In this pandemic, here’s how you can be an ‘essential provider’ to those who need it | Opinion

Health-care providers are currently deployed in a “war” against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already infected hundreds of thousands of people in the United States. The viral syndrome, which typically begins with a fever and cough, has been shown to cause severe respiratory or cardiac failure in a minority of individuals requiring prolonged ventilator and critical care support. In some studies, likelihood of survival once placed on the ventilator has been estimated to be as low as 50%.

Older and immunocompromised patients have been shown to have significantly worse prognosis with COVID-19, likely owing to general frailty and the presence of multiple health conditions. In Italy, the majority of patients who have died from COVID-19 have been between ages 63 and 95. In Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, people over age 65 were more than twice as likely to develop severe disease.

Yet, another group faces a critically high risk: health-care workers. In Wuhan, health-care workers were more than three times as likely to become infected than others. Although the reason is still unclear, it is likely attributed to prolonged contact with the virus, in some cases without adequate personal protective equipment. Furthermore, being young does not seem to protect against the virulence of COVID-19 in the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40% of hospitalized patients were between ages 20 and 54, reflecting those of working professionals.

While efforts to protect health-care providers have begun, we cannot forget to address the most holistic aspect — our overall well-being. Sleep deprivation and irregular sleep cycles, high stress levels, and unhealthy diets, especially over a sustained period, have been associated with weakened immune systems.

Working hard and selflessly is ingrained in the dutiful culture of the medical community. Many providers have long prioritized patient care over our own needs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will surely continue to do so as the demands of the pandemic surge. Unfortunately, these conditions will render us more vulnerable to becoming ill with COVID-19 over time.

Now, more than ever, we need to take care of our providers, who act as the life support of our communities. Much of the staff still work onerous 24- or 36-hour shifts, and often alternate between days and nights. Many still work six or seven days per week. With stay-at-home orders, it may be difficult to keep up with routines at home such as grocery shopping, cooking, exercising, or child care. Coping mechanisms are stripped away.

We are not used to reaching out for help. And during a pandemic — the first of our lifetime — the consequence of being stretched too thin may be irreparable. Reach out to see if we need anything you can provide such as protective equipment, or even basic items at home. Consider donating a meal to the ICU team to help bolster morale.

Many providers also simultaneously fear carrying viral particles home to their families. Many have intentionally distanced themselves from home, either not returning as frequently or sending their families to different locations. This additional element can render what is already a socially isolating time even more difficult. Reach out to those in your lives who are health-care providers, and remind them that they are in your prayers.

During a pandemic, everyone in our communities should consider themselves “essential providers,” even if not all of us may be directly fighting on the front lines. Through small but meaningful steps, you may save the lives of health-care providers and the patients under their care.

Ultimately, the onus falls on us, too, as providers. We need to be more intentional about taking care of ourselves. Even though it may feel as if the sky is falling, remember to follow the surgical adage — eat when you can, sleep when you can — and don’t lose sight of what a privilege it is to be a provider at a time like this.

Jason Han is a resident in cardiothoracic surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The opinions expressed in this article do not represent those of the University of Pennsylvania Health System or the Perelman School of Medicine.