Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1337263
44 CLINICAL LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT From the COVID-19 front lines: What healthcare workers want their leaders to know By Kelly Gooch D uring the pandemic, healthcare workers have been on the front lines providing care to patients with and without COVID-19. ey have shown up ready to work, while navigating changing state and federal guidelines, as well as concerns about getting sick or infecting their loved ones. Amid these challenges, workers at many hospitals and health systems have found support in leadership and in colleagues who are familiar with their experiences. Still, with cases surging across the U.S., they know their fight against the virus will only continue. Here, workers discuss what they want hospital leaders to know about their COVID-19 experiences, initiatives they want to see implemented, and initiatives that have worked well. Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. If you had 15 minutes with a hospital leader, what would you want him or her to know about your experi- ences during the pandemic? Jennifer Clutter, RN, nurse manager at Mercy Health–St. Elizabeth Youngstown (Ohio) Hospital Emergency Department: is virus has changed us so much as a society and as professional nurses. Nothing is simple anymore. ere is much anxiety on both sides. Patients are scared, and nurses are scared they may get sick or make their loved ones sick. In fact, some staff have not seen their elderly parents since March, and it is heartbreaking to hear them talk about these situations. It is mentally taxing to hear the concern of families when they can't see their loved ones. I know there will be mental and physical fallout from this pandemic with families and the front-line workers. Also, with the lockdowns, there has been an increase in psychiatric population, depression, anxiety and substance abuse — all of these affect the emergency department. People at first stayed away from the emergency department for fear of catching the virus. is has had its effects on the population that we serve. In time, we have realized that people are coming back to the hospital sicker than ever. At the beginning of this pandemic, we were all heroes in the eyes of the public. Now we are struggling, tired and need community support more than ever before. Follow the guidelines … please, for both your sake and our sake. We are still here fighting this virus, and sometimes it seems as though the community has moved on. Jeffrey Kuo, MD, senior staff emergency physician at Ochsner Health (New Orleans): I truly appreciate you leading with empathy and understanding that we, as health workers, are also human. No different than our patients, we too are fearful that we and our loved ones may fall ill, apprehensive of the unknown, sad that we are sep- arated from many of our friends and families, and have the desire to go back to our 'normal' lives. Yet we come to work every day exhibiting compassion toward our patients in an altruistic manner. ank you for recognizing this and supporting us. Missy McVey, director of cardiopulmonary services at Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.): We know we are not alone, and we would not have made it without our colleagues. A large part of what keeps us going is one another. None of us could do this alone. Together, we all form the heartbeat of what makes us Atrium Health. When one team celebrates, we all do. When one team hurts, we all do. It is our interconnectedness and our relationships with one another that help keep us steady and strong. Sarah Palmer, BSN, RN, medical intensive care unit at Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.): ese are some of the sickest patients we have ever seen. e 13 hours of wearing personal protective equipment and caring for these critically ill patients — while also trying to support them and their families— is extremely exhausting, both emotionally and physically. But it is also so rewarding. We have never been in a situation like this, and it helps so much when we feel recognized and appreciated by our leadership for all of the extra work we have taken on over the last several months. Is there a workplace initiative you would like to see implemented that hasn't been yet? Jennifer Clutter: I would like to see an internal code team set up where there could be some immediate resources for staff and fam- ilies that have just gone through something traumatic on the unit. While I know that a code lavender would not prevent burnout of nursing staff, it would provide an immediate response to a stressful situation. is has always been a goal of mine to do. But I think that it is now more important than ever. Dr. Jeffrey Kuo: Ochsner Health has done an exceptional job of scaling our COVID-19 testing capabilities in a very short period of time. In fact, we have performed over 500,000 tests since this global pandemic began. However, a source of anxiety for many employees has been the relative lack of accessibility to testing sites for our fam- ilies when needed. Testing capabilities is an area that continues to impact the nation, not just Ochsner. It continues to be a priority for us, as it has a large impact on our community, our employees and our employees' loved ones. Katie Passaretti, MD, medical director of health system infection prevention at Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.): I think Atrium Health has done a tremendous job of obtaining and providing PPE, not laying people off despite the financial hit all healthcare systems have taken, making sure mental health support was accessible and working with community and public health leaders to give consistent messaging on protective measures in the community. As with any crisis, meaningful communication and conveying information that is rapidly changing is a huge challenge, especially in bigger hospital systems, so that is always a work in progress. What's worked well during the pandemic? Jennifer Clutter: e teamwork and camaraderie that the staff has felt has made a huge impact. ere hasn't been an 'us versus them.' We are all in this together. Teamwork has always been the most important thing in an emergency department, but through this we have seen a level of it that we have not experienced before. e leadership within this hospital has worked together, and relationships have been built through this pandemic that will span