Industry addresses well-being as COVID-19 overwhelms healthcare workforce

As cases of COVID-19 soar at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, leadership is frantically trying to create special resources for frontline caregivers that address the anxieties and stresses caused by the pandemic.

All eight of Mount Sinai’s hospitals are treating COVID-19 patients and the system is expected to be over capacity soon. Along with their work stress, clinicians are concerned about child care for their children who are no longer in school or passing along the virus to their family when they come home from shifts.

“We are pretty early in this and already seeing a great deal of stress and anxiety in the workplace,” said Dr. Jonathan Ripp, chief wellness officer of the hospital system. In response, Mount Sinai has put a plan into place focusing on three areas: communication, basic needs and mental health support. The priorities were selected after reviewing the literature from dealing with such other outbreaks as Zika, H1N1 and SARS, Ripp said.

Large healthcare associations are also concerned about the well-being of clinicians at this time and mainly trying to help through political advocacy.

“The best way to minimize the acute stress of this is to make sure physicians have the tools they need, such as personal protective equipment, ventilators and supplies,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association. The AMA, along with the American Hospital Association and American Nurses Association, lobbied heavily to get billions of dollars in funding added to the most recent economic relief package. Congress allocated $130 billion to provider settings, which will likely be used to purchase additional equipment, among other things.

The American Nurses Association is also addressing well-being by organizing webinars and sending emails advising nurses about how they can advocate for themselves in the workplace during this time, such as asking for breaks to use the restroom and eat.

And the ANA is gathering feedback from members through an online survey asking about their main challenges and concerns in dealing with COVID-19. The association plans to publicize the results to raise awareness in the industry, said Holly Carpenter, senior policy adviser for nursing practice and innovation.

Mount Sinai has already put into place aspects of its plan to address workforce well-being. Ripp said a key way to alleviate stress is keeping people informed, so a webpage has been created for staff offering a centralized place for the latest information about the system’s response to COVID-19. A daily email is also sent out to all 40,000 employees addressing concerns that Ripp hears from colleagues.

Additionally, Mount Sinai is in the midst of responding to child-care and lodging challenges, which cause stress for employees. “We have been asking ourselves, ‘What are the stressors and what are the ways we can potentially unload some of that burden?’ ” Ripp said.

New York is offering child care to the city’s healthcare workers, so the human resources department is helping staff take advantage of the option. Mount Sinai is also exploring partnerships with local hotels for frontline caregivers worried they’ll expose their family to the virus.

Psychosocial and mental health services for staff have also been moved to virtual platforms in response to social distancing recommendations. Ripp said such services haven’t been overloaded yet, but he’s concerned they might be.

Harris said when the spread of the pandemic slows and the workforce is less overwhelmed, the AMA is interested in addressing the emotional impact on physicians, which can manifest in post-traumatic stress disorder. “We will be looking at ways to continue to support our colleagues after we get through the acute phase of this pandemic,” she said.