How Huntington Health connects credentialing, wellness and mission
Updating its credentialing application and peer review forms to build an environment where mental health is understood and supported is just the most recent example of how Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, is identifying ways to improve the well-being of its physicians and other clinicians. Huntington received its 2026 All-In Champions Caring for Caregivers recognition earlier this year. The recognition signifies that a hospital’s credentialing applications and peer reference forms are consistent with national best practices and recommendations (PDF) from the AMA and Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation to remove inappropriate, stigmatizing language about mental health and related issues.
“Providing high quality medical care for our patients means that we must also provide a safe community for our workforce to seek care,” said David Ulick, MD, medical director of physician wellness at Huntington Health. “When we looked at our credentialing applications, we realized pretty quickly that we needed to remove the stigmatizing language about mental health to remain consistent with our overall organizational commitment to the wellbeing of our workforce.”
Dr. Ulick further explained that the process of updating Huntington’s credentialing applications required him and the Physician Executive Wellness Steering Committee to work closely with the medical staff, legal office, credentialing staff and leadership. “Everyone had questions because we hadn’t considered how a credentialing application or peer reference form could be a barrier to a physician seeking care, but at each step of the way, everyone was committed to ensuring we could make changes to remove any stigma around mental health and support our entire community.”
The process, which took place for about a year and a half, focused on removing subjective language concerning whether a physician’s health status “could” pose a risk to patient safety as well as requiring disclosure of past medical conditions. The AMA and Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation recommend that hospitals and health systems focus on whether an applicant has a current medical condition that poses a risk to patient safety.
These changes complemented many areas that Huntington was already engaged in to support its workforce while affirming its unwavering commitment to patient safety.
“One of the most common things I hear is that physicians and other clinicians don’t believe it’s safe to ask for help–or even talk about needing help,” said Mitch Martens, clinical wellness director at Huntington Health.
According to Martens, the credentialing changes are one part of Huntington’s broader commitment to clinician well-being. In recent years, the organization has expanded access to confidential counseling services, wellness resources, peer connection opportunities, and physician-led outreach efforts. The goal is to create a culture where seeking support is viewed as a sign of strength, not a professional risk.
“We create so many opportunities to connect and just let people know that there’s always someone here to talk, provide resources, or simply let them know that they are valued in our community,” said Dr. Ulick. “We’re definitely seeing improvements in morale, but also in increased satisfaction, job retention and use of our counseling and wellness services.”
Dr. Ulick and Martens pointed to positive changes in Huntington Health’s physician engagement surveys:
Huntington Health Physician Engagement Survey
2025
- Alignment with Administration: 3.68
- Resilience: 4.02
- Safety: 4.03
- Engagement: 4.11
- Belonging: 4.13
2023
- Alignment with Administration: 3.30
- Resilience: 3.84
- Safety: 3.83
- Engagement: 4.00
- Belonging: 3,77
The 2025 Physician Engagement & Safety Culture Survey demonstrated meaningful improvement across all five measured domains on the 5-point scale. Scores increased in Alignment with Administration, Resilience, Safety, Engagement, and Belonging, reflecting continued progress in strengthening physician experience, organizational culture, and our commitment to a safe, supportive practice environment.
Dr. Ulick and Martens both emphasized that while the work continues to help many, it is far from finished.
“We know that the people currently functioning at moderate or high stress levels could benefit from support sooner than later,” said Dr. Ulick. “But we also want to reach people functioning at 80 to 90 percent. The fact that everyone here is on board gives us even more energy to do the work.”
