MINNEAPOLIS — While state health officials continue to urge everyone to stay at home when you can, there's a group that can't do that.
The people on the frontline fighting this virus, the nurses, doctors and hospital workers who bravely defend the sick.
Now there's a growing concern about their mental well-being.
"It's a really unique place for frontline staff in the medical world to be in right now," Hennepin Healthcare psychologist Talee Vang says.
"It's very common for health care providers to feel not only anxious, but fearful or sometimes feeling angry or guilty."
A mix of emotions that may be difficult for some workers to deal with, Vang says, especially when they're working long hours in the middle of a global crisis.
"The support that's out there I think is still developing. There's been a lot of conversations here at Hennepin Healthcare about how we can support our frontline staff."
Some ideas Vang and her colleagues are working on include a special hotline for healthcare workers so they have someone to talk to.
They're also working on a new website with tips and resources on how to stay healthy.
"That may include videos, so how do you take care of yourself, what are some coping strategies that will be important for you how can your family be helpful, how can you help your family members."
They're even looking at new policies for break times, making sure workers are taking time out of their day to focus on themselves and their own mental health.
"People who are definite go-getters, they may not take the time to take care of themselves. When policies are enforced, institutions are saying, you need to take a break and that's going to prevent burnout."
Vang says we can all play a role.
For friends and family she says making a ready-made meal for a healthcare worker can go a long way.
Other ideas include offering to help with child care if they need it, or even something as simple as calling them up on the phone or sending them a text message to see how they’re doing.
"I think it's important to be able to provide that social connection, to be able to provide support. Providing acknowledgement of the work that is being done to help the community stay safe, I think that is critical."
And Vang says healthcare workers can help themselves by being open to help.
To share their thoughts, fears and concerns with someone they trust.
To take care of themselves the same way they take care of their patients.
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