- Women's Health, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a source of anxiety for many. And if you’re pregnant, it’s likely you’re worried about your health and your baby’s wellbeing. That anxiety you may feel is a normal response to a threatening situation. Changes around doctors’ office visits and hospital policies have affected the pregnancy experience for most women. But, it’s important to keep in mind that these changes are being done to protect you and your baby. Your obstetrician’s goal is always safe mom and safe baby. Your obstetrician also can reassure you that the hospital is a safe place to come—whether it’s for delivery or other urgent health care concerns. Attention to safety is any hospital’s number one priority. This makes hospitals a safer place than most anywhere else you’ll visit during this pandemic. We are careful and constantly evaluating the effectiveness of our safety. And while you continue to progress through your pregnancy journey, there are several options you can consider to ease your anxiety during this pandemic. Take virtual classes. There are many interactive and informative virtual options available. Most hospitals offer their own virtual opportunities, including tours, support groups, prenatal exercises (like yoga), newborn care and breastfeeding support. These are now offered through online platforms and apps that focus on self-care and wellness throughout pregnancy. Share your worries. Share them no matter how small you may think they are. Talking to trusted friends, family and even your physician can be beneficial. Keeping your worries and anxieties to yourself can create additional anxiety. Enjoy some fresh air. Never underestimate the healing power of sunshine and the outdoors. Fresh air can help decrease anxiety and create a renewed sense of calm. Practice mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis has proven physical and emotional benefits. It can benefit your immune system, lower your blood pressure and regulate your body’s reaction to stress and fatigue. These are all very important during pregnancy, especially during this time. Consider practicing mindfulness meditation and mindful breathing outdoors. Disconnect. Take a break from social media platforms for a few days. Also, try minimizing your exposure to news coverage. It is important to be informed. But, it’s more important to find a healthy balance of reliable information without triggering anxiety. Be positive. Create a mindset to focus on all of the positives. Center your mind. Try following the daily/weekly development for you and your baby. Also, try creating positive affirmations. Hang these on the refrigerator as reminders. Make an effort to let the positives of pregnancy outweigh your worries. With good practice, minds are very capable of resetting. This will help you to focus during this worrying time. Be easy on yourself, no matter where you are on your pregnancy journey. Know that anxiety is a very normal and expected emotion in any pregnancy. Even before COVID-19 existed. Anxiety is certainly higher than usual. Especially during our new normal. But, don’t forget, there are many ways to help decrease your anxiety and worry. Reach out for mental health support if you get to a point that your anxiety is getting in the way of your daily routine. This can include impacting your appetite or sleep patterns, or by increasing your feelings of hopelessness or nervousness. Many mental health services are now virtual. If you need to, you can reach out for help within the privacy of your own home. Author Cindy Radovic, MA, BSN-BC, is clinical director of Emergency and Inpatient Mental Health Services at Anne Arundel Medical Center. To schedule an appointment with her, call 443-481-3519.
- Behavioral Health, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogOur mental health is just as important to care for as our physical health. This is especially true when we’re naturally feeling more stress, fear and anxiety due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These feelings can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions for anyone, both adults and children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds us that learning to cope with stress makes you, the people you care about and your community stronger. Mental health refers to our feelings, emotions, thought patterns and behaviors. We all experience positive and negative feelings—that’s completely normal. The only difference from one person to another is how much it affects our daily functioning and how we cope. Mental disorders can affect anyone, anywhere Mental illness affects millions of people each year. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found nearly half of Americans report the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting their mental health. For the past year, we’ve led a training program on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health condition. Just as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) helps you assist someone having a heart attack, you can help someone experiencing a mental illness by understanding how to respond to certain signs. You can help, too Having the right tools and knowledge to help can be lifesaving. It’s important if you live with or know of someone who may have a mental illness to know how to have the conversation that encourages them to get the help they need. Tips from evidence-based training include: Pay attention and approach the individual. If you live with someone experiencing a mental illness, no one notices changes more than you. Identify the stressors in their environment. Did anything change environmentally to cause their behavior change? Did they change jobs? Are they having problems with their relationships? Don’t be afraid to approach the person and ask about anything you’re noticing. Validate and honor their experience. Let the person know they’re not alone or that they should not be ashamed of their feelings. “You’ll be fine” doesn’t validate how someone feels. Be respectful of the person and how they feel about their experience. Get informed. There are endless resources available to help someone who’s experiencing a mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health First Aid and NAMI are just a few of the many organizations that provide free tools for those looking to learn more about mental health or seek to train themselves. Encourage them to seek help. Any time there’s a concern, you should talk with them. Someone may tell you they’re fine or that they don’t need help, but that doesn’t mean they’re okay. If the person’s behavior changes and is causing distress, encourage them to seek help. Early intervention can prevent symptoms from going from mild to severe. If it’s causing distress to the person, it’s time to seek help. If behavior or thinking starts to get dangerous—toward you or someone else—it’s a must to get help. Get them to their nearest emergency room. Call 911, if needed. Emergency rooms are safe and have protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Know that we’ve expanded services to better support people who are in a psychiatric crisis. The J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center provides both inpatient and outpatient options for care. The medical center provides a brand new state-of-the-art inpatient psychiatric hospital, as well as our relocated psychiatric day hospital. Both have procedures in place to protect our patients from COVID-19. Living with someone who has a mental illness can be challenging, especially now. You can help us share the message that no one should be ashamed to admit they have a mental illness. If you’re well informed and equipped to intervene earlier on, not only are you helping to reduce stigma around mental illness, you’re addressing one of the most important public health issues of our time. Authors Donna Phillips, M.A., is the clinical director at the J. Kent Mcnew Medical Center’s Psychiatric Day Hospital. You can reach her at 667-204-7311. Maria Winters, LCPC, is a mental health clinician at AAMC. You can reach her at 667-204-7311.
