This story is one of more than 20 health system profiles featured in the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine® magazine (log into your AMA account to view).
Through Geisinger’s Meeting Peers at the Heart (MPATH) program, physicians and other health professionals don’t have to face the daily challenges, setbacks and frustrations of working in health care alone. Instead, program participants are paired with peers who keenly understand their distinct challenges and help support and guide them through both personal and professional storms.
By investing in each other’s mental health, MPATH participants play a vital role in building Geisinger’s culture of well-being.
“This program builds grassroots trust and helps us build a network of well-being supporters that all drive culture change … it’s been a gamechanger,” says Susan Parisi, MD, chief wellness officer for Geisinger.
But Geisinger’s commitment to well-being goes far deeper than their peer support program. In fact, with a combination of leadership buy-in, an operationalized well-being department and cross-functional collaborations across the system, Geisinger’s commitment to improving well-being is at the core of its DNA—and the heart of its strategy.
Prioritizing well-being
While focusing on employee engagement has long been part of Geisinger’s culture, the COVID-19 public health emergency—and its aftermath—made it clear that prioritizing well-being was an existential necessity.
System leadership recognized the business case as well as the moral and ethical rationale for well-being programs. The strong evidence of well-being programs improving recruitment and retention, quality and safety, and patient satisfaction made the business case indisputable.
Therefore, it was natural for Geisinger leadership to make well-being a top strategic priority. This started with formalizing efforts with the creation of a dedicated well-being department—now known as the Center for Well-being—and bringing Dr. Parisi on board to lead the charge.
When she arrived at Geisinger, Dr. Parisi launched a comprehensive listening tour to uncover barriers to well-being and assess these needs across the entire organization.
“It was important to hear from as many voices as possible,” she remembers. “I met with clinical and nonclinical leaders, went to one-on-one meetings, attended committee meetings and did rounds to hear directly from the front lines.”
She also started gathering valuable data from several well-being surveys and measuring tools, including:
- The AMA’s Mini Z survey to measure physician burnout.
- AMA’s Organizational Biopsy® to evaluate culture, practice efficiency, self-care and retention.
- Well-being Index to assess distress and well-being organization wide.
After doing a deep dive into the listening tour feedback and well-being assessment data, Dr. Parisi identified common themes, needs and gaps. She then started developing a multiyear strategy and model for well-being around these takeaways. The well-being of physicians is not just a metric, it is a mandate. And that has been clearly established at Advocate Health where assessing physician burnout is not just a data exercise. It’s a vital tool for change.
