral health resources, compared to just one year ago, underlying the importance of offering these services to teammates now and in the future.
May is recognized nationally as Mental Health Awareness Month. In a time of unprecedented anxiety, Atrium Health continues its commitment to providing the most comprehensive behavioral health care and support resources. In 2019, Atrium Health responded to more than 110,000 crisis intervention help line calls, 92,000 outpatient visits, 10,000 psychiatric emergency department visits, and 7,000 admissions to inpatient locations.
To support the Carolinas Behavioral Health Advancement Fund, visit: https://atriumhealthfoundation.org/behavioralhealth.
For more information about Atrium Health’s Behavioral Health services, visit: https://atriumhealth.org/medical-services/prevention-wellness/behavioral-health.