Late on a summer evening in August 2021, Stephanie Evans got the phone call no spouse of a firefighter ever wants to hear. Her husband, Aaron, had fallen through the floor while fighting a structure fire, sustaining burns on 13 per cent of his body. She needed to meet him at the hospital in Edmonton two hours from home, leaving their two children behind with her parents.
Until then Evans, a mortgage underwriter with ATB Financial, always felt mentally strong – she grappled with Aaron being in a high stress, dangerous job daily. She had never sought counselling before, but knew she needed more tools to deal with the accident.
She connected to the digital mental health platform, Inkblot by GreenShield Health, offered by her employer early in the pandemic as part of its employee assistance program. GreenShield Health, GreenShield’s health services division, is one of Canada’s largest digital health providers, offering mental health support, telemedicine, pharmacy and the country’s fastest-growing EAP.
Evans, a mortgage writer with ATB Financial, continued online sessions, along with their daughter, while her husband was in hospital. “It gave my daughter, who was 13 then, a safe spot to just unload everything she was thinking and feeling,” says Evans.Amber Bracken
“It blew my mind that – click – I connected with a counsellor the same day,” says Evans. “I chose it because it was online so I could do it anywhere. I had my first session sitting alone at a table in the hospital, without people around because there were still COVID restrictions.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed to process until I talked it through. The counsellor I picked, a specialist in families, relationships and traumatic events, helped me see my fears in a different light that made me realize they were actually strengths and not weaknesses.”
Tara Lockyer, ATB’s chief people officer, says it’s important for people to be able to access mental health services quickly and wherever they feel most comfortable, so the virtual options were key in choosing GreenShield Health as its provider. When an employee logs on, they answer a series of questions designed to find their perfect therapist match based on clinical experience, cultural fit, language, religion and more, so treatment is personalized.
“ When facing a mental health challenge, timely access to mental health support enhances individual resilience and contributes to a healthier, more empathetic community.”
-Joe Blomeley, executive vice-president, head of GreenShield Health and Enterprise Growth, at GreenShield
“You can choose your own counsellor, which is important because these are very personal relationships,” says Lockyer. “We have a really diverse team member population and GreenShield offers a wide range of diverse health professionals. You can flip through a lot of different profiles and find the person that seems to connect with you. Our team members love that.”
With easier access to mental health support, ATB saw its employee engagement rate increase to 27 per cent in the first year of usage, up from 15 per cent with their former health services provider.
“ATB employees quickly responded to the convenience and flexibility of our solution,” says Joe Blomeley, executive vice-president, head of GreenShield Health and Enterprise Growth, at GreenShield. “The company’s previous health services provider had a strong in-person counselling focus, adding additional barriers like travel and stigma to the intimidating process of seeking out care. When facing a mental health challenge, timely access to mental health support enhances individual resilience and contributes to a healthier, more empathetic community.”
Evans’s husband, a fire fighter, survived a fall through the floor of a burning structure in 2021.Amber Bracken
Evans continued weekly sessions with the same counsellor while her husband was in hospital and again briefly as he recovered at home. Their daughter, Deanndra, also used GreenShield Health’s therapy platform, choosing her own counsellor.
“It gave my daughter, who was 13 then, a safe spot to just unload everything she was thinking and feeling, knowing it wasn’t going to affect what I was going through,” says Evans. “She could do it on her own time around her schedule, and no one else needed to know unless she chose to tell them. It was a great tool for us when we needed it most.”
Privacy is a key factor for ATB. At GreenShield Health, data is encrypted at the highest possible level and stored on a server that meets today’s best security practices.
“Employees don’t need to ask for permission to use the resources,” says Lockyer. “We don’t have access to their records so there’s complete privacy and confidentiality, which is what we’re used to here in banking. Plus, the virtual offering is a game changer. You can even step away from your work for an appointment and then get back into your day. People can stay ahead of their mental health needs without it being disruptive.”
To ensure privacy, GreenShield Health data is encrypted at the highest level and stored on a server that meets today’s best security practices.Amber Bracken
Additionally, it mattered to ATB that GreenShield was aligned in terms of its values. As a not-for-profit integrated health and benefits organization, giving back is embedded. Through GreenShield Cares, the company reinvests its earnings and redeploys its services to support underserved Canadian communities – committing to give back $75-million and improving one million lives by 2025.
“Being able to find a partner that shares our values was important,” says Lockyer. “We consider ourselves to be a purpose driven organization and have a huge strategy around the greater good. It’s a terrific partnership.”
“At GreenShield, we’re committed to enabling better health outcomes for all Canadians,” says Blomeley. “Today, stress and burnout continue to be top issues for employees. It’s time for employers to prioritize solutions that look at the big picture and encourage long-term health results. Our holistic and preventative approach to care means that employees are encouraged to seek support – even before they reach a crisis.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with GreenShield. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.