How a VT non-profit strives to mitigate the psychological impact of a global pandemic
Barre, VT – Coronavirus. It’s a global pandemic. While too many people may perish, and many will be medically affected, everyone will be psychologically affected at some level. Long-term stress and anxiety from social distancing, isolation and disconnection can lead to a lifetime of PTSD. And with a global stigma around mental health, people may be reluctant to pick up the phone and ask for help…even if only to speak with someone, let alone a mental health professional. Washington County Mental Health Services (WCMHS) a non-profit, state-funded designated agency continues to provide support and treatment for people with mental health and developmental / intellectual needs making use of telehealth technology to maintain a quality of care and sense of normalcy while employing a strategy to keep its staff working in delivering the quality of care the Agency has been providing for more than 50 years.
Though making the shift to telehealth, WCMHS still provides vital direct supports in residential facilities, community outreach and through emergency services response to the community as the need for psychological support increases.
“We are doing everything possible throughout our Agency to maintain services while optimizing safety within an ‘altered standards of care’ paradigm,” said Mary Moulton, the WCMHS Executive Director. “As is the case with many, we are learning a great deal about our technological capabilities and our staff is becoming more and more accustomed to working remotely, where possible. Many of our services, particularly those in residential care require in-person interaction, recognizing the need for social distancing. However, the impact of social distancing is having a greatly overlooked psychological impact on everyone. The long-term psychological effects of stress and anxiety can lead to PTSD and other mental health disorders.”
In helping to mitigate the psychological impact of disconnection and isolation due to social distancing, WCMHS provides daily support to people living alone or in small group settings. The Agency has been working hard at educating everyone about alleviating stress through activities that can be done while social distancing and is also providing education about the virus and personal protective equipment. As the Agency continues to make connections yet minimize personal contact, its community outreach workers are delivering groceries, meals, and care packages while making telephone contact supports to individuals in isolation. The WCMHS emergency services teams have also implemented telehealth assessments whenever possible, working to identify options for people to meet their psychiatric needs while reducing risk of contagion for both staff and the public.
A Remarkable Transition
The Agency employs approximately 750 people dedicated to serving more than 5,000 residents of Washington County and the Orange County towns of Washington, Orange and Williamstown. One Division that has very successfully embraced technology, putting it to work today, nimbly and effectively, is the outpatient division of the Agency’s Center for Counseling & Psychological Services (CCPS). On March 9th, CCPS did not use telehealth services, other than the telephone. By March 12th, a HIPAA compliant video-conferencing application was in full use. And it has been widely adopted throughout the Agency’s programs in just a few days. In the last two weeks, 1100 Zoom meetings have been conducted totaling more than 149,800 minutes by more than 4500 participants. These included clinical and therapeutic support, trainings, staff supervision and administrative oversight and crisis planning. All psychiatric appointments are also conducted via telehealth at this time.
A Need to Invest in Mental Health
Nationally, the community mental health system is already strained, both in terms of funding and under staffing, largely due to low pay and intense workloads; human service employees are not in it for the money. Vermont is no exception. With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, even greater stress has been placed on the system. And federal funding doesn’t appear to be targeting the state’s designated agencies. While state authorities at the Agency of Human Services are well aware of the pressures and are working with the agencies to maintain funding streams and determine how to address the increased expenses that will come with maintaining services for vulnerable populations because of the pandemic, WCMHS’ leadership is working with others around the state to spread the word that these essential services are being strained.
Creating a Deep Bench
The WCMHS leadership team, with its Executive Director well versed in crisis management, has been planning since the beginning of March with the intent of maintaining staffing levels to best support its clients while keeping its dedicated staff working. With that in mind, the strategy of personnel redeployment has been put in place.
In the first week of planning, the HR team, along with Quality Assurance, developed a survey to help determine who could and would be willing to be redeployed. The intent is to help put willing people in place filling vacancies made available by staffers where programs services were suspended or reduced or whose school-aged children were now home due to state-wide school closures. The redeployment strategy would also provide for employees who might be symptomatic for COVID-19. More than 400 of the agency’s team indicated their willingness to be redeployed, working in service and program areas outside of their typical role. Everyone on the team stepped up to create a deep bench.
“To say we have an unbelievable group of dedicated professionals would be an understatement,” said Susan Loynd, Administration and Human Resources Director at the WCMHS. “Many of our team are going beyond their typical day-to-day assignments. Though staffing is still a challenge, planning has helped mitigate manpower shortages in essential programs like our residentials. Our goal was to maintain the quality of care we provide and keep people employed. People are going above and beyond, and we hope the state will support us with the extra dollars necessary to maintain our system of care and the lives we support. But, despite what might appear as a deep bench, for now, like many community health providers, we need all the help we can get, now and into the future.”
Mandated isolation can make people feel as though they are alone, even in the presence of others like family; imagine an extended holiday period. Washington County Mental Health has been determined to make connections and provide a level of continuity of care to the clients they support and the surrounding Washington County community. While many businesses are being forced to shut down and lay people off, the Agency and its staff are available and open to help. Always. The team at Washington County Mental Health, like so many community-based teams in Vermont and around the world, have defined resiliency in the face of uncertainty, great stress and anxiety with a level of dedication, integrity and selflessness that is what community mental health and developmental services are all about.
“We know these are extremely difficult times that will last psychologically well beyond the medical impact of COVID-19, both for our clients, staff and others needing our help,” says Moulton, “but being here for each other, no matter what lies ahead, is what makes us get up and keep going, one day at a time.”
If you or a family member are in need of mental health support, please call WCMHS at 802.228.0591. Or, get help online by visiting the Agency’s website at www.wcmhs.org or https://bit.ly/2U6bUvD.
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About Washington County Mental Health
Washington County Mental Health Services advocates the inclusion of all persons into our communities and actively encourages Self-Determination and Recovery. We serve all individuals and families coping with the challenges of developmental and intellectual disabilities, mental health, and substance use by providing trauma-informed services to support them as they achieve their highest potential and best possible quality of life.
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