Caregivers employed at Keck Medicine of USC will be provided with emotional well-being and housing services through the Care for the Caregiver program, which was recently launched by Keck Medicine and USC in response to the increasing need for support from caregivers.
The program aims at alleviating the pressure of the high-risk staff at Keck Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Steven Siegel, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Keck School of Medicine.
“It’s designed to help them [medical staff] to deal with the stress of being out working on the front lines during the COVID-19 crisis,” Siegel told Annenberg Media in a phone interview. “It’s also designed to help their families, recognizing that having someone from your home go out into the hospital every day and come home is inherently very stressful.”
The first phase of the program, launched on March 24, offers free temporary housing for self-quarantine or respite to caregivers at Keck Medicine of USC, according to its website. The housing provided is at the Health Sciences Campus, USC Hotel or corporate housing downtown.
In addition to housing, Siegel said the program offers mental health resources to staff who are experiencing anxiety and pressure caused by the high-risk exposure to COVID-19, including virtual support groups, telephone support conversation, daily debrief sessions and webinars about stress management.
“They [medical employees] are one of the few people in society who have to come in, even though everyone else is being asked to stay home,” Siegel said.
Theresa Murphy, chief nursing officer at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, which is part of Keck Medicine of USC, said in a phone interview that the program is beneficial to the staff, as many front-line caregivers had inquired about housing opportunities for self-quarantine to reduce the risk of their families’ exposure to COVID-19.
“The temporary housing has given many of our caregivers a lot of peace of mind that they have a place that they can go to rest and in a way that it will not expose their family to potential infection,” Murphy said. “It matters because the staffs are worried that they might be bringing some kind of virus home on their clothes.”
The most significant impact of the program is that caregivers feel supported by the university and the health system, which is especially important in such a state of uncertainty, Murphy said.
“I think a big part of this stress right now is simply the unknown nature of this virus,” Murphy said. “That program gives [us] one less thing to worry about.”
Murphy said caregivers at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital are touched by the mental health support, which some may have not thought of before. Counseling service remains to be necessary for front-line medical workers to keep motivated and positive, she added.
“That was very impactful to the team that they have this place that they can go to talk through the situation,” Murphy said. “That allows them to then go back with the same dedication and the enthusiasm to take care of the next patient.”
There are four to six coronavirus patients on an average day at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, a number not overloading the hospital’s capacity, Murphy told Annenberg Media on April 3. The current number of patients with confirmed COVID-19 at the Verdugo Hills Hospital stands at 10, according to the hospital’s website.
Caregivers at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital have sufficient personal protective equipment at this point, as the supply materials department has strived to find the equipment from vendors and manufacturers, and the community has been donating equipment, Murphy said.
“We just have been so moved by the generosity of the community to rally around the hospital,” Murphy said. “The community has been extremely responsive and generous in donating protective equipment including masks and gloves and disinfectant cleaning supplies and head covers.”
Murphy said her current work schedule has not changed vastly from the days before the pandemic outbreak, but COVID-19 has placed a halt on many other projects at the hospital, including recruiting new doctors or developing new programs.
“The time itself is not a lot different. It's just the topic is now all COVID-19,” Murphy said. “The time we spent on other projects has been pivoted to now working on our COVID-19 planning.”
Murphy shared that caregivers at Keck Medicine of USC are grateful that the USC community has been standing together to combat COVID-19.
“I think the most important thing is that the Trojan spirit is alive and well, and we don’t feel alone through this effort,” Murphy said. “We feel very united that we have a community of people around us who are supporting us and backing us and doing everything they can to stand next to us in this effort.”