Summer 2020:  Resources for Balancing Mental Health & COVID-19

   Summertime is here and, after so many stressful months in America, summer getaways are sorely needed. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic persisting in the United States, those getaways, or even just a break from the stress, are in jeopardy of being canceled or rescheduled for a later date.

   NOVA members aren’t the only ones feeling pressure from incredibly demanding and at times difficult jobs. A 2018 survey by the American Psychological Association found that about one-third of U.S. workers state their workload makes it difficult for them to take time off and about a quarter worry they’ll miss important information or opportunities when they take vacation time.

   When the stress reaches the heights seen in recent months, it’s important that NOVA members take time to de-stress. The following may help NOVA members improve their time off during the summer months.

Getting Physically and Mentally Recharged

   The first thing we must realize is that taking some time off, like an extended weekend or a vacation, can significantly improve our physical and mental health.

   According to the American Institute of Stress, 40% of workers feel their job is very or extremely stressful. The stress can cause a person to become more irritable, depressed, and anxious. It can also affect your memory and result in making poorer decisions.

   Taking time off helps to reduce stress by taking you out of environments and activities that produce your stress and anxiety. Another benefit is improved productivity. (Yes, really!) Workers required to take time off report being more productive than workers who spent more time working. People who take time off are less likely to experience burnout and be more creative and productive.

   Research has also shown that vacations can improve sleep. Restless nights and disruptions in sleep are often attributed to stress. A vacation or taking some time off can interrupt bad sleeping habits and get you back on track to more restful sleep.

Vacation Canceled? Try Some Alternatives

   Many people have had to cancel their summer vacation due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but don’t cancel your time away from work just yet. While you may not be able (or comfortable enough) to go on that vacation, there are ways to still have a relaxing time.

   Consider a staycation, which is a vacation that you take at home. Your hometown or local area can have a wide range of interesting and fun experiences (just remember to be safe, wear a mask and continue to socially distance). Write down a list of places you’ve always wanted to visit or revisit in the area and see how many of them that you can cross off the list during your staycation. If areas are still closed due to COVID-19, make a plan to virtually visit them during your time off.

   Some museums like the Louvre, Smithsonian, and National Gallery of Art are offering virtual tours that allow you to explore online exhibits without ever leaving your couch. If you had planned on going to see the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre, this is a great way to do that without the lines of people. Plus, it’s also a great way to have the kids learn more about the world around them in the safety of your home.

Summer Camp Alternatives

   While some camps are opening, others are only open for part of the summer season, or may not open at all. If you’re left trying to entertain little ones during your time off, the following are some fun substitutions, family style!

• Make time to get active: Set a time each day to for bike riding or going for a walk or hike.

• Start cooking: Have the kids step into the kitchen and teach them some of the basics with some age-appropriate roles. You can even take it one step further and try one new recipe each week from cuisines across the world, bringing your canceled vacation back to you.

• Tap into creativity: Explore YouTube or Pinterest to search for some kid-friendly projects. Or try a science experiment with them using household items like baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar. You can even set up a virtual show-and-tell with their friends to show them what they did during the day.

   While canceling a vacation due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a downer, don’t cancel your time off! You can still benefit from that time away from the stress of work by exploring places near and far, or getting some quality family time in for you and the kids. You’ve been on the frontlines working through a pandemic—you deserve to make some time for yourself.

COVID-19 Response and Nurses Week 2020

As COVID-19 reaches all corners of America, the nation is recognizing a different kind of hero in a different kind of war: America’s healthcare workers. 

On the frontlines every day, they care for the hundreds of thousands of patients affected by COVID-19, including those in the care of Veteran Affairs (VA).

In addition to our patients, more than 1,500 VA health care workers have been affected by the disease, with nine losing their lives against a virus we are all working against. NOVA nurses are fighting to protect their patients and communities with a dedicated response plan. This Nurses Week we are celebrating our NOVA and VA health care heroes.

VA Initiative for COVID-19

On March 27, the VA released its COVID-19 response plan that will “…protect and care for Veterans, their families, health care providers, and staff…” Described as “an aggressive public health response,” the plan shifts some outpatient care to telehealth and postpones some procedures that have been deemed elective and non-emergent. These measures enable Veterans to receive care through minimal contact health care workers and helps preserve dwindling personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies for more critical uses.

