Public Health Madison and Dane County Director Janel Heinrich, at podium, speaking during a news conference in March of last year | publichealthmdc.com/
Public Health Madison and Dane County Director Janel Heinrich, at podium, speaking during a news conference in March of last year | publichealthmdc.com/
Dane County health care workers are looking to find solutions for trauma brought about by working in the COVID-19 pandemic through a potential new program for nurses.
In a proposal put together by SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, Dane County nurses met with board supervisors in the Health and Human Needs (HHN) committee on Jan. 27 to introduce the “Healthcare Workforce Trauma Recovery and Training Program,” a program designed to provide no-cost counseling, continuing education, support groups and efforts to recruit and retain professionals amidst the pandemic, according to Health Leaders Media.
“It’s $30 million, but there’s an awful lot of people that can be benefited. The federal money was to help the health care workers, and this is definitely a way to help,” said SEIU President Pat Raes, referring to funding allocated to the county as part of the American Rescue Plan, according to NBC 15.
In a survey commissioned by the SEIU, numbers found that 19% of health care workers considered suicide at least once while working during the pandemic and 85% of respondents “agreed” with the statement that the pandemic feels “like a war zone or major disaster.”
“We have people screaming at us down the hallways because they don’t think we’re taking care of their family member correctly,” Raes continued, describing his experiences working in a hospital full of COVID-19 patients every day.
While Jan. 27 saw the introduction of the proposal, Dane County health care workers still need to have additional conversations in deciding the next steps. The proposal could possibly become a resolution for health care workers, but currently, nothing has been assigned to future meeting agendas, according to NBC 15.
Many health care resource plans already exist in hospitals across the country designed to aid frontline workers in recovering from the trauma induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Information Gateway, in particular, contains a database of resources for hospital management and health care workers alike.
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