Annual Report 2019

Although the Covid-19 pandemic did not hit until 2020, its impact on Greater Seacoast Community Health is too important to leave out of this report.

Making myriad decisions and changes under pressure, while knowing that some staff faced health risks when doing their jobs, was challenging and stressful. But it was also inspiring and energizing: Our staff’s varied and deep expertise, their incredible dedication, and the value of our diverse programs have never been so evident, or so needed, as they have been in the past few months. Some examples:  

• After the two vans used in our mobile health clinics were taken off the road because they don’t allow for social distancing, they were parked at Goodwin and Families First and used to store personal protective equipment. Providers go inside the vans to don the gear, then do Covid testing in tents right outside. (top photo)
• With dental services scaled back for safety reasons, our dentists and hygienists staffed a new phone line to answer patients’ Covid questions, lightening the load on our receptionists and medical providers. We did continue to provide emergency dental care throughout this time, not only for our own patients but for others in the community whose regular dental practice was closed completely.  
• Almost overnight, we learned how to stay connected with patients by providing telehealth visits. We now use telehealth for many primary and pediatric visits, most behavioral health visits, and even some emergency dental visits.
• Patients in our Medication-Assisted Recovery program need daily access to their health-care team and to the medication that helps them avoid substance misuse. So the SOS Recovery Centers and Medication-Assisted Recovery team quickly launched an outdoor clinic in Dover. An SOS van was used to transport supplies and anchor a staging area. Clinics were staffed with Certified Recovery Support Workers from SOS and medical staff from our health centers, while a WiFi hotspot and computer tablets connected patients with an off-site medical provider and counselors. (middle photo)
• We quickly found ways to provide many of our services online, by phone, or at curbside. These included parent and family programs, SOS Recovery services, pharmacy pickup, and the WIC and CSFP nutrition programs. The importance of these continued services comes through in these comments from two family-program participants:

  I’m a disabled Nana with guardianship of my five grandchildren. My downtime each week is the Family Center’s online grandparents meeting. I talk about my week to people who understand and give advice. I think without my groups right now I would be lost. The Family Center has kept me going through this crazy time.

  Taking care of my family while navigating this pandemic has been stressful. Having virtual parenting groups to connect with other parents and share frustrations and strategies has been a valuable resource. These groups help me to stay focused on the positive. They reinforce my strengths as a parent and enable me to feel a sense of community in spite of the pandemic.

The “emergency” feeling has lessened now, as these and many other changes — like masks, social distancing, and pre-entry screenings — have become the new normal. Our Emergency Operations Team has gradually scaled back our meetings from six days a week in March to “as needed” today. While the future path of this pandemic is uncertain, our team is ready for whatever community-health challenges lie ahead.