Local boards of health have been working to monitor residents diagnosed with COVID-19, and local public health nurses are on the front line, helping each of them navigate territory they’ve never experienced before.
Lisa White, Franklin County’s public health nurse with the Cooperative Public Health Service of Franklin Regional Council of Governments, which typically serves 14 of the 26 county towns, said she is also working with four other towns that have asked for help amid the pandemic.
The Cooperative Public Health Service has joined public health forces across the state to assist municipal boards of health during the viral outbreak, using a recent $9 million COVID-19 emergency response allocation by the governor’s administration.
White added two new nurses to the team last week: Melanie Zamojski, an EMT and paramedic, as well as a Greenfield Community College associate professor of nursing; and Meg Burch, the nurse at Conway Grammar School and nurse leader for Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts.
White said when the state notifies the nurses of a new COVID-19 case, the three move quickly.
“We do three things within the first hour,” she said. “First, we talk to the person with the confirmed case to explain what isolation means, and figure out what kind of support is necessary to keep their family and the community safe. Second, we notify the local board of health of the case in their town. And third, we give the address of the ill patient to the dispatchers at Shelburne Control — but not their name. That way, first responders going to that location know to wear adequate protection.”
White said another early task involves working with someone who tests positive to make a list of others they have spent time with at a distance of closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes since they became actively sick.
Once the list is completed, she said the nurses speak to those contacts to explain to them that they must be quarantined for 14 days, and that a nurse will be calling to check on their temperature twice a day. Along with monitoring symptoms of the identified patient and his or her quarantined acquaintances, the nursing team works to brainstorm to help handle day-to-day issues that arise, she said.
White, Zamojski and Burch also help patients identify resources for everything from having groceries and medication picked up and delivered, to help with cleaning and child and pet care. If a patient becomes seriously ill, the nurses help them to receive necessary care or transition to a medical facility.
White said the three nurses and the Cooperative Public Health Service are working “very actively” to synthesize information and provide the county with “comprehensive, clear information and advice.”
White noted that fear is legitimate as people come to grip with what the county, state, country and world is going through. She said the team is also tuned in to the emotional response people are having.
According to White, what people need to realize is no matter what the numbers are, they should expect that they are higher, because there are people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and therefore, everyone should assume that everyone else and themselves are positive and act accordingly.
White is particularly worried about people who have other health conditions because they are most susceptible to becoming severely ill.
“I’m so proud of the region’s response,” she said. “Most people are social isolating, and I hope to see a slowdown and a flattening of the curve at some point in the foreseeable future. But, it is going to take all of us following the guidelines.”
White advises residents to continue to respect social distancing and the other state recommendations.
“People need to stay away from each other, but also get emotional support by phone or video calls as needed,” she said. “There are exercise classes and yoga classes being offered online. Anything that can help.”
White said she wants people to know that there will be an end to this, it’s just not clear when at this point, but there is hope.
“This is all ever-changing, so we have to be flexible,” she said. “We’ll get through this. But just remember, because it is always changing, so might the guidelines, so people need to pay attention.”
She said the latest guideline by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Public Health to wear masks is a good one, but people need to wear them correctly and not touch them multiple times. Homemade masks should be washed frequently.
Additionally, White reminds residents that they shouldn’t just show up at a doctor’s office or the hospital, but call ahead so providers can be prepared and protect themselves and others. If someone has mild symptoms, White said they should call their doctor, self-monitor and self-isolate.
For more information about the Cooperative Public Health Service nursing team, contact Phoebe Walker, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ director of community services, at 413-774-3167, ext. 102, or walker@frcog.org.