Dane County introduces trauma recovery program

By Marin Rosen STAFF WRITER

In 2021, Marilyn McCluskey, an intensive care unit nurse at a local Madison hospital, felt her anxiety grow so severe she sought grief counseling to help cope with her experience on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCluskey said the counselor told her she was one of many health care workers experiencing symptoms of PTSD in the workplace.

“She described us as having veteran episodes like we were in war,” said McCluskey.

In January, Dane County allocated $621,000 to mental health support for health care providers through a trauma recovery program in response to the mental health crisis among frontline workers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health Care and Public Health Workforce Mental Health and Trauma Recovery and Workforce Development Program will be funded through Public Health Madison & Dane County.

Nurses hope the program will address the lasting impacts the pandemic had on their mental health and provide support.

Frontline health care workers report high levels of stress, burnout

McCluskey began nursing because of her desire to help those who could not help themselves, which ultimately carried her through the pandemic.

“For me, when people get really, really sick, they get so scared that they could die,” McCluskey said. “Their fear is real, and I just can’t imagine not being that person that would just watch and not know what to do or how to help.”

But because of sta shortages and low morale among hospital sta due to COVID-19, McCluskey said she is stressed and overwhelmed by a lack of mental health support in the workplace. McCluskey shared the struggle of her emotions getting in the way of patient care during the pandemic.

“I need to work through some of these feelings because I can’t guide [patients],” said McCluskey. “That’s what all of us health care sta should be doing, but we do run that risk of our own thoughts, biases and opinions sneaking in if we are not mentally well.”

Ann Russell, a flight nurse of 12 years, works on transporting critically ill or injured patients to trauma centers for treatment. The pandemic made this work increasingly dicult, Russell said.

“Flying in a helicopter is already physically stressful due to the extreme conditions,” Russell

+REMOTE WORK

Benefits and disadvantages to remote work

Wisconsin’s rural residents are missing out on potential benefits that come with working from home in “remote-capable” sectors, which multiple workers claim includes a more flexible work schedule and lack of a daily commute.

Sarah Heywood, a UW-Madison sophomore, works remotely for Aspirus Wausau Hospital registering patients over the phone for their appointments in Wausau.

“I really enjoy working remotely because it gives me a chance to stay involved and connected to my job at Aspirus while I am away at college,” Heywood said.

From her dorm room in Madison, Heywood is able to update patient information and assist patients with their questions and concerns over the phone before logging any changes in that information into Epic.

“This makes the hospital visits go a lot smoother and saves a lot of time,” Heywood said. “I am able to strengthen my communication and computer skills as well as multi-task by talking and typing in patient information in the computer system at the same time in

Sta ng vacancies exacerbate mental health concerns

In its 2023 annual report, the Wisconsin Hospital Association found vacancy rates among health care workers rose from 5.3% to 9.9% between September 2020 and September 2021. Though vacancy rates rose across all 17 of the documented professions, the rate spiked most sharply in nursing and frontline positions such as lab technologists, respiratory therapists and surgical technicians.

McCluskey said her department struggled with vacancies during the pandemic and losing nurses to other health care professions, like travel nursing, that traditionally o er more pay.

“In our unit before COVID there were almost no turnovers, and it was very rare to have open spots,” said McCluskey. “You had to have a crazy amount of critical care experience, and the ICU is very picky about who they were able to hire. We were desperate to fill up positions, and now we’re hiring people right out of college with no experience in the ICU.”

A 2022 study conducted by SEIU an e cient way.”

As an accountant for University Housing at UW-Madison, Cheryl S., who asked to stay anonymous, is also able to work remotely from home full-time. Though working from home was an initial adjustment as the university moved its operations online at the start of the pandemic, Cheryl S. said the flexibility and casual environment that came with remote work were well received by employees, some of whom remained remote permanently.

“I absolutely love working remotely,” Cheryl S. said. “Not having to commute to campus daily is the best. This gives me back over 90 minutes to my day and also saves me over 1,300 dollars in annual parking fees. I do miss being around the students on campus and their energy.”

