Late on a recent Friday night, a worried and tearful mother needed answers to her questions. She received those in addition to answers to her prayers.
The Pike County, Illinois, woman called the Blessing COVID-19 Hotline and talked to registered nurse Kellea Hendrian. The woman’s young child tested positive for COVID-19 and she needed to know how to quarantine the child effectively within a home with other children.
Blessing Health System established the COVID Hotline in March as part of its COVID-19 response. The registered nurses who answer Hotline calls work to reduce transmission of virus by providing accurate information to callers, assessing the needs of people with concerns about or exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits, and direct them to COVID-19 testing if needed.
“As I shared the information with the woman, I could tell her fears and anxiety decreased,” Kellea observed. “But, it also became clear the family had more needs than understanding quarantine guidelines.”
The mother shared with Kellea that she and her significant other were no longer working due to the pandemic, causing concern about a lack of necessities in the home to take care of the children. Before the call ended, Kellea ensured the family had necessities for the weekend.
But Kellea could not and did not stop thinking about the family’s plight. By Monday morning, she had a plan.
Kellea contacted the Blessing Health System Outpatient Care Coordination department bright and early on Monday to discuss the family’s situation and to determine what assistance, if any, was available to them.
The Care Coordination team consists of nurses, social workers, caseworkers, professional counselors and support staff who work with individuals and families in the region to ensure access to the right healthcare at the right time, and to connect people with other services they may need to improve their health and quality of life.
Fueled by the information Kellea shared about the family’s needs, Blessing Care Coordination social service case workers, Linnie Tunget and Leslie Henry, immediately contacted organizations within Pike County and the Blessing Health System to obtain resources the family needed.
The Pike County Health Department and Reach Out Center food pantry provided groceries and cleaning supplies. Leslie loaded the donations into her car and delivered them to the family’s home. Because of the positive COVID-19 case in the household, Leslie unloaded the donations onto the driveway of the home as the family watched from a window.
“It was the most bittersweet moment,” she stated. “As I was leaving, I turned to wave at them and the dad yelled an emotional, ‘thank you.’”
In addition to the donations from the health department and food pantry, the Blessing Foundation paid the family’s current month’s rent, the Pike County Unmet Needs program paid the family’s back rent and internet, as the children needed the connection for their remote learning through school, and the office staff of the family’s pediatrician paid their utility bill.
The nurses staffing the Blessing COVID-19 Hotline have answered tens of thousands of calls and questions since the pandemic began, oftentimes not knowing how much help they provided to the person on the other end of the telephone line.
Except this time.
“I will never forget the true human connection made with a family I may never meet.” Kellea said. “As a registered nurse and mother myself, I am proud to be a member of the Blessing Health System team where I can collaborate with other experts to assist families in need.”