The plan also calls for the creation of two zones in all inpatient units: one dedicated to COVID-19 patient care, and a second for “all other care.” The two-zone approach is designed to help minimize the risk of infection—for both patients and workers—while patients are triaged.

All 135 VA nursing homes, which house more than 42,00 Veterans who are mostly older and have multiple complex health conditions, will now adopt a “No Visitor” stance. This also includes the 24 major spinal cord injury and disorder centers run by the VA. All nursing homes will suspend new admissions and staff will be screened daily and be dedicated to working at Community Living Centers.

Recognizing VA Nurses

These efforts come at a time when health care workers are more vital than ever before, and their safety, in addition to that of patients, is a paramount concern. VA nurses are on the frontlines battling the virus with dwindling resources and working around the clock to keep their VA patients healthy. These heroic efforts make this year’s National Nurses Week (May 6-May 12, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday) particularly meaningful.

NOVA is providing the following ideas and resources to help ensure your National Nurses Week celebration is the best it can be.

A NOVA Welcome

What better way to celebrate the work of a VA nurse than by welcoming them to the NOVA community? If your facility allows, set up a table and distribute NOVA membership applications and materials. 

Make it informative by hosting an educational webinar on topics affecting VA Nurses and the Veterans they care for. Encourage potential members to explore NOVA’s website to learn more about NOVA’s online resources, how to join, view other chapters, and more.

Show off your NOVA pride by wearing a NOVA Nurses Week t-shirt and other apparel. Consider raffling off or distributing NOVA swag including pins, tumblers, pens, and bumper stickers.

Acknowledge and recognize VA nurses at your facility who have obtained a VA-approved national certification.

Finally, promote your Nurses Day activities on social media. If you do not already have one,
consider creating a Facebook page or event for your chapter. 

Show Your VA Nurse Pride

Log into your favorite social media platform and follow the instructions below:

Facebook

· Share posts from the NOVA Facebook page directly with your friends and family
  or make posts of your own. “Like” the NOVA page to talk and interact with other
  VA nurses by sharing, liking, and commenting on posts related to National
  Nurses Week.
· Share the page with other colleagues or industry professionals who currently do
  not “like” the NOVA page. You can share the page by clicking the “Invite Friends”
  link in the community column to the right. 

Twitter

· Share and/or create tweets that direct others to the NOVA Twitter page and
  NOVA’s official website. A tweet is limited to 280 characters (including links), so
  omit punctuation and abbreviate words when needed. Use Bitly.com to shorten
  links to save space.

· Include the NOVA handle (@NOVANurses) in your posts; doing so will help drive
  other Twitter users to visit and follow the page.

· Don’t forget to hashtag! Use #NursesWeek and/or #NOVANurse in your posts.
  Hashtags are words or phrases that can be tracked by clicking on them. You can
  also use these hashtags on other social media platforms as well.

Instagram

On Instagram share high quality digital photos related to NOVA and Nurses Week with your professional network.

· Take pictures within the app or use photos that already exist in your camera
   roll showing off your NOVA swag.

· Save photos posted by @NOVANurses to your smartphone, then share with
  our Instagram followers

· Connect your Instagram account to your personal Facebook account for
  increased exposure and engagement.

· Instagram prevents links in captions or comments from being clickable, so
  avoid using them.

· Use handles (@NOVANurses) in your posts to help drive other Instagram users to visit
  and follow the page.

· A don’t forget to use relevant hashtags!

LinkedIn

· Share posts from NOVA’s LinkedIn page directly with your connections on
  LinkedIn or create posts of your own.

· “Follow” NOVA’s page on LinkedIn and interact with others by sharing, liking, and
   commenting on posts related to National Nurses Week 2020.

Sample Social Media Posts

If you’re not a social media maverick, use the following sample social media posts to get your National Nurses Week celebration going. And, since people are more likely to look at and engage with a post with a photo, snap a photo and share it with your post! 

·         I'm proud to be a VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         VA Nurses care for America's Heroes! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         NOVA is proud to be the Voice of the VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

Celebrate with NOVA

Share any articles, updates and pictures with captions that highlight the great work you do on behalf of Veterans every day. These can include local community activities with Veterans, health care initiatives at your facility, awards, chapter events, or anything else that would be appropriate for social media. Your story may be shared on social media and in the NOVA News e-newsletter. 

