Girls Scouts, HCA Healthcare partner to prioritizes Mental Wellness with New Programming 

The HCA Healthcare Foundation is proud to collaborate with Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to address the mental health crisis among girls. This research-backed series of programs aims to help girls better understand mental wellness and provide them with skills to strengthen their resilience and support their peers. Three new patches focusing on mental wellness, resiliency, behavioral issues and healthy habits were rolled out at a gathering today at Mission Hospital, as well as at councils across the United States.

Speaking today was Melina Arrowood, COO of Behavioral Health from Mission Hospital, and Jennifer Wilcox, CEO of Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont.

“We are really excited for this partnership and excited to help further destigmatize mental health care across our community and across the country,” said Melina Arrowood, COO of Behavioral Health at Mission Hospital’s Sweeten Creek Mental Health and Wellness Center. 

The HCA Healthcare Foundation and Girl Scouts of the USA have team up to develop a mental wellness patch program for girls in grades 4 – 12. With this program, girls and their caregivers get the opportunity to learn about different mental health conditions, how to identify stressful situations, different types of self-care, developing coping skills, using kind and inclusive language, and how to ask for help when they or others around them need it. The Patch Programs includes three different age-based versions: Junior (Knowing My Emotions), Cadette (Finding My Voice), and Senior/Ambassador (Showing Up for Me and You). Materials for these programs were developed by NAMI and a GSUSA Program Advisory Committee which includes two HCA Healthcare Behavioral Health experts. 

Currently, there are about 1.7 million girl scouts in the US and 750,000 adult volunteers.