As a new month begins, we hope you experience moments of gratitude, happiness, comfort and encouragement and reflect on all the incredible ways you’ve contributed to our progress in responding to this pandemic as a team.
Testing nursing home residents
UW Medicine nurses and doctors have been traveling to nursing homes throughout the Seattle area in partnership with public health to test residents and staff for COVID-19. This has been a great collaboration to help protect this vulnerable population by identifying those who may be infected and separating them from those who are not infected in order to limit the potential spread of COVID-19 within the facility. Since early April, volunteers have tested more than 1,500 residents of long-term care facilities. Read more in this Associated Press article. Thank you to everyone on the team who has volunteered their time to test nursing home residents. Because of you, seniors in our community can feel safer knowing we’re doing everything we can to protect them and prevent more outbreaks.
The cutest Zoom call
Stop and Paws is a weekly drop-in pet therapy session for staff at UW Medical Center – Montlake. Since the pandemic began, however, the therapy sessions have been on hold — until this week, that is, when organizer Cynnie Foss, manager of volunteer services at the hospital, held the first-ever virtual Stop and Paws session with her dogs Oly and Gus. Oly, the dog in the photo, is a registered therapy dog.
Blue ribbons of support
Throughout the country, people have been tying blue ribbons around trees to show support for healthcare workers on the frontline of the pandemic. The blue represents the color of hospital scrubs. Someone recently decorated trees outside of UW Medical Center – Montlake with blue ribbons. We’re grateful to see this show of support from the community.
Take a moment to breathe
Sometimes stress can feel overwhelming and you need a break. If you’re feeling stressed or tense, deep breathing is a great way to calm your body and mind down. It’s a technique that can be used almost anywhere and at any time, and it doesn’t take long. Try a short, guided square breathing session by watching this video created by our Right as Rain and social media teams.
Sincerely,
Lisa Brandenburg
President, UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics
Timothy H. Dellit, MD
Chief Medical Officer, UW Medicine
President, UW Physicians
