January 2022 Issue
What's in this issue?
Event Spotlight
Coordination and Consultation Meeting on Mental Health for COVID-19 Health Frontliners
On December 16, 2021, more than 80 representatives from the government, private sector, professional societies, development partners, USAID and its implementing partners, and health frontliners convened to discuss and highlight the importance of mental health, especially for the health care workers, and how everyone can work together in integrating it as part of the country’s COVID-19 response.
Omicron: What we know (so far)
Watch the short video below from the World Health Organization on the Omicron variant.
Note: This video was uploaded on December 17, 2021. Since COVID-19 information is ever-evolving, always check validated and updated information on global updates such as WHO.
USAID's EpiC Project: Looking back and moving forward
The Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control or EpiC is a global USAID project that provides technical assistance to the Philippines and 44 other countries in their COVID-19 response.
USAID through EpiC assessed the capacity and needs of the recipient hospitals and prepared them for the use and management of these life-saving ventilators.
Nearly 3,000 individuals
from the health sector participated in EpiC's knowledge-sharing and capacity-building activities through LEARN COVID, commodity forecasting training, and Community of Practice webinars.
“The EpiC program have really helped us equipped our knowledge and provided additional equipment for our fight against COVID-19.”
- A health worker in 1 of the 31 priority hospitals
Expanding support beyond COVID-19 critical care management
In 2022, USAID's EpiC under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will continue to support the 31 priority hospitals in its facility-based case management (mild and moderate cases), including strengthening of oxygen ecosystem and building mental health resilience.
USAID's EpiC's technical assistance extends beyond its project sites through knowledge-sharing activities and collaboration with the DOH and other implementing partners from the national to the local and health facility levels.
Assessing and Strengthening the Oxygen Ecosystem
- Develop and field a rapid assessment (scanning) of the oxygen supply modalities, consumables, and various clinical and non-clinical TA needs in the priority hospitals (31) and beyond
- Develop technical assistance and oxygen resource management plans
- Provide the required TA/training (virtual and in-person)
Improving COVID-19 Facility-based Case Management
- Informed by the TA assessment tool, design and conduct training in managing admitted patients with COVID-19 (direct training to the 31 hospitals and establish a core of trainers to cascade this training to other hospitals)
- Develop training package and risk communication materials for the latest COVID-19 case management and infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines
- Upload and disseminate training package (materials, tools, job aids) to the DOH Academy
- Establish Community of Practice and institutionalize Mentor-Mentee Process
- Engage and train primary care facilities within the catchment area of EpiC-supported hospitals to strengthen assessment, triage, and infection prevention
Building Resilience and Preventing Burnout among Health Care Workers
- Adapt and localize global training module and activity package on mental health for HCWs
- Conduct training (direct and through a core team of trainers) on mental health, resilience building, and prevention of burnout
- Upload and disseminate training materials to the DOH Academy
- Facility-based activities to support mental health for HCWs
- Explore existing telehealth platforms to provide access to mental health services to HCWs
Webinar on Oxygen Ecosystems during COVID-19 Pandemic
Date and Time: January 26, 2022 (Wednesday); 9 PM to 10 PM Philippine Time (PHT)
We invite you to a webinar on strategies for improving access to medical oxygen and strengthening national oxygen ecosystems.
Topics included improving access to oxygen, improving hospital infrastructure for delivering oxygen to patient beds, and the roles of governments, private sector, donors, communities, and civil societies in ensuring the availability and better use of oxygen.
In case you missed it: LEARN COVID is now up via the DOH Academy!
Sign up now at learn.doh.gov.ph and take the LEARN COVID online course. It's FREE and you can also earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units. Topics include the following:
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) and ICU Communication Basics
- High-Flow Non-invasive Oxygen Delivery
- Ventilator Management
- Sedation
- Ventilator Liberation
- COVID-19 Therapeutics
We'd love to hear from you!
Credits:
USAID/Philippines. DOH Philippines. FHI 360 Philippines. RG Meditron. Created with an image by BlenderTimer - "covid-19 coronavirus infection"