Managing through another COVID19 Surge: It's Still OK to not be OK

Below is my monthly message for the January 2022 edition of the MHRI newsletter, Focus. You can view Focus articles online at https://www.medstarhealth.org/blog.


Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Happy New Year… I think!  
 
No one expected to start the new year with an explosive new variant of COVID-19 yet here we are. While I hope everyone had a chance to relax a little, enjoy time with family and friends and take stock in all the things we have to be grateful for over the holiday season, I also know that so many of us are dealing with the strain of navigating yet another COVID-19 surge.  With record number of cases for DC and Maryland, virtually all of us have been touched by COVID-19 in some way, not to mention the unprecedented, added stress this current surge is putting on our healthcare system and each of us personally.
 
In August 2020, I used this monthly newsletter to partner up with Dan Marchalik, MD (who serves as the Executive Director of the MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing), to tell the story of Michael Phelps' mental agony and how it is 'OK to not be OK.' We shared how this silent battle is taking place on healthcare workers and we all need to use the resources available to us from MedStar Health to take care of ourselves. This is important now more than ever as the battle against COVID-19 rages on with a renewed urgency for our community.


I am going to keep this message short because we all have a lot in front of us right now. If nothing else, I want those of you who are serving on the frontlines to know that as you work to get our patients healthy, your research colleagues at MedStar Health are working hard to find solutions for our patients tomorrow. In this issue of FOCUS you will learn about research looking at the benefits of co-delivering behavioral health services with other medical disorders, how health systems can use data to identify providers who may be on the verge of burnout, and how MedStar Health is dedicated to advancing health by investing in the next generation of investigators.  This is what an academic health system does - providing excellent care to each and every person in our community today while working to advance health to make this a better world for tomorrow. This is what you are all doing and I am eternally grateful and proud to be on your team throughout these challenging times.
 
Stay well, take care of yourself and your loved ones and recognize the difference our work is making in so many lives along the way. 

Neil

Read Focus online at MedStarHealth.org/blog.

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