- Behavioral Health, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAll around the country—and right here in Anne Arundel County—doctors, nurses, technicians, social workers, and a myriad of others are caring for the sickest of the sick in trying and often heart-breaking conditions. Every day they—YOU—sacrifice time with loved ones in the service of others. Every day, you as frontline warrior don your armor and steel yourselves to do battle against not only COVID-19, but all the other ailments that haven’t taken a break simply because COVID is in town. But I wonder, what protection do you place on yourself for your mental and emotional health? As health care providers, we have to be strong—strong for our patients, and strong for each other. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help because we have to be so strong all the time. But we are also human and subject to fatigue, fear, loneliness, frustration, and sadness. Just like everyone else. We can’t stop being strong, we can’t stop caring for people, and we can’t just walk away. So what can we do? How can we take care of our own mental and emotional needs, especially when our days are so long and time is at a premium? I’d like to offer some simple guidelines: Take time to breathe. It sounds really simple, almost too simple. But we get so busy and feel so rushed, that at times we have to remember the simple things. Take breaks. They don’t have to be long. Just a few minutes to listen to a favorite song, to read a chapter out of a favorite book, to play a game on your phone. Something different from the demands of the day. Get sleep. Yes, this one is tough. Days (and nights) are long, and there are often not enough hours in the day. But we know that a tired mind and body are not nearly as effective as a well-rested mind and body. Be sure to make sleep a priority. Exercise. This one is also tough, especially given the demands of the day. Even 15 minutes a day can go a long way to helping you feel refreshed and restored. You don’t have to go to the gym—take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go for a brisk walk. Do yoga. Keep a small set of weights in your workspace to use. Reach out to others and stay connected. Maybe this one needs to be first. We are so used to taking care of the needs of others that we need to remember to let trusted others know our needs, too. Call your family and friends—not just to check in on them, but to let them know how you are, too. Give people permission to check in on you. Seek help. There may come a time when all of these things don’t seem to help. You may feel in over your head, or burnt out, or unable to continue. Don’t be afraid to reach out or seek assistance. Help is just a walk down the hallway or phone call away. We are all in this together. We need you! As you take care of others, please be sure to take care of yourself, too. Your mental and emotional health are worth the investment. Author Eric Anderson, MD, is medical director of the J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center.
- Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Marvin Page reached to ring the bell after eight weeks of radiation treatment, it was more than a casual gesture. It was a milestone along his 12-month journey as a cancer patient. While the emotion of that delicate moment was partially hidden behind the mask he wore, Page decided to pen a letter to his three radiation therapists about the quality of his care. In his letter, he called them brave. He called them soldiers. “I never saw you waver one time,” Page wrote. “You never spoke fear, doubt or uncertainty and for that I am forever grateful. You are a soldier on the front lines helping people in spite of this pandemic. Thank you for taking care of me.” Between February and April, Page received treatment for prostate cancer at Anne Arundel Medical Center’s DeCesaris Cancer Institute. Weekly he traveled from his Odenton, Maryland, home in the midst of climbing coronavirus (COVID-19) cases across the country, armed with a facemask he stored in a brown paper bag. Page said his treatment team – Angel “Ted” Torano, MD, a radiation oncologist at AAMC, and radiation therapists Lydia Capel, Kayla Welsh and Laura Zywicki-Payne – was consistent in its care for him. “They never gave me the appearance that something would be missed or that my treatment would be interrupted,” Page said. “I compared them to soldiers on the front lines because that’s what they were. When you are a soldier on the front line, you have a task to do and you do it – you execute it. That’s what they did.” Safe Care Dr. Torano said Page’s letter describing his experience is a validation of the effort, dedication and care that AAMC strives to deliver on a daily basis to all patients. “Receiving radiation treatment can be a uniquely new and stressful experience,” Dr. Torano said. “Our mission is to deliver high-quality care in a personalized manner. Accomplishing this can be especially challenging during the COVID-19 health care crisis. Despite the strict protocols put in place to minimize the risk of exposure to our staff and patients, such as social distancing and PPE, it is most gratifying to hear we are able to achieve our goal of delivering care in such a supportive manner.” Page, who works as a network printer technician, said he was initially nervous because he didn’t know what safety precautions the hospital planned to take to protect him and other patients during the pandemic. With each visit, he said the medical staff assured him that they were ready to care for him safely. AAMC patient Marvin Page “They were proactive in how they waited on the patients,” Page said. “We all had to wait in our cars before coming in to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The waiting in the car measure helped to ease my anxiety.” Page said he and other patients were asked to wait in their cars briefly as a