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How the pandemic is impacting health care workers' mental health

A health care provider in full personal protective equipment in a Juneau hospital room.
A health care provider provides care on April 7, 2020, for a woman hospitalized in an isolation room in the critical care unit of Bartlett Hospital, in Juneau, Alaska. on (Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

Trauma is taking a serious toll on health care workers across the country. The constant exposure to death, and the sense of powerlessness that comes from watching patients die alone, has caused a spike of resignations and staffing shortages that only heightens the stress and pressure felt by those who remain on the front lines. What are the long term impacts of secondary trauma for those working the front lines of the pandemic?

Listen here:

HOST: Prentiss Pemberton

GUESTS:

  • Dr. Lisa Lindquist, Providence Alaska Medical Center
  • Dr. Tonya Caylor, Hillside Family Medicine

LINKS & RESOURCES:

Alaska Public Media: In ERs and public meetings, Alaskans rage at health care workers trying to stem COVID spread

PBS NewsHour: Overwhelmed by COVID patients, Alaska’s health care workers also face harassment

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LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, at 10 a.m. AKDT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, at 8 p.m. AKDT

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Adelyn Baxter