NEW ORLEANS — COVID-19 has proven to be one of the greatest challenges that any of us has seen in our lifetimes, and we've already begun to see some of the casualties on both the physical and the mental front.
That's why one New Orleans-based healthcare network is providing free resources for the mental health professionals who are needed now more than ever.
Trusted Provider Network (TPN.Health), a platform for behavioral health professionals, is offering virtual classes for clinicians to earn the credits they need to keep their licenses, says the company's executive chairman, Trevor Colhoun.
It's a way to keep these professionals working and helping others through the pandemic.
"The underbelly of all this COVID is that you have the front line issue of the disease, but underlying, you’re going to have the behavioral health issues," Calhoun said.
Mental health professionals are required to earn 20 hours of continuing education units (CEUs) every year to keep their licenses to practice. With shelter-at-home orders in place, however, the vast majority of annual conferences have been cancelled.
So, Colhoun and TPN.Health partnered with the major mental health care associations around the state to bring those in-person events online and are offering the digital courses for free to their members.
Besides being able to help others, the network is also stressing the importance of health care professionals helping themselves.
"The providers, the clinicians, are under stress. We’re seeing them reach out," Colhoun said. "Nurses are dealing directly with the patients without family members, and it’s horrific in the stories that we’re hearing,"
TPN.Health offers weekly town hall segments on Thursdays, and this week's topic is self-care. It coincides with April being "Counseling Awareness Month.”
"[We want them] really taking care of themselves and their clients that they're treating," Colhoun said.
For more information, visit TPN.Health
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