ChristianaCare Honored With Gold Level 2025 Joy in Medicine Award

ChristianaCare has once again earned the Joy in Medicine® recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA). This year, a total of 109 health organizations nationwide earned a recognition from the Health System Recognition Program. This is the third consecutive time that ChristianaCare earned the Gold Level, the highest level in the program.

As one of only 20 health systems nationwide to achieve the Gold Level, this honor underscores ChristianaCare’s demonstrated commitment to preserving the well-being of clinical care team members through proven efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout.

“This recognition is a testament to ChristianaCare and our Center for WorkLife Wellbeing's commitment to supporting our caregivers,” said Maureen “Mo” Leffler, D.O., MPH, chief wellbeing officer and head of ChristianaCare’s Center for WorkLife Wellbeing."Optimizing work environments and providing meaningful support is fundamental to both professional fulfillment and high-quality health care. Our caregivers and patients deserve nothing less. When our caregivers are well-supported, they are able to be at their best for our patients.” ChristianaCare's commitment to caregiver well-being has led to significant results. Since 2018, burnout among physicians and advanced practice clinicians at ChristianaCare has decreased by over 25%, remaining below national benchmarks. Additionally, professional fulfillment among these caregivers has increased by nearly 23%. ChristianaCare established the Center for WorkLife Wellbeing in 2016 to develop support systems to enable clinicians to reconnect with the joy and meaning in medicine. The center soon expanded its mission to support all ChristianaCare’s caregivers, including those who don’t work in clinical roles. The center also has received national recognition for its expertise and leadership in the field of workplace well-being.

The Center for WorkLife Wellbeing started with the launch of ChristianaCare’s peer support program, known as Care for the Caregiver, that offers confidential individual peer support and group support following a range of stressful events at work. The program has completed nearly 3,900 encounters since 2015. Additionally, to enhance the work environment for caregivers, ChristianaCare established the Workplace Civility Steering Team. This team provides strategic direction to create a safe atmosphere free from violence for caregivers, patients and visitors. ChristianaCare has also invested in improvements to reduce administrative burdens, such as optimizing the electronic medical record, ensuring inbox coverage when out of the office and introducing AI tools to improve clinician documentation, giving providers more time to spend with patients.

"We are proud of what we have achieved so far and are deeply committed to advancing our innovative, essential work to support the well-being of our caregivers,” Dr. Leffler added. “We are thrilled to launch several new programs this year." These include a Wellbeing Integrated Network of embedded clinicians to build upon the culture of well-being, a Getting Rid of Waste (GROW) tool to improve efficiency of work and WorkLife Wellbeing Coaching to support individual well-being at work." “Joy in Medicine-recognized organizations are leading the gains made against the physician burnout crisis and help clinicians rediscover the deep rewards and joy that comes from helping patients,” said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. “The AMA distinction honors each organization’s commitment to not only the health and well-being of the care team, but also to patients. Quality care ultimately originates from a positive and purposeful work culture where health care professionals can flourish both mentally and physically.”