MHA Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health: What It Means for Cummins, Now and Moving Forward

At Cummins, we place the highest value on people’s mental health and well-being.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise—after all, we are a provider of behavioral health services. However, our concern doesn’t stop with the individuals and communities we serve. We’re also invested in the health and well-being of our own team members.

Cummins has recently been awarded the 2022 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health from Mental Health America. The Bell Seal is a national employer certification program to recognize companies that prioritize employee mental health and well-being. Our award at the Platinum level—the highest level available—signifies our commitment to creating mentally healthy work environments for our staff.

We know that providers of behavioral health services have difficult jobs. In their daily work, they must support and empathize with individuals who are experiencing extremely challenging life situations. We believe service providers deserve the same amount of support and empathy they give to their consumers, which is why we are so committed to the wellness of our team members. We believe our receipt of the Platinum Bell Seal award stands as validation of our commitment.

Keep reading to learn more about this award and what it means for Cummins Behavioral Health moving forward.

How Cummins Received the Bell Seal

Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all. MHA’s efforts are guided by its Before Stage 4 (B4Stage4) philosophy, which holds that mental health conditions should be treated long before reaching the most critical points in the disease process.

MHA has spent decades researching mental health in the workplace, and in 2019, MHA introduced the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health to recognize organizations that support employee mental health and well-being. The Bell Seal recognizes employer advances in workplace mental health by awarding Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum recognition levels. The purpose is to help employees identify mentally healthy workplaces as well as guide employers who are committed to creating them.

Cummins is heavily committed to the wellness of all our team members. In order to provide the best quality care to consumers, our staff need to be mentally healthy themselves and have tools for self-care. Therefore, we do our very best to care for the whole employee, both their mental and physical health. With this in mind, we hoped to receive a Bell Seal certification from MHA to demonstrate this commitment to the communities we serve.

As part of the application process, MHA conducted a rigorous evaluation of Cummins’ policies and practices related to employee wellness. Areas of focus included workplace culture, employee growth opportunities, benefits packages, compliance practices, and staff wellness programs.

We believe our receipt of the Bell Seal at the Platinum level is a testament to the wellness-first workplace we have cultivated at Cummins. In particular, we have a strong wellness program in place for our staff, and we acknowledge that there is always room for further improvement for staff wellness. Our vision is to be the provider and employer of choice for mental health services in Indiana, and the Bell Seal award confirms that we’re well on the way toward our goal of cultivating a mentally healthy workplace.

What the Bell Seal Means for Cummins’ Future

Cummins Behavioral Health recognizes that our industry is currently going through challenging times. Put simply, the need for mental health services in America is greater than what can be provided. Last year, government data showed that an estimated 37% of the national population lived in areas experiencing a shortage of mental health professionals.

The situation was undeniably made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, and federal, state and local governments have increased funding for mental health services in response. But training and developing new service providers takes time, and meanwhile, many current providers are overworked and struggling with high levels of work-related stress.

Cummins believes that one crucial way we can alleviate this problem is by prioritizing the health and wellness of all mental health service providers. This is one of our primary goals both now and for the future, and we believe the MHA Bell Seal certification will help us to achieve it.

To begin with, we hope this award will demonstrate our commitment to provider wellness to employees and our community at large. In addition, the certification must be renewed every year, which will help us maintain focus on our goal of employee wellness. The annual application process will keep us aware of our strengths and bring to light areas for potential improvement in our wellness programs and initatives.

As we mentioned above, our vision for the future is that community and healthcare partners view Cummins as the provider and employer of choice in central Indiana. The MHA Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health will be an essential asset for realizing that vision for years to come.

“Cummins’ vision is to be both employer of choice and provider of choice. These are complimentary goals, and one cannot be achieved without achieving the other.” — Amy Mace, CEO of Cummins Behavioral Health Systems, Inc.

You can learn more about MHA and the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by visiting mhanational.org/bestemployers.