Who takes care of the caregivers? This is a photo of my daughter and three of her colleagues who are nurses in a COVID-19 ICU in Colorado. The nurses work 12 hour shifts. They are responsible for the physical care of their patients. They are also concerned about their patients emotional well being. A COVID patient ICU room is a pretty lonely place. This is because of the need to isolate the patient as the room environment is considered an open infection area. Thus, visitation is tightly controlled and all entering must be dressed in full personal protective equipment. So for most of my caregivers all I really saw were their eyes. But, their eyes, actions, and words all carried a message of hope and that I was never really alone. As we talked I got to know more about each of them and lives outside the COVID ICU. These conversations made me feel more human. Many of my caregivers have also suffered from COVID and also have lingering symptoms, both physical and psychological. I can remember a late night call several months ago when my daughter called my wife sobbing uncontrollably about two patients, a husband and wife, who passed away while in her care within minutes of each other. To her they were more than patients. No doubt the pain, emotions, and grief my daughter felt have been experienced hundreds of thousands of time across the world. It seems that all to often we forget that caregivers are human.
These caregivers not only include medical providers and staff, but the families. Families that become home care providers after COVID patients are discharged are also part of this important team. In 2012 I was the commander of a US Army combat stress control detachment. The detachment included psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, physical therapists, psychiatric nurses and other mental health specialists. As I was preparing the soldiers and unit to deploy to Afghanistan I was blessed, or maybe should say cursed, to see them in action as we launched a program to address soldier suicide. At the time we were preparing to deploy soldier suicide were increasing. My soldiers implemented an innovative program that reached over 10,000 soldiers designed to prevent suicides. I have no doubt there are soldiers alive today because of what they did. As I watched them work, I also saw the personal toil it was having on them. When I was asked by the Combatant commander, who we be reporting in Afghanistan, what keeps me awake at night, I responded taking care of my soldiers so they can take care of others. So who takes care of caregivers ? Part of that answer to me is pretty obvious at least in the case of COVID. The best way to show we care for the caregivers who are also human is to follow the guidelines for reducing COVID spread and get vaccinated. This will reduce the strain on hospital and family caregivers and the demand on our medical system. Please show you care!
