HEAL THE HEALERS PROGRAM

With the insurmountable challenges brought forth by the pandemic and the sudden rise of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, the Philippine Nurses Association-Metro DC Chapter (PNAMDC), in partnership with Philippine Medical Association-Metropolitan Washington DC (PMAWDC), is honored to launch the Heal the Healers program to foster health and wellness of healthcare workers of Asian descent. 

With the generous funding from Asian American Health Initiative, we welcome any health care providers living in Montgomery County to participate in our Well-being Webinar Series, STEPS Challenge, and Peer-to-Peer Support Groups!

Montgomery County Support
The ongoing pandemic may be causing increased stress and anxiety for you, your family members, or friends. Here are some tips that may help:

• Acknowledge the stress and anxiety surrounding you.
• Focus on what you can do to reduce stress.
• Eat healthy—limit alcohol, caffeine and sugar as they can affect mood.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Exercise.
• Maintain close connections with friends and family.
• Replace scrolling with something else—take a digital break from social media AND news.

For more information and resources, visit Mental health and wellness – Covid19 Information Portal, Montgomery County, MD (montgomerycountymd.gov)

Do not suffer in silence. If you are in immediate need of talking to someone about your stress and anxiety, reach out for help by calling:

• Montgomery County’s 24/7 Crisis Center (240-777-4000)
• EveryMind’s 24/7 hotline (301-738-2255), or
• Disaster Distress Helpline (1-800-985-5990
• Or, text “TalkWithUs” to 66746

If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, open 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or for Spanish 1-888-628-9454. 

Health Care Providers Need Support Also!
Responding to disasters is both rewarding and challenging work. Sources of stress for emergency responders may include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Stress prevention and management is critical for responders to stay well and to continue to help in the situation. There are important steps responders should take before, during, and after an event. To take care of others, responders must be feeling well and thinking clearly.  For more information, visit https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/responders.asp.

When health care providers don’t manage stress effectively, it can cause:

1. Burnout – feelings of extreme exhaustion and being overwhelmed. Signs of burnout:

• Sadness, depression, or apathy
• Easily frustrated
• Blaming of others, irritability
• Lacking feelings, indifferent
• Isolation or disconnection from others
• Poor self-care (hygiene)
• Tired, exhausted or overwhelmed
• Feeling like:
• A failure
• Nothing you can do will help
• You are not doing your job well
• You need alcohol/other drugs to cope

2. Secondary traumatic stress – stress reactions and symptoms resulting from exposure to another individual’s traumatic experiences, rather than from exposure directly to a traumatic event. Signs of Secondary Traumatic Stress:

• Excessively worry or fear about something bad happening
• Easily startled, or “on guard” all of the time
• Physical signs of stress (e.g. racing heart)
• Nightmares or recurrent thoughts about the traumatic situation
• The feeling that others’ trauma is yours
• Coping techniques like taking breaks, eating healthy foods, exercising, and using the buddy system can help prevent and reduce burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Recognize the signs of both of these conditions in yourself and other responders to be sure those who need a break or need help can address these needs.

If you have these symptoms, acknowledge it and embrace the support available around you.  

Additional Resources:

• Traumatic Incident Stress (CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health- NIOSH)
• Interim NIOSH Training for Emergency Responders: Reducing Risks Associated with Long Work Hours (CDC NIOSH)
• Preventing Suicides in Construction | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov) (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
• Psychological First Aid for First Responders external icon (SAMHSA)
• Guidelines for Good Practice: Managing Stress in Humanitarian Workerspdf iconexternal icon (Antares Foundation)
• The Resilience Collaborative: Equipping Health Workers to Recover, Adapt and Grow