Reducing or eliminating commute times is a factor most valued by many remote employees. Not having to commute, and having the flexibility to balance work and life, are top-cited reasons for why many prefer remote work, a 2021 Gallup poll found.

“[Remote work] o ers more flexibility to people to build their

Dane County takes action to address mental health

According to a 2021 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 62% of frontline health care workers reported the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health. Similarly, the SEIU study showed one in six Dane County health care workers rated the severity of the pandemic on their mental health and well-being a 10 out of 10.

For Russell, these statistics bore out in her day-to-day work life.

“During COVID, I reached a new level of resilience in my practice, both mental and physical,” said Russell. “I experienced anxiety due to the unknown nature of a pandemic and landscape, but also because I observed burnout in several of my fellow nurses. I saw firsthand the desperation and frustration of these health care professionals.”

The Health Care and Public Health Workforce Mental Health and Trauma Recovery and Workforce Development Program included in the 2023 county budget allotted money for the own schedules in some cases, or at least have some flexibility to change things based on other things going on in their household,” Peterangelo said. “I have co-workers who arranged their schedules a little bit based on their age, child care needs or other responsibilities they have.”

Peterangelo also noted Wisconsin women were 3.4% more likely than men to work from home in 2021, a finding he said was linked to uneven gender distribution across remote-capable occupations.

“Certain occupations that are more male dominated, like manufacturing and construction, are ones that workers have to be onsite for,” Peterangelo said. “Women are getting more opportunities now to have flexibility or hybrid arrangements, and that can really help with their kind of longerterm pay and income.”

Though there are plenty of benefits to remote work, one disadvantage at an individual level is decreasing collaboration in the virtual workplace. The shift to remote work also a ected sectors like transportation and service industries that rely on foot tra c from workers in more “remote- creation of free telephone hotlines, health care worker support groups and a training program for providers to work with their peers on mental wellness. Russell told The Daily Cardinal she thinks this initiative is a good start in addressing a growing mental health crisis among health care workers.

McCluskey supports the amendment with the hope that the program will normalize the struggle of health care workers and provide adequate support and counseling they need to push forward in their work.

“During COVID, a lot of nurses felt this hopelessness. If we can’t help anybody, if we can’t cure anybody, those thoughts start creeping in, and you see more and more nurses burn out,” said McCluskey. “Any program that can help normalize these feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness is always gonna be helpful. It’s better than nothing, which is what we have right now.”

Looking to the future, health care workers hope for sustained support

While the Health Care and Public Health Workforce Mental Health and Trauma Recovery and Workforce Development Program is a step towards improving the overall well-being of frontline health care workers, Russell said nurses need continued support.

“It needs to be recognized that nursing education must hone in on resiliency and self-care training. Studies have shown that new nurses are trained to care for patients but not necessarily themselves,” said Russell. “This inability leads to early burnout. Additional e orts could be focused on mentoring new nurses, which fosters a sense of well-being and inclusion.”

McCluskey also called for increased support from the county.

“I can’t imagine not being that person [to help others], but it’s hard to keep going when you feel like you can’t help. I think what’s kept me going is that I have been able to remind myself of the times that I was able to do something for that patient, when I was able to bring about healing,” said McCluskey.

Russell said frontline health care workers deserve the support the amendment o ers, allowing them to continue to serve their community.

“My motivation to continue to practice as a nurse stems from my love for the profession, my specialty and the profession of nursing,” said Russell. “It has been an honor and privilege to care for patients and serve the community. I take strength from knowing that what I do matters.” capable” sectors for their revenue, Peterangelo said.

“There are fewer people commuting into downtown and into job centers — that affects the businesses there that rely on workers,” Peterangelo said. “Workers are going in every day to work in the restaurants and coffee shops, but the people who would be their customers might not be around as often and frequenting their establishments.”

While remote work has bridged the gender gap and allowed more women an opportunity to maintain a career while starting a family, Peterangelo acknowledged that there’s more progress to make in terms of racial equity in accessing remote work.

“Some of this stuff is changing generationally, there’s more equity, as time goes on between spouses so there’s a positive side [to remote work] with gender equity,” Peterangelo said. “But in terms of other forms of equity, there’s still some room to grow.”