way to stagger the flow of patients, and as an extra precaution in addition to other safety measures. “We try to make our patients feel safe in these uncertain times,” Zywicki-Payne said. “Our entire department works together to make sure that the patients come first, that there are always smiles and plenty of laughter. We take care of each other so that we can take care of the patients.” The “A Team” Page referred to Dr. Torano and the three radiation therapists as the “A Team,” in reference to Mr. T’s 1980s TV series. As he was writing the letter, Page said he noticed that each of the therapists’ first names ended in an “A” and Dr. Torano’s name starts with a “T.” He said they served as his “A Team” during his radiation journey. “During his treatment we got to know Mr. Page very well,” said Capel, who became a radiation therapist after witnessing her father’s radiation treatment care nearly 10 years ago at AAMC. “We are lucky that we get to see our patients every day, and that we get to build a relationship with them. We get to see him from a hesitant day one where treatment is scary and unknown, to his last day laughing and ringing the bell at the end of his treatment.” Welsh said her time with Page was very memorable. “I like to develop strong bonds with my patients,” Welsh said. “I believe it is very important so that my patients feel a form of trust. I want to be their security blanket during this life-changing time.” As Page’s recent bell ringing represents a milestone in his cancer journey, he wants others to know that they can depend on the team at AAMC to provide quality care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. “No one wants to have cancer, but trust the people who are a part of the process and a part of your care,” Page said. “Trust that they are doing everything possible to help you get better.”
- Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought many changes to our lives, including our eating habits. Today, frequent trips to the grocery store are not practical or encouraged. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend keeping enough nutritious foods in the house that will last for up to two weeks. As such, we may need to take a closer look at what we have on our shopping list and perhaps broaden our horizons with new ways to meet our nutritional needs. There are, however, a few obstacles that make this challenging. For example, you might have to accommodate shrinking household income, consider timing of when to go to the store or work with the limited options of food staples. The following are guidelines to help direct what selections you can make to keep the essentials in your home while keeping costs to a minimum. Stock your pantry First, think about how many people you are shopping for and purchase only what you need to leave some for others, too. Plan for a variety of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable items. Because not all stores will have everything you’re looking for, keep your list flexible. Vegetables: Look for produce that has a longer shelf life, such as broccoli, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, potatoes and cauliflower. If they are out of broccoli, look for other alternatives, such as brussel sprouts or zucchini. Frozen vegetable mixes will help carry you through the two weeks, along with canned diced tomatoes. Fruits: Consider dried fruits, canned fruits packed in juices or water, and fresh fruit packaged in bags such as apples, oranges and kiwi. Beans and protein: Chickpeas, lentils and legumes are healthy options, especially with the meat shortage and likely higher prices for meat. Also consider frozen fish or tuna, salmon and chicken in cans as sources of protein. Other affordable and nutritious options include nut butters and eggs. Starches: These include shelf-stable options such as whole grain rice, pasta and quinoa. Condiments: If you like flavoring your food, some affordable recipe additives include plain nonfat yogurt, soy sauce, broths, spices, vinegars, olive oil and mustard. Dairy foods: Flavored Greek yogurts and plain nonfat yogurt is a great substitute in recipes for sour cream or cream cheese. If the milk refrigerators are bare, shelf-stable dry milk is also an option. Reconsider your options Whether it’s about recipe substitutions or how to get your groceries, there are alternative options out there for you to consider. Don’t know what to do with your leftovers? Use them with what is on hand in other recipes. For example, put dried tomatoes in salads with pine nuts, cranberries in tuna, nuts and raisins in oatmeal. You can get creative when making soups by adding leftovers and using vegetable or chicken broth as a substitute. Think beyond your usual recipe ingredients. If you are making enchiladas and do not have peppers, add zucchini, olives, black beans and taco sauce. Worried about going to the grocery store? Explore your shopping options. If going to the store causes you anxiety, consider purchasing food from places that have delivery options. The fees are reasonable and keep you off the frontlines, especially if you are in a high-risk group. If transportation is not a problem, curbside pick-up can also be an option. Don’t forget that many stores also have special shopping hours for older Americans. While everyone is at home together, consider sharing the cooking responsibilities. Try new dishes or, if you prefer, stick to simple items or familiar foods and tastes that provide you comfort. Plan what works for you and your family. By purchasing a mix of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable items, you can create a healthy balanced diet that satisfies both food cravings and budget concerns. Authors Ann Caldwell and Maureen Shackelford are nutritionists and registered dietitians at Anne Arundel Medical Center. To reach them, call 443-481-5555.
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