The program began at the beginning of the pandemic and is still vital.
AURORA, Col. — Health workers are tasked with keeping the rest of us healthy. But sometimes they also need help.
When the pandemic put an incredible amount of stress on doctors and nurses and everyone else battling the virus, a program stepped in to help combat burnout.
Two years later, it is still vital.
“The level they had to reach was remarkable,” said Mandy Doria, a licensed professional counselor and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the CU Anchutz. “I think we just wanted them to feel seen and heard.”
In April 2020, Mandy Doria and Leslie Choi saw an issue. The state asked them to help solve it.
“People were feeling incredibly stressed, isolated and overwhelmed and struggling to support themselves and get to work every day and feel good,” said Choi, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at CU Anschutz.
As the world stayed home, healthcare workers were coping with stress. Doria and Choi started a program to help people on the front lines of the fight against the virus get the mental health help they needed.
“Beyond the pandemicThrough CU Anschutz connected healthcare workers with mental health counselors for weekly meetings via Zoom. They thought it might be necessary for a couple of months. Two years later, they helped more than 1,000 healthcare workers in 27 states Still today, the stress is real.
“I think they struggle with a sense that the world has moved on in many ways and they are still caring for people and experiencing the stress and trauma that comes with the jobs they have,” Choi said.
From doctors to school nurses and everyone in between, the conversations intensified when the pandemic hit: It’s time to talk about mental health. The program gives healthcare workers the tools to meet challenges.
“I think initially people really struggled a lot with sleep insomnia, dealing with the trauma of having to watch patients die alone,” Doria said. “It provides a sense of control over what people feel they can achieve, or what they feel they can afford.”
The program is free to healthcare workers. throughout the state and country. It is currently funded through the end of August, but they hope to be able to continue their work with more funding from the state soon.
“It can be incredibly valuable for people to hear that others are experiencing the same things they are,” Choi said. “We just want to keep doing it for as many people as we can.”
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