Click here to share your story! 

Self-Care Daily Tips During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ellen Kaufman, MSN, RN, HNB-BC 

Mary Costello, BSN, RN, HNB-BC

VA Boston Healthcare System

NOVA Chapter 226

Ellen Kaufman    Mary Costello

Ellen Kaufman and Mary Costello are NOVA Members who work at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Ellen serves as the Restorative Care Coordinator and Mary is a RN Case Manager in Primary Care. They are also the Co-Chairs of the Holistic Committee and are board certified Holistic Nurses. The Holistic Committee feels passionately that caring for ourselves is key to being able to care for others so they have been sending out daily emails during the COVID-19 pandemic. Holistic practices such as mindfulness along with proper nutrition, rest, and physical activity help us to destress and function at our greatest potential. 

Here’s an example of a Self-Care Daily Tip. 

Today’s self-care tip is a meditation called Metta Meditation or Loving Kindness meditation.   

In Buddha teachings, it can mean cultivating benevolence for self and others which is what we do as healthcare providers/in our service to Veterans. It is a nice meditation to recite when getting up to begin your day or before bed at night and is fitting for today’s environment. 

Make sure you are in a comfortable position and focus on your breath. Take a breath between each phrase.

Begin by directing your compassion towards yourself:

May I be safe,

May I be healthy,

May I be at peace

Then begin directing your compassion outward:

Think of a person who you love or mean a lot to you

May you be safe

May you be healthy

May you be at peace

Think of someone who poses a challenge to you, do not cause yourself

to become stressed but send these phrases with compassion:

May you be safe,

May you be healthy

May you be at peace,

Think about your family and friends and send your compassion out to them:

May you all be safe

May you all be healthy

May you all be at peace

Send compassion out to the people we encounter at our workplace

– Veterans, our peers, and their families:

May you all be safe

May you all be healthy

May you all be at peace

Then send compassion out to all living things:

May all living things be safe

May all living things be healthy

May all living things be at peace.

Finally, bring this back to yourself –

May I be safe,

May I be healthy,

May I be at peace

Holistic Committee

Teresa Morris, Director, Advocacy & Government Relations

Greetings NOVA Members –

I write this from my home in Maryland as we are now on a continued stay at home order due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  I want to commend all of you – VA nurses and healthcare professionals – for what you do and are doing every day to take care of those in your care. It cannot be understated that you are all the Heroes and Warriors of this crisis.

I want to assure you that I am in constant contact with Hill staff (primarily VA Committee) and Veterans Service Organization representatives during this time so that NOVA is represented and provided important information. Congress and staff are working from home but remain busy working on legislative priorities and of course making sure VA has guidance and what it needs to continue its mission. VA is part of the country’s  emergency preparedness team and must be ready should their 4^th mission be activated. The 4^th mission is described as ensuring continued service to Veterans, while supporting national, state, and local emergency management, public health, safety and homeland security efforts.

On March 23, VHA Office of Emergency Management posted an updated report on its COVID-19 Response Plan.  It can be found here: https://www.va.gov/opa/docs/VHA_COVID_19_03232020_vF_1.pdf

NOVA posted its own statement on the virus as well, providing our views on the importance of ensuring VA nurses across the country have the resources needed to protect themselves and the Veterans they serve. We also included some of the priorities we share with the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) and the need for all of us to remain vigilant in ensuring VA can continue to carry out its most sacred mission.

The statement can be found on the front of the NOVA website: https://www.vanurse.org/news/497045/NOVA-Nurses-Remain-Vigilant-During-Pandemic.htm

I urge you to watch the NOVA website as we will continue to provide important information/ links to valuable resources that are reliable and accurate.

As we go through the next weeks and months, I encourage all of you to keep a close eye on our advocacy efforts by visiting the NOVA’s website and watching our Social Media accounts – information and updates on the pandemic and nationwide efforts are critical to all of us. If you have something that you want to relay to your Member of Congress or staff, please do – they need to hear from you.

I believe that we will get through this and be able to look at data and lessons learned which in the turn will make us all stronger and more prepared as a nation. I am hopeful that VA will remain the model for all healthcare delivery. It is because of all of you, and what you provide every day for Veterans, and the communities in which you serve that VA remains at the center of healthcare in this nation.   

Stay Tuned!