NASHVILLE – HCA Florida Healthcare, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, has announced HCA Healthcare Foundation’s $600,000 grant to Volunteers of America (VOA) through the Healthier Tomorrow Fund to promote mental wellness and resilience among first responders. Through this contribution, VOA intends to scale its VOA|ReST 4 First Responders program in targeted areas served by HCA Healthcare, including the state of Florida.  

VOA has been providing support to military veterans through the Shay Moral Injury Center’s evidence-based Resilience Strengthen Training™ (RST) program since 2017. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, VOA adapted the program for frontline healthcare workers to process moral distress and maintain resilience and commitment to their work. The VOA|ReST 4 First Responders program is an online, one-hour small group process led by a trained peer specialist to address the experience of workplace stress and trauma.

With the support of the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Healthier Tomorrow Fund, an $80 million community impact fund focused on addressing high-priority community needs and health equity, VOA will launch a national campaign and peer support service to help an expanded group of first responders, including fire, police, EMT personnel, hospital and emergency staff process experiences of moral distress and burnout.

“First responders are a vital support force to our communities and those we serve.Taking care of those who served us first is the moral thing to do,” said Janet M. Stringfellow, president and CEO of Volunteers of America of Florida.  “We are beyond grateful to HCA Healthcare for this partnership that will do a lot of good and make a necessary impact.”

As an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, HCA Florida Healthcare is a leading provider of behavioral health services. In addition to patient care, HCA Florida Healthcare promotes mental health and wellness for its nurses and caregivers through Nurse Care, a unique, free and confidential mental health program for the needs of HCA Healthcare hospital-based nurses. HCA Healthcare caregivers will also have access to the VOA|ReST 4 First Responders program.

HCA Healthcare has responded to the growing need for mental health resources and awareness through partnerships in communities across the country, including:

• Girl Scouts: In 2022, HCA Healthcare announced a $1.38 million grant to the Girl Scouts to support Girl Scout’s Mental Health 101 workshops, a series of workshops aimed at addressing mental wellness among girls. 
• EVERFI: In 2020, HCA Healthcare announced a collaboration with EVERFI, an international technology company driving social change through education, to implement an interactive, mental health and wellness digital education course for middle and high school students. With HCA Healthcare’s support, the Mental Wellness Basics course has reached more than 126,000 students and approximately 1,300 teachers at 548 schools across all 15 of HCA Healthcare’s U.S. divisions.
• The Jason Foundation: In 2013, HCA Healthcare formally partnered with The Jason Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide through educational and awareness programs that equip young people, educators/youth workers, and parents with the tools and resources to help identify and assist at-risk youth. HCA Healthcare has 13 Jason Foundation affiliate offices across the nation. These offices serve as hubs where parents, teachers, guidance counselors, students, churches, and other community organizations can obtain educational materials and learn about training programs available through The Jason Foundation.
• Psych Hub podcast series: This year, HCA Healthcare and Psych Hub, the world's largest mental health education platform, in collaboration with Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry, partnered to create a 10-episode podcast series called “You Ask, We Answer” to bring people credible online mental health education.

Since its founding in 1982, the HCA Healthcare Foundation has awarded more than $231 million in grants. In May 2021, HCA Healthcare announced the Healthier Tomorrow Fund, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations in 25 cities where HCA Healthcare has a presence.