Submit News
UVA Health logo of UVA Health Submit News

Connect

2.12.2021

Coping with COVID-19 for Caregivers Survey Follow-up

Dear UVA Health Team Members,

We have had an extraordinarily challenging year, during which no one has escaped the stressors or personal hardships of the pandemic. You have all continued to meet the unprecedented challenges of fighting COVID-19 with steadfast dedication and perseverance, while also managing your daily responsibilities to your families and community during a time of unrest and uncertainty. For that we are immensely grateful.

We want to share with you the results of the American Medical Association (AMA) Coping with COVID-19 for Caregivers Survey that we administered in October and November. This is a tool developed by the AMA to assess the stress impact of COVID-19 caregiving and to be able to identify opportunities for interventions and supportive actions. Over 3,500 of our 13,000 clinical and non-clinical UVA Health team members participated in the survey. 

Below this message you will find:

At the outset of the pandemic, there were high levels of fear: of not being protected and contracting the virus, of bringing it home to family members, of isolation from loved ones and unknowns of epic proportion. We enacted plans for what we thought would be a surge in COVID-19 patients which did not materialize. We subsequently had to revise our approach with continued commitment to team member, patient and community safety, while at the same time addressing operational viability of our services.

Even though much has improved since last year, we know you made many sacrifices to meet the challenges. You endured financial mitigation strategies necessary to sustain our ability to provide outstanding patient care and to continue critical research and education; you have managed increased workloads in order to provide highly complex care with heightened safety precautions; you have continued your duties despite concern for your own and your family’s COVID-19 safety; you have provided compassionate care to patients and their families during this often-heartbreaking time — and much, much more. 

Thanks to your incredible efforts, we have:

However, we understand that the demands of our current environment have added further stress to an industry and infrastructure that was already under pressure — and we know that these conditions have a very real impact on team member well-being.

As a leadership team, we want you to know that we care about your well-being, and that we are actively pursuing ways that we can better understand and address the stress and impact on our team members. The results you will see below are consistent with other national findings both in this survey and others done by groups assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare workforce. The priorities are clear: to reduce fear and mitigate avoidable stressors by improving the work environment; to overcome any stigma of asking for mental health help; to assure that safety measures are in place and enforced, and to keep addressing operational issues that improve the workflow and workload.

We know that challenges we face together will persist and evolve, and that we must continue to prioritize team member well-being and to engage openly in this conversation. We encourage all team members to ask questions, to call attention to existing barriers, and to share ideas for improvement with your supervisor, or with any UVA Health leader. In the paragraphs below you will find multiple avenues for support, and for sharing your ideas.

We look forward to working with you toward a brighter, stronger future. Thank you for the valuable work that you do every day to help build our collective unity, strength and hope.

Sincerely, 

K. Craig Kent, MD
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs

Bobby Chhabra, MD
President, University Physicians Group

Pam Cipriano, PhD
Dean, School of Nursing

Wendy Horton, PharmD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, Medical Center

David Wilkes, MD
Dean, School of Medicine

AMA/UVA Coping with COVID-19 for Caregivers Survey: Summary of Results

The AMA results are presented using the stress continuum of green, yellow, orange, and red. More information about the stress continuum is found on the UVA Health Wisdom & Wellbeing Program website

The model acknowledges that:

Overall survey results show that UVA team members reported the following:

  1. Worry about COVID-19 exposure
  2. Work overload
  3. Not feeling valued
  4. Self-reported increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression 

1. Worry about COVID-19: Over 60% of UVA Health respondents reported moderate to great concern about COVID-19 exposure. This mirrors national and global findings.

2. Work Overload: 55% of UVA Health respondents report experiencing work overload.

3. Feeling Valued: Over half of UVA Health respondents reported feeling a moderate to low level of value.

4. Stress, Anxiety and Depression: Approximately 2/3 of UVA Health respondents reported experiencing stress; with 1/3 entering the orange and red zones (potentially need help). Over 50% of Nurses, Residents and CNA/MA team members reported feelings of anxiety or depression.

(NOTE: Immediate support and counseling is available for any team-member in need: 434-243-2643 (Faculty and Employee Assistance Program). 

We Hear You! Actions Underway
1. We are checking in: We’ve been working hard to get out of our offices, onto the floors, to listen and experience what things are like for you.

2. We are working hard to protect your safety: 

3. Growing the Green and Peer Support — visit the Wisdom & Wellbeing Program website for more information on the following;  

4. Expanding access to mental health services

Comments (0)

Latest News