The COVID-19 pandemic hasn't been easy on healthcare professionals.
Kristy Heckert, an RN and clinical manager of the COVID-unit at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah, recalls what personnel went through during COVID surges in fall 2020. Team members became fatigued by the unknown situations, near-capacity volume and "minute by minute" changes.
"You could look down our hallway and you could see equipment everywhere. Everyone was in their PPE. Supplies (were) everywhere," Heckert said. "You wouldn't see the nurses, because they were inside the rooms in their gear taking care of the patient ... they were in the room sometimes hours caring for them. You could see them come out of the rooms, doffing their equipment. And you could just see their poor faces, and their poor ears and the damage that this PPE did to their skin. And they would take a breath, don on some new equipment and go on to the next patient. And they did this for 12 hours, 16 hours a day at times. So it was really hectic and heartbreaking at times."
Heckert remembers the significant community support at the beginning of the pandemic. Written cards from community members, food donations, and groups holding encouraging signs in the parking lot helped morale on challenging days.
Now, Heckert is asking the community to take action in a different way.
She said healthcare leaders are experiencing another increase of COVID volumes in hospitals. To avoid another COVID surge this fall, Heckert encourages people to follow COVID-19 protocols, such as masking, social distancing, staying home when sick, practicing good hand hygiene and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine if possible.
"We're a little worried here about what's going to happen in the next couple months," Heckert said. "That emotional strength to do this again is kind of hard to get behind these days. That's why we're worried. So we need our friends and neighbors in the community to really rally again, and get vaccinated and take those COVID safe precautions."
A national survey by the American Medical Association of more than 20,000 medical professionals across 42 healthcare organizations in the U.S. shows nearly 50 percent experienced burnout during the height COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think a lot of people are having struggles with managing their stress levels, with managing just day to day activities, because they're so on edge. They're so anxious and they're so worn out day to day," said Caitlin Carmody, an outpatient psychotherapist at Spectrum Behavioral Health LLC.
Carmody said there's a hierarchy of needs people need to meet to be at their best: At the bottom is essential needs, like getting enough sleep, exercise, support and proper nutrition. These are necessary functions many healthcare professionals have been going without during the pandemic.
So how can they cope and continue to treat patients in these situations, especially at times when people may not see eye to eye?
"I'm sure it's really hard to separate out from what they're thinking and feeling, and having to do their job," Carmody said. "Sometimes when we have people in stressful situations we have to remind them of our circle of control. The things I can control are myself, my actions, how I feel about things and what I do about things."
When it comes to coping, Carmody suggests taking even five to 10 minutes a day to meditate and practice grounding techniques. One method she suggests is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.
"That helps bring you back into the moment, because sometimes when we're overwhelmed we can spiral out on our anxiety," Carmody said.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported more than 2,200 new positive COVID-19 test results Thursday. That's the most in a single day since mid-January. The 7-day average of new cases per day rose to 1,584. More than 51 percent of the state is now fully vaccinated against the virus.
