Caring for the Caregivers
It’s been two years since the first patients suffering from fever and shortness of breath were admitted to their local hospitals with what would eventually be designated as COVID-19. Since then, the pandemic has spread across the entire planet, leading to more than 271 million infections and more than 5 million deaths. At OHSU, we worked through the first wave of infections and lockdowns and through the delta-variant surge, and we continue to work as the omicron variant spreads worldwide.
While there may have been disruptions during the initial lockdowns, most of us are back to doing our regular work, albeit under irregular conditions. I work in Rehabilitation Services, where we’re seeing nearly the same number of outpatients as we saw before the pandemic. We’re fielding the same number of calls from the same number of patients, but with fewer employees (thanks to a baffling hiring freeze) and with siloed work assignments due to COVID-19 protocols.
Those of us providing direct patient care have been heavily impacted, with people like our respiratory therapists facing months of mandatory overtime. Food and Nutrition suffered a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the pandemic that garnered a lot of attention and led to change, but those employees’ work is still greatly impacted by the virus and resulting precautions. OHSU’s emergency department has been at or above capacity for much of the last year. Many temporary work-from-home assignments have become permanent, and teleworkers may be feeling like they live at work.
As much as many parts of our world seem to be acting as if we’re “post-COVID,” that’s not what the majority of our coworkers experience in their day-to-day work. The disruptions, the stress, the understaffing and all of the other pandemic stresses we have felt and continue to feel can take their toll on even the strongest amongst us. Many of us are caretakers (literally and figuratively, at work and at home), so it’s our instinct to look to see what others need, but it’s also important to remember that the trauma, isolation and exhaustion that many of us are feeling is real. We’re not weak or lazy, and we don’t lack commitment — we’re tired.
I’ve written before about perseverance and working through trauma, and all of what I said before still holds true, but as we enter the home stretch of what will be a very difficult holiday season for many of us, it’s important to remember that we’re all struggling, and that struggle is one we’re in together. Those who already had a difficult family life may find that their families are even more polarized than before. Those whose holidays are usually spent surrounded by friends and family are likely to be seeing fewer loved ones than before the pandemic, whether due to the coronavirus itself or to the isolation it has forced on many of us. We may be unable to travel, or may have immunocompromised friends or family for whom a visit would be unsafe. We may not even be able to take time away from the important work we do for OHSU.
If you’re struggling with the weight of two past two years, you’re not alone. The weight we’re carrying is a heavy one and it isn’t a personal failing to admit that. None of us have lived through anything like this before. The term “self-care” may seem overused these days, but the concept is still an important one. If you need help dealing with the issues we’re facing, please take steps to take care of yourself. The analogy may be a tired one, but it’s still true: when the plane is going down, we can’t fix someone else’s oxygen mask before we fix our own. If you’re tired of that old chestnut, then think of helping someone who has been injured in a motor vehicle accident: you risk becoming another casualty if you try to help them in the middle of the fast lane.
We’ve listed some resources below, but please feel free to share others that you’ve found helpful in the comments below. Take care of yourself. We are all essential.