Health

Detroit Covid hotline offers help to nurses and doctors coping with work stress

April 08, 2020, 6:31 PM by  Jack Thomas
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A new hotline provides free and confidential assistance to Covid-19 first responders in Metro Detroit. The hotline launched Monday in a collaboration by Wayne State University’s School of Social Work and College of Nursing, The South End reports.

Staffed by volunteers in the fields of nursing and social work, the hotline hopes to assist medical workers coping with unprecedented working conditions.

“Many of them are working 12-hour shifts, 24-hour shifts,” said co-founder Suzanne Brown, a social work professor at the university. “They’re not able to take care of themselves, in terms of eating or sleeping.”

Long work days can cause insomnia, depression and irritability. Further down the line, the residual effects can be even worse. Mental health assistance can be critical, Brown said.

“Sometimes post-traumatic stress can develop from these kinds of experiences, which is exactly why we’re putting this hotline in place,” Brown said. “With interventions, people can move into resilience and potentially growth as a result of these kinds of stressors.”

Many first responders are concerned about contracting the virus, and passing it on to their families, according to the hotline. As of Monday, 1,500 Beaumont staff and more than 700 Henry Ford employees tested positive for the virus, The Detroit News reported.

Limited resources are another stressor. Some of the hotline volunteers are equipped to deal with ethical dilemmas, which are becoming more commonplace for practitioners, Brown said.

The Covid-19 Healthcare Provider Support Hotline can be reached at 888-910-1636 Monday through Saturday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Help is confidential and free.

Qualified volunteers can apply on the university site.


Read more:  The South End


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