A local nonprofit with “Touch” as its middle name is using telehealth to reach out and help kids and caregivers — including physicians and other health-care providers — to care for themselves during the pandemic.
“If you understand the background of Integrative Touch for Kids, it was designed to help children who are medically complex or fragile, and it extended services to caretakers and to the children’s families.
Now it has expanded even further to care for provider teams virtually. By helping to care for the caregivers and heal the healers, the program has an incredible ripple effect when you consider all of the patients, colleagues and staff that the providers impact,” said Dr. Elizabeth Kyle Meehan, program director of the Family Medicine Residency at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson South Campus.
That ripple effect began in 2005, when Shay Beider founded ITK with a mission to enhance well-being, minimize suffering and facilitate healing for children with special needs and chronic, acute and life-limiting illnesses through the use of integrative healing methods.
With the onset of COVID-19, ITK pivoted from in-person hospital therapy sessions and family wellness retreats to a TeleFriend Program that allows children with any type of social or medical needs to develop a friendship with volunteer TeleFriend Teams over Zoom. Teams meet weekly with children to talk, play games, interact, enjoy wellness activities and read stories.
“We didn’t want to stop seeing children and families who need us as much as ever, so we decided to do it through telehealth, and it has done remarkably well. We see kids in the hospital and also kids who are isolated at home with special needs. The biggest surprise is how it has allowed us to broaden our scope in Southern Arizona and all over the country, ” said Beider.
Meehan is among the parents, caregivers and health-care providers who have experienced that scope of benefits. She is in the midst of the 10-week ITK TeleWellness Program designed to provide recipients around the world with access to personalized, healing therapies and wellness education. The program offers a variety of tools aimed at reducing stress and anxiety and fostering resilience. Techniques include meditation, breathing exercises, nutrition, movement, journaling and more.
The therapies are data-driven, and research among participants indicates a significant reduction in burnout and depression, according Beider.
“We give the providers practical steps to implement stress reduction in their lives and are showing really good results. They walk away with a health and wellness tool kit that helps to regulate the nervous system and gives strategies for coping with high-level stress,” said Beider.
The nonprofit has gifted $100,000 in scholarships to facilitate the personalized program for health-care providers such as physicians, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and front-line workers. The course pairs two health-care providers with two therapists in a flexible format that “meets you where you are,” according to Meehan.
Meehan, a mother of three children under age 5 who has supervised 24 family medicine residents at the UA College of Medicine-Tucson throughout the pandemic, said ITK’s gentleness and acceptance has allowed her to participate in the program without becoming overwhelmed.
“As someone who chronically puts myself last to care for everyone else, it gives me legitimate permission to take time out of my day to participate in a program that encourages self-care. The program also holds you accountable for one technique that you will practice each week to help you connect with yourself and the relationships that are important to you,” Meehan said.
As she reflects over the past year, Meehan marveled at the strength of her colleagues and residency team, who frequently logged double their normal hours with inpatients to facilitate implementation of the COVID-19 testing sites. The facility provided a variety of care for COVID-19 patients and others experiencing respiratory illness.
As providers, parents and others struggle with the continued uncertainties and stress resulting from COVID-19, she encourages them to consider the TeleWellness program or the TeleHealth Clinic, which offers virtual wellness therapy for adults navigating health challenges.
