Shawnee Health Service is proud to celebrate National Health Center Week 2020 from August 9 – August 15. National Health Center Week is an annual celebration with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s health centers over the past five decades. National Health Center Week 2020 will be celebrated both in person and virtually this year, elevating the work that Community Health Centers have done while fighting on the front lines of COVID-19 to keep our communities healthy and safe.
Shawnee Health Service provides integrated primary medical and behavioral health care, dental care, and specialty care to southern Illinoisans regardless of ability to pay. Community Health Centers, like Shawnee Health Service, are not just healers, we are innovators who look beyond medical charts to address the factors that may cause poor health, such as poverty, homelessness, substance use, mental illness, lack of nutrition, and unemployment.
While COVID-19 continues to exacerbate social and medical inequities across the country, Community Health Centers have stretched themselves to reconfigure services for those in need. Shawnee Health Service has pivoted to serving our community through telehealth, drive-through COVID-19 testing with interpretation services on site, and distribution of emergency resources, while still ensuring our patients can access the medical care that they need.
Since its inception in 1971, Shawnee Health Service has worked to improve the health and welfare of southern Illinois residents through the promotion, development and administration of quality, comprehensive health and social services. Shawnee Health Service believes that quality health care is a right, and continuously strives to ensure that patients receive the highest quality health care without regard to age, race, religion, sex, financial status, or where they live.
May is Mental Health Month
Shawnee Health Service recognizes May as Mental Health Month. This May for Mental Health Month, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is raising awareness and highlighting that no one experiencing a mental health condition should feel alone. More than 40 million people in the U.S. face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental health condition. And now more than ever, in these uncertain times, it is important for the mental health movement to come together.
Shawnee Health Service’s Behavioral Health Counseling team has not slowed down since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in mid-March, the team made more than 400 calls a week to patients to offer support. Since then, the team has rapidly responded to the need for telehealth, transitioning all face-to-face counseling appointments to phone or video.
Using evidence-based methods, Behavioral Health Counselors assist patients in identifying goals and taking manageable steps to improve their overall health. During this pandemic, people’s mental and physical problems have not gone away. For some patients, needs have intensified. Here are some tips that we discuss with patients, which may be useful for all of us during this time:
Identify your “triggers.” Do you know what causes you to feel more anxious or depressed? Is it certain times of day or after a type of interaction? Try to pay attention to your mood throughout the day and take note.
Many patients have identified the news and social media as a source of stress. There is some evidence to support that more time spent on social media actually . makes people feel more depressed! If you want to stay informed, limit the number of times you check in or the length of time you are watching/listening to new information.
Identify ways of coping that work for you. What makes you feel better or at least feel more neutral? Try going for a walk, talking with a friend, getting exercise, or reading/ watching something funny. The field of positive psychology and addiction treatment support gratitude lists as a way to lift mood. Despite what may be going wrong, what things in your day/life are you grateful for?
Give yourself permission to have some rough days. “Radical acceptance” is part of an evidence-based treatment model that involves accepting life on life’s terms and not resisting what you cannot or choose not to change.
Shawnee Health Service wants to remind all of our patients that we are here for you. We are available by telephone or through video conferencing. You are not alone.
Since its inception in 1971, Shawnee Health Service has worked to improve the health and welfare of southern Illinois residents through the promotion, development and administration of quality, comprehensive health and social services. Shawnee Health Service believes that quality health care is a right, and continuously strives to ensure that patients receive the highest quality health care without regard to age, race, religion, sex, financial status, or where they live.
Shawnee Health Service is continuing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of our commitment to our patients and clients who count on us for their safety and wellbeing.
Shawnee Health Service COVID-19 Operations Update
Shawnee Health Service is committed to continuing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of our commitment to our patients and clients who count on us for their safety and wellbeing. We aren’t going anywhere. We are committed to serving you and our community.
We hope that you and your family are staying safe and well. We hope that you are following the CDC recommended guidelines for protecting yourself from coronavirus and getting your coronavirus information from reliable sources, like the CDC. Maybe most importantly, we hope that you are taking care of your mental and emotional health.
We wanted to reach out to provide some information about what we are doing and what you can do to protect the health of our friends and neighbors in southern Illinois.
What is Shawnee Health Care doing?
Keeping Our Patients Safe – We are asking that our patients call before their appointments. Your Shawnee Health Care clinician will determine the best, safest way to care for you. That may be by phone, by video visit, or at a face-to-face appointment. All employees, patients, and visitors of Shawnee Health Care are required to wear a mask. Only one additional person is allowed to accompany a patient into a visit.
Video Visits – Shawnee Health Care is now offering Video Visits, through Zoom (a free app), for patient appointments. For step by step instructions, visit www.shawneehealth.com/video-visits. Call (618) 519-9200 to get started.
Face-to-Face Visits – Shawnee Health Care clinicians are still seeing patients at Shawnee Health Care in Carbondale, Carterville, and Murphysboro, and at Shawnee Health Care, OB/GYN. Shawnee Health Care in Marion, Marion Wellness, and Terrier Care remain closed at this time. If you are experiencing a dental emergency (severe pain, loose tooth, chipped or cracked tooth, swelling or knots in gums, etc.), please call (618) 519-9200. We are still doing our best to practice social distancing guidelines in our waiting rooms and with sick patients. You will be screened for symptoms of coronavirus upon arrival at the health center.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Shawnee Health Service is actively looking for resources and communicating with our distributors regarding availability and ordering of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as masks. We are currently accepting donations of homemade fabric masks, commercially manufactured masks, goggles which provide full eye protection (front and sides), and clear plastic face shields. Donations will be accepted at the Shawnee Health Service Administrative Office at 109 California Street, Carterville, IL 62918 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm.
Protecting Our Employees
Shawnee Health Service is still practicing social distancing guidelines to the best of our ability. We are offering paid leave and work modifications for some employees, as well as federally mandated leave related to coronavirus. All Shawnee Health Service employees are required to wear masks while working.
What can you do to protect yourself?
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or if soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community.
What can you do to protect others?
- Stay home if you’re sick
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow. Throw used tissues in the trash, and immediately clean your hands after.
- Wear a face mask if you are sick. If you are NOT sick, you do not need to wear a face mask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a face mask). Face masks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers.
- Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
What should you do if you feel sick?
If you are experiencing the symptoms of coronavirus, which are fever, cough, and shortness of breath, contact your health care provider. Your health care provider will discuss your symptoms, travel history, and any known exposure to a person who has tested positive for the virus.
Your health care provider may run a rapid flu test or respiratory viral panel. Those tests help rule out anything more common. Based upon that test, your health care provider will decide whether or not to request COVID-19 testing (per Jackson County Health Department).