1/ A thread about "frontline staff" in the #COVID19 pandemic:
We know #healthcareheroes are more than just doctors & nurses; there's a whole team of people that work to care for the sick from admission through to safe discharge. I'd like to share one if I can.

This is Neil.

2/ Neil is a #socialworker at a NYC hospital on a general medicine floor. What does a social worker do, you ask? He creates safe discharge plans for patients including arranging necessary services (like PT or home health). He meets with patients & does assessments on their needs.

3/ Neil talks to families about available support at home, he gives updates on their loved ones progress (essential now, with no visitor policies). He takes the heat when families are angry with patient care; he provides a vital line of communication in this era of isolation.

4/ Neil has 100% patients with #covid19 at this point. His normal case load is 12-14, he is carrying up to 30 patients currently. He is “only” a social worker so he is low priority for #PPE. But his role is still essential to getting people out of the hospital.

5/ Patients with #COVID19 often need to be discharged to a hotel or other isolated place to recover etc because nursing facilities aren’t taking them and they are really debilitated after the infection. Sending them home is not safe for them or the community.

6/ Neil gets 1 mask (surgical, not n95) at the beginning of each shift. He mostly has to arrange services w/o actually talking to patients. The rare times he has to enter a room he has to go around begging for better #PPE. He cannot work remotely, he's in the hospital each day.

7/ His work getting people out of the hospital is key to freeing up a bed for someone else. Discharging efficiently also protects that person by minimizing their risk of additional exposure IN the hospital. Every day in a hospital bed leads to more debility and prolongs recovery.

8/ This virus is breaking down the normal support for families. Because Neil works to coordinate care, sometimes this means he needs to give bad news. Recently he had to tell one of his patients in isolation that their spouse had just died from #COVID19 in another hospital.

9/ He was the only person available to talk to this person. And just to give this horrible news, he had to walk around the hospital begging others for vital #PPE so that he could try to provide what comfort every human deserves in this situation.

10/ Many of Neil's coworkers are out sick. The hospital has brought in outside help (social workers who normally work in out patient settings) but many of them no show after only 1 or 2 days given the chaos and overwhelming stress in the hospital. I don't blame them.

11/ Neil continues to take care of his patients despite increasing daily demands on his physical & mental health. He doesn't get hazard pay. He is just 1 of 1000s of #healthcareheroes who are putting it all on the line for their patients. I desperately hope he can stay safe. /END