COVID-19 Burses Local Healthcare Professionals | Local News

As a healthcare professional at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses are spending extra time keeping up with testing and current demands for COVID-19 vaccine administration.

Sandra Hassempfrug, director of nursing at Marion County Health Department, said she and other health department medical staff have been working overtime almost every week since March last year and are worn by everyone there. Said.

“Since March, we’ve been clearly non-stop,” Hassenpflug said. “I and some of my staff started working seven days a week, every weekend, sometimes 12 hours, and that’s been going on until now. Finally, I’ve arrived at a place where I can work every three weeks.”

Hassenpflug said he aims to leave the Marion County Health Department after months of complex stress from work and could leave public health altogether despite his lifelong career. It was. Having endured a series of overtime, the pandemic has already exacerbated the effects of stressful hours.

“I’ve just come to the point where I’m tired and very tired,” Hassenpflug said. “I was in public health for most of my life, and it never needed what it needed today.”

Burnout has always been a challenge in the field of nursing, according to Tara Halsey, Dean of the School of Nursing and Vice President of Health Promotion and Wellness at West Virginia University.

“Especially for nurses, which is more so than I say any other aspect of the medical profession,” Halsey said. “From my point of view, nurses are at the forefront of any other healthcare professional and are with patients more than any other discipline.”

Nursing departments across the United States have been understaffed for several years, according to Halsey, so that nurses work longer and cover more shifts in some disciplines in the field. became. The additional stressors caused by the coronavirus pandemic make the nursing shortage more prevalent, she said.

“COVID has contributed significantly to that,” Hulsey said. “Before COVID, we were understaffed in many, many, and many areas, but now we have staff from COVID … so you are even more understaffed.”

Lloyd White, director of the Marion County Health Department, said he had never lost a staff member during a pandemic before Hassempfrug. But he knows that everyone in the department, including himself, is experiencing a higher level of stress.

“It’s unbelievable, but that’s not enough explanation,” White said. “I can’t have a delicious supper with my wife without a text message or a message early in the morning when I get home.”

Hassenpflug also said that most of the time, including a short vacation last week, he had to take his work home.

“I don’t shut off,” said Hassenpflug. “Because of my job responsibilities as Nursing Director, my mind can’t shut down. Thinking at midnight, I’m planning the next day.”

In addition to the lengthy work that burdens healthcare staff, Halsey said the pandemic itself and the resulting guidelines and obligations routinely burden people’s mental health.

“At COVID, I think mental health is the biggest thing for everyone so far,” Hulsey said. “Nurses are trained to deal with stress, but you put all this on it, it’s a lot.”

Hulsey predicts that many will enter the field of nursing and health care because they are congenitally eager to help others. Performing this task throughout this era is difficult for many nurses, but she also said she saw many applications from retired nurses who wanted to return to the profession to deal with the pandemic. Told.

Nurses require a great deal of emotional involvement, which also increases the risk of emotional burnout.

“I think the vast majority of people who work in nursing as a profession are like me. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse,” Hulsey said. “You want to make a difference and you really get a lot of value from helping people, but you don’t have enough backup and you’re in a situation where you have to do a double shift. It’s very It Is difficult. “

Hassenpflug said that in addition to the usual duties of the nursing department, a large amount of interaction with the community actually increases the stress of many in her department.

“You are dealing with the masses and their concerns and their fears and questions,” Hassenpflug said. “Not only do we need to manage all of this, but we also have to educate the community on how to best protect ourselves and when vaccines will come.”

Halsey will work with WVU staff to improve student access to mental health services, brainstorm how universities hire more healthcare education staff, and develop future healthcare professionals. He said he is creating the possibility to do it. She said assigning health care workers to more hospitals and health departments could reduce stress levels across these organizations.

“We will look at ways we can hire more teachers, expand our nursing programs, and partner with them to develop more nurses,” says Hulsey. “Maybe I’m thinking about ways to pool resources in different ways and work more efficiently and effectively as a team, without being bound by stereotypes. I don’t think you can have too much of it. Do not think.”

Providing nurses with more ways to deal with stress and anxiety will help prevent burnout, Halsey said.

“I think it’s important to find ways to help people build resilience, relieve stress when they need it, and get the support they need,” says Hulsey. “Counseling is very important. I know that many parts of West Virginia are also understaffed. That’s a big problem so far. Because of COVID, because of stress and depression. More and more people are looking for access to counseling. We don’t have enough counselors. “

For White, blocking the spread of the coronavirus to the community can greatly help reduce the stress levels of everyone at the Marion County Health Department.

“It’s a difficult time for us to be there. We can say that all our stress levels are through the roof,” White said. “If good people stop being stupid and become proactive, do what we know, use the right PPE, reduce the number of cases, reduce the number of deaths. It’s our stress. It’s an incredible way to soften your level. “

Hassenpflug said he was leaving the Marion County Health Department but was still involved in some of the initiatives, such as the Quick Response team. She also praises the staff for her dedication as a public health servant through the pandemic.

“We have excellent staff here,” said Hassenpflug. “We’re not enough to meet the demand and we’re working hard, but we still have good staff and we’re working together.”