32 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • JUNE 4, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
COVID-19 mental health program helps community and employees
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on,
the implications the outbreak has on mental
health has become more evident, especially
in hard-hit communities in New
York City.
In Queens, where there have been
32,749 confi rmed cases of COVID-19
and nearly 2,000 deaths, the MediSys
Health Network’s (consisting of Jamaica
and Flushing Hospital) Department of
Psychiatry has created several programs
to address the issue of mental health.
New York City mental health organizations
such as NYC Well, reported an 185
percent increase in mental health web sessions.
Th e service is utilized by individuals
seeking assistance with issues such
as depression and anxiety. In a recent
poll conducted by the Kaiser Family
Foundation, it was found that 45 percent
of adults living in the U.S. felt that
their mental health was impacted due to
the outbreak.
“We are not surprised by these numbers.
At this time, many people are afraid.
Th ey are anxious about the known and
unknown,” said Anthony Maffi a, vice
president of the Department of Psychiatry
of Jamaica and Flushing Hospital.
According to Maffi a, the coronavirus outbreak
has presented many challenges and
unfortunate situations such as job loss,
social isolation, hospitalizations and the
loss of loved ones.
“Th ese factors can lead to feelings of
fear, irritability, sadness and hopelessness,
as well as idealizations of suicide,” Maffi a
said. “All of which can be symptoms of
depression, post- traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), anxiety and other mental
health disorders.”
The team from the Psychiatry
Department was prepared to face the
mental health aspect of the crisis at the
early onset of the outbreak, said Dr. Daniel
Chen, chairman of the Department of
Psychiatry.
“We knew that this was going to be a
time when our entire community would
need us. Th erefore, our priorities shift -
ed to developing COVID-19 related initiatives
that would benefi t our employees,
patients and their loved ones,” Chen said.
Jamaica and Flushing Hospital’s
COVID-19 mental health initiatives
include the following: Employee Wellness
Support Group: Th is provides platforms
for employees to call in daily for a group
support and therapy session.
Each call is led by licensed therapists
that provide a safe place for participants
to openly share their feelings. Callers can
remain anonymous. Individual Employee
Th erapy Sessions: Participants of employee
group therapy sessions are off ered oneon
one counseling if they need more
emotional support. Additionally, members
of the Department of Psychiatry
place routine calls to hospital employees
to ask how they are doing and invite them
to meet for individual sessions.
Friendly Face in the Workplace
Program: Counselors routinely make
rounds on the hospitals’ units to provide
supportive services to employees and
make referrals for mental health services
if indicated.
Patient Wellness Support Program:
Discharged COVID-19 patients are contacted
by a licensed mental health therapist
for follow up care and mental health
support.
In addition to counseling, therapists are
helping patients with obtaining helpful
resources such as information on fi ling
for unemployment benefi ts and food-assistance
programs.
Family Wellness Support Program:
Counselors call the families of patients
who expired as a result of COVID-19 to
make sure they do not feel alone by off ering
their support. Th erapists also provide
bereavement counseling and additional
assistance such as providing families with
the resources needed to make arrangements
aft er an expiration.
So far, the hospital’s COVID-19 mental
health initiatives have received a positive
response from employees, patients and
families, Chen said.
Chen recalled a case involving a
12-year-old girl who became depressed
while unable to communicate with her
father, who became ill and was quarantined
in his bedroom.
“One of our counselors, a licensed creative
art therapist, spoke to the young lady
and learned that she liked art and writing.
Our therapist recommended that she
write notes and draw pictures, then slip
them under the door to her dad,” Chen
said. “As a result, the child became more
positive, her depression lift ed and she
started doing her school work again.”
Meanwhile, for many of the hospitals’
employees, the mental health support
provided by the Department of Psychiatry
has been benefi cial. Staff members sometimes
display symptoms of acute distress,
according to Chen.
Th ey may also be experiencing insomnia
or loss of appetite, and can also feel
overwhelmed, anxious or afraid.
“Th erapists who are assigned to help
employees are specially trained to listen to
their coworker’s concerns, validate their
eff orts in fi ghting COVID-19, and be supportive,”
Maffi a said. “It is very rewarding
for us when our colleagues report that
they’re sleeping better, feeling better and
are less anxious about the future.”
Photo/Wikimedia Commons
How to have the hardest conversation: Making end-of-life decisions
BY EMILY DAVENPORT AND ADAM
BROWNSTEIN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
No one likes to think about the end of
their life, but it’s an important topic that
many people put off until it’s too late.
With the coronavirus pandemic inspiring
people to reconsider what they prioritize
in their lives, experts say you should also
make time to fi gure out your own end-oflife
plans.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, people
are getting scared, of course, and they
realize, ‘Oh, my goodness, I don’t have a
will, I haven’t thought about what would
happen if I got very sick,’” said David
Badanes, a family law attorney with offi ces
in Northport and Garden City. “Now they
see this is something that could hit them
and they may not even think about it …
I have seen an increase in telephone calls
from people in this area.”
According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, while
70 percent of people say that they would
prefer to die at home, 70 percent of people
die in a hospital, nursing home or a
long-term care facility, underscoring the
need to discuss end-of-life plans with
loved ones. And according to a survey
of Californians taken by the California
Health Care Foundation, while 60 percent
of people say that not burdening their
loved ones with extremely tough decisions
is important, 56 percent have not
communicated their fi nal wishes.
“Diffi cult as they may be, these conversations
are essential,” said American
Bar Foundation (ABF) Research Professor
Susan P. Shapiro, who authored “In
Speaking for the Dying: Life-and-Death
Decisions in Intensive Care.” “Now is a
good time to provide loved ones with the
information, reassurance, and trust they
need to make decisions.”
Chances are the only one who knows
your body as well as you do is your doctor.
When considering your end-of-life
plans, consult your doctor and see what
kind of insight she/he can provide.
If you want to make sure your wishes are
carried out, get your plans in writing so it
is completely clear what your loved ones
should do if a decision needs to be made.
“Even in the post-COVID world, which
will happen sooner or later — we’re going
to get out of this — everybody should
have a will, in my opinion,” Badanes said,
“and they should discuss this with an
attorney.”
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