Page 9 - January 2021 South Florida Hospital News

Century Ambulance Service Provides Frontline Workers Still

COVID-19 Vaccines to Senior Living Dealing With Stress

Facilities in Partnership with the BY EMILY PANTELIDES
Even though it's a new year, we don't automatically reset
Florida Department of Health our same old thought patterns. The pandemic has taken a

dangerous toll on the mental health of our frontline health-
On December 16, 2020, care workers. Although hope is on the horizon for so many
Century Ambulance Service currently getting the vaccine, the mental and emotional Jenn Tomko
began to administer fatigue may be too much. "We are seeing many frontline
COVID-19 vaccinations in workers coming in to our office mentally burned out," said Jenn Tomko the head thera-
Broward and Pinellas coun- pist at Clarity Health Solutions in Jupiter. She's not wrong. According to a recent survey
ties and will follow with conducted by Mental Health America (MHA), healthcare workers aren’t getting a
counties in northeast and reprieve. They are frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed, burned out and worried about
north central Florida exposing their loved ones. Nurses seem to be particularly prone to these issues. The
through the Florida Ambu - study showed that healthcare workers are:
lance Association (FAA), • Stressed out and anxious: 93% of health care workers were experiencing stress
who has partnered with the • Worried about exposing loved ones: 76% of healthcare workers reported that they
Florida Department of were worried about exposing their child to COVID-19
Health to administer the • Emotionally and physically exhausted: Emotional exhaustion was the most common
first COVID-19 vaccina- answer for how healthcare workers were feeling (82%)
tions in the state. • Not getting enough emotional support: 39% of healthcare workers said that they did
As part of Phase 1(A) of not feel like they had adequate emotional support. Nurses were even less likely to have
the state’s vaccination plan, emotional support (45%).
Century Ambu lance para- • Struggling with parenting: Among people with children, half reported they are lack-
medics will administer vaccines to long ing quality time or are unable to support children or be a present parent.
term care and nursing facilities through- Tomko says stress, if left untreated, can lead to more severe mental health conditions
out the counties. like depression, anxiety, psychosis and even thoughts of suicide or self-harm. She says
Century Ambulance paramedics were that the best way to avoid a mental health crisis is to try and actively change your
trained in vaccination protocols as set thoughts. "Make a conscious effort to be in the moment" said Tomko, be patient with
forth by the Florida Department of yourself and also know that most hospitals and healthcare system treating COVID-19
Health. Century Ambulance will contin- patients have mental health resources readily available for healthcare workers to access.”
ue to work alongside other providers Bottom line, the new year may not be bringing a respite ... but it's coming soon!
throughout the state to assist the State of
Florida’s phased approach in the delivery For more information about Clarity Health, go to www.clarityhealthfl.com.
of the vaccine.
“We are ready for this mission and
working together with state officials to
administer the vaccine to protect the
health and well-being of our seniors and
communities across the state,” said Matt
Johnson, Century Ambulance Vice
President. “Our ambulance service works
closely with the state in emergencies
ranging from hurricane evacuations to the pandemic,” he added.
Century Ambulance has been involved in COVID-19 testing and Coronavirus
patient navigation since the beginning. Given its highly trained and fully mobile
healthcare workforce, it was a natural next step for paramedics to take the lead in vac-
cinating some of Florida’s most vulnerable populations.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers have played a pivotal role in the
front-line response to the Public Health Emergency. Century Ambulance is one of sev-
eral providers to be part of this next phase of response to further protect Florida com-
munities.

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