TORONTO, May 30, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank and MD Financial Management Inc. (MD), in collaboration with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) today announced an initiative with the Fountain of Health™ to address the growing need for physician wellness support.

The Fountain of Health is a unique national non-profit initiative created to share the science of wellbeing and to translate that knowledge into practical action. The new initiative, Thrive MD Physician Wellness Program, developed by the Fountain of Health, will be shared with physicians in partnership with Doctors Nova Scotia. The Thrive MD program aims to improve physician wellness through access to customized physician wellbeing resources in the Thrive Learning Centre and using the Fountain of Health Wellness App designed to encourage changes in health behaviours and attitudes. 

"The Fountain of Health is the first nationally scaled wellness and resilience program of its kind, developed by physicians to offer a scientific, evidence-based approach to improving health and wellness," said Dr. Katharine Smart, CMA President. "We are proud to support and enhance this unique program, especially at this time where wellness of health workers is critical."

The Fountain of Health solution includes the 3-step THRIVE^© Approach to Wellbeing developed by Dr. Keri-Leigh Cassidy and her team. Related behaviour change tools focus on six key THRIVE areas: Thoughts, Health Habits, Relationships, Interests, Valued Goals, and Emotions.

"We are thrilled to be able to expand the Fountain of Health's unique approach to promote self-care for physicians through this relationship," said Dr. Cassidy. "Nova Scotia physicians will be able to access free, accredited behaviour activation tools and training to promote their personal wellbeing. Offering this program to colleagues in the midst of this pandemic is particularly timely and meaningful. The initiative also offers a meaningful opportunity to shift our medical culture toward inclusion of self-care practices in physicians' daily lives. Through our Thrive MD Physician Wellness Hub, physicians can access a range of customized self-care resources and use proven cognitive behaviour techniques for effective behaviour change." 

Funding for the Fountain of Health is part of a 10-year, $115 million pledge by the Canadian Medical Association, MD and Scotiabank to support physicians, medical learners and the communities they serve across Canada. The collaboration has committed more than $39.2 million to date, supporting a wide range of professional development activities, scholarships, and health and wellness initiatives for physicians across the country.

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.3 trillion (as at April 30, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

With more than 50 years of physician-focused experience, MD Financial Management Inc. (MD) is dedicated to providing financial peace of mind to Canada's physicians and their families, so they can enjoy what matters most to them while achieving their career and life goals. MD had more than $56 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2022. MD Management Limited was the first of the MD Group of Companies to be founded, in 1969. MD Financial Management Inc. wholly owns MD Management Limited. MD Financial Management provides financial products and services, the MD Family of Funds and investment counselling services through the MD Group of Companies. For a detailed list of these companies, visit md.ca.

The Canadian Medical Association leads a national movement with physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our ambition is a sustainable, accessible health system where patients are partners, a culture of medicine that elevates equity, diversity and wellbeing, and supportive communities where everyone has the chance to be healthy. We drive change through advocacy, giving and knowledge sharing – guided by values of collaboration and inclusion.

The Fountain of Health™ is a national non-profit initiative founded in 2011 by Dr. Keri-Leigh Cassidy at Dalhousie University Department of Psychiatry. This association is dedicated to translating wellbeing science into practical action, with a main website (www.fountainofhealth.ca), and two other web-based resources: The Wellness App (www.wellnessapp.ca) and the Thrive Learning Centre (www.fohthrivelearningcentre.ca)  The Fountain of Health is also involved in ongoing quality assurance evaluation to ensure our tools are useful across multiple health care settings and for diverse populations. Among the 1500 people who have used the Fountain of Health approach, 80% have reported improved health behaviours and outcomes in 4 weeks. 

SOURCE Scotiabank