May 29, 2020 - The Onsite Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, today announced a new support group offering under the Foundation's 'Support in Service' program for frontline healthcare workers and medical staff across the country affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement comes as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.
In partnership with Onsite, the weekly group sessions will be held in the morning, afternoon, and evening to accommodate healthcare workers' rotating shifts, host 15 individuals per session, led by an Onsite clinician, and will be customized to the needs of each medical professional during this unprecedented time. Thanks to generous donors, the sessions will be covered by full scholarships. Applications for the support groups are now open atwww.theonsitefoundation.org.
"We are honored to partner with Onsite to offer support and resources to our frontline medical personnel," says Deanna Wantz, Director of The Onsite Foundation. "The emotional stress and anxiety they are experiencing while working hard to keep those infected with COVID-19 alive is only continuing to grow and is quickly reaching a critical point. We hope these support groups provide a safe place for them to find a moment of peace."
Psychiatrists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City predict between 25%-40% of frontline healthcare workers and first responders in the United States may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their involvement in the outbreak.
"Working alongside the nurses, paramedics, physicians, and other healthcare workers in one of the hardest hit emergency departments in New York City showed me the physical and emotional impact this disease can have on frontline caregivers," says Dr. William (Wing) Province MD, MBA, Emergency Physician in Park City, Utah. "While death and dying are not unusual in the emergency department or ICU, the degree and sheer numbers of death and dying we've seen with this disease is far from normal. Processing this with other frontline workers, facilitated by mental health professionals as offered by The Onsite Foundation's 'Support in Service' program will be essential to ensuring that healthcare workers do not also become victims from this disease."
In January, The Onsite Foundation announced a brand-new first-of-its-kind program titled 'Triumph Over Tragedy' for survivors of mass shootings to find hope and healing. The first workshop took place in March at Onsite in Tennessee and hosted 40 survivors from 15 different states representing 7 different mass shootings.
Applications for The Onsite Foundation's 'Life After Loss' program are now open for the July 6 - 9 and August 31 - September 3 virtual workshops. The workshop provides hope and healing for bereaved parents who have lost children to mass shootings, gun violence, suicide, illness, or other tragedies, also available through full scholarship, and helps address the often-overlooked ripple effect of trauma.
For more information and to make a donation, visit www.theonsitefoundation.org.