CONCORD — Emerson Hospital CEO Christine Schuster said she believes the worst of the second surge of COVID-19 is over, but she urged people to remain cautious as vaccine distribution efforts ramp up and warned that the pandemic’s effects on mental health will likely last for years.
Schuster, who was a nurse before becoming an administrator, closely watched the mental health effects of the pandemic since early last year and predicted the pandemic-related increase in mental health issues, particularly among the young, will not end as vaccines slowly bring the virus to heel in other ways.
“I don’t think that’s going to go away for a very long time,” Schuster said, when asked if the pandemic has continued to cause an increase in mental health issues. “People are very stressed, children in particular.”
In one of a series of conversations with Sun editors since the pandemic began, Schuster said her own daughter pointed out that she missed her senior prom — and finding out who would have asked her to go to it — just one of many important rights of passage for youth.
“I think — for safety reasons, which are the right reasons — these kids have lost a lot,” she said. “I think we’re seeing a strain, and I think we will continue to do so for the next few years … because we’re a culture that thrives on being together, celebrating in groups, learning together.”
She said the entire mental health care system is being stressed by the sudden increase in need.
“We see it in our emergency department — try to get an appointment for a teenager with an outpatient psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, it’s almost impossible,” Schuster said. “I get calls every week from parents saying ‘What do you recommend, what can I do, do you have anyone there?'”
Schuster praised President Biden’s proposal to increase parity in mental health coverage across the country. Insurance often reimburses other types of care more than mental health care. Massachusetts recently passed a mental health care parity law, but only after many hospitals closed inpatient mental health units, leaving Emerson as one of the few in the region with such a unit.
“We’ve kept that service because, I think as a nurse, honestly, I’ve always taken care of the whole patient, not just the physical parts. The mental part is a very important part of caring for patients, and actually for our community,” Schuster said.
Schuster said COVID-19 patients at the hospital have declined and 76% of staff have been vaccinated, so she is hopeful there will continue to be fewer cases.
“We definitely spiked about a week and a half ago, where we had as many as 22 COVID patients at Emerson,” she said. “I definitely think we’ve kind of gone through the second surge, for sure, as was predicted post-holidays.”
While she praised hospital staff with words like “amazing” and “heroic,” she said she wants to see those she works with get a much-needed break.
“I’m really hopeful that we will start to get back to lower numbers like we did in the summer,” Schuster said. “Because I think that gave staff who are caring for COVID patients a break that they really needed.”
Asked about the state’s much-criticized vaccine distribution efforts, Schuster said she thinks “the state’s intentions are excellent,” but that communication should have been better, in particular efforts to reach seniors who don’t know how to use the internet.
“One of the things I worry about is … a lot of the seniors that are in our service area have reached out, and some of them say, ‘I don’t really have one of those internet things,'” Schuster said. “And that’s kind of cute, but it reflects that there are people who don’t know how to use the internet.”
Schuster said she has had to encourage many seniors to ask for help from a son, daughter or neighbor.
She also stressed the need to continue to closely check peoples’ medical histories as the vaccine is distributed more widely and said Emerson is working with UMass Medical School to work with students who have been trained to administer vaccines.
“It’s really a time to, you know, think out of the box and figure out how we can do this safely and in way that helps our community,” Schuster said.
Schuster said she expects limits in the number of vaccines available to continue for a few weeks but urged patience.
“Continue what you’re doing, stay safe, stay inside, be careful who you let into your bubble, and be calm because everyone will get a vaccine,” Schuster said.
Asked about calls to cut back on social-distancing measures and other restrictions on business, Schuster said she doesn’t envy those who have to make those decisions, citing the disproportionate impact the measures have on small businesses and certain professions, but that she recommends continued caution.
“I think we have to operate still with an abundance of caution. Some people have the vaccine but some people have not gotten it and it’s going to be a while before everyone does,” she said, noting that the vaccine takes time to become fully effective.
“Let’s not have a false sense of security that because we’ve given out a few vaccines that it’s safe. I think for a long time we’re going to have to continue with our vigilance,” she said. “We’ve lost too many people to this virus.”
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February 01, 2021 at 06:06AM
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Emerson CEO: COVID-19 mental health effects will outlive virus - Lowell Sun
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