Butler Hospital - Healthy Mind Initiative

Overview

While Butler Hospital’s presence on social media has helped bring mental health into the mainstream, it remains a topic that makes some people fearful and uncomfortable, especially when it is connected to illnesses such as depression and anxiety. However, talking about health concerns from the perspective of wellness and prevention is a focus that engages people and inspires them to achieve better health. The Web and social media offer many sites talking about healthy bodies and offering ways to improve your body’s health. Yet, very few sites promote the importance of a healthy mind. While science tells us a healthy mind is the foundation for overall health, people have shied away from discussing it openly.

With this in mind, Butler recently started a conversation on social media about healthy minds – what it means to have one, and how to get and maintain one. The conversation began on Facebook with a new page aptly named A Healthy Mind (facebook.com/ahealthymind.butler), devoted to bringing people together to share ideas, tell stories, or seek advice. To help get the discussion started, A Healthy Mind kicked off its page with a video featuring hospital staff sharing their ideas of what A Healthy Mind means to them. From walking their dogs, to practicing yoga, to enjoying the love of family and friends, simple pleasures are what seem to matter most. The video has had more than 300 viewings on YouTube.

Butler Hospital’s goal in creating A Healthy Mind Facebook page is to break down the barriers and start the conversation. A Healthy Mind is not about illness; it is about wellness – mind and body – and the positive steps one can take to have a healthy mind. Fans of the new A Healthy Mind community gather in a common place to share ideas and information about a healthy mind, celebrate good times and good deeds, and learn healthy mind tips from Butler Hospital’s brain and behavioral experts. Though the page has a national reach, it also includes up-to-date information on local events and activities taking place that support a healthy mind, including programs put on by Butler Hospital experts, as well as information on support groups and other health-related happenings.

Impact

In its first two months, the new Facebook pages attracted 259 fans. While it continues to grow its fan base, it is receiving positive feedback. One new fan recently posted, “This page is wonderful – hope it truly helps my family with kind, forgiving, gentle words and ideas.” The page has also engaged its followers by offering healthy mind tips and sharing the responses that the tips generate. The Healthy Mind initiative has also strengthened the hospital’s partnership with RIIL and has enhanced its relationship with the community. Most recently, the concept of a healthy mind was featured at the annual gathering of the Butler Hospital Foundation. Lisa Uebelacker, PhD, of the Psychosocial Research Department at Butler, engaged the audience in activities that promote a healthy mind, such as eating well, exercising, and de-stressing.

Challenges/success factors

To take this message beyond Facebook, Butler brought a healthy mind to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL), a volunteer organization that supervises and administers the athletic programs for 54 public, private, and parochial high schools across 24 sports. The two organizations came together to promote the concept of a healthy mind to high school athletes and their families in Rhode Island. The A Healthy Mind initiative was first introduced during a weekend of hockey tournaments across the state in January 2013. During all the games, the hockey players sported A Healthy Mind stickers on their helmets, healthy mind messages were announced on the public address system, and healthy mind cards and stickers were given to people attending the games. Later in the year, Butler Hospital was the sponsor of the RIIL girls’ basketball games that were broadcast live on the local Cox cable network including banner ads promoting the hospital’s A Healthy Mind Facebook community. The interscholastic league athletes want to continue to help get the message out to their friends by creating a video featuring RIIL athletes discussing their ideas about having a healthy mind that will be shared on the hospital’s social media sites.

Future direction/sustainability

Looking forward, the hospital will continue to reach out to the community with education programs and activities through social media and other venues in hopes of making a healthy mind a topic that is comfortable to discuss, and inspires people to seek better health.

Contact: Patti Melaragno
Director, Marketing Communications
Telephone: 401-455-6265
E-mail: pmelaragno@butler.org