Jed Rigby, Director of Behavioral Health with Peninsula Community Health Services presented an update to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on December 13th regarding changes in the industry following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rigby explained the effects that Covid-19 has had on their (PCHS) services and employment.
“The Covid pandemic permanently changed the landscape of how services are delivered and some of the lasting impacts on our industry. Prior to Covid, I was here a few years before that and then in my position during Covid, we saw a mass transition to tele-health services. Which was a great tool and continues to be a tool; the state has currently approved tele-health services for us and we continue to do it. It has many positive aspects, tele-health does. It allows us to reach people all over the state as long as we are licensed in the state and they have coverage we can provide services-but it is limited. You can only do so much over Zoom or on the telephone when providing those services.”
Rigby reported that many employees have left the health centers to pursue tele-health and it is becoming difficult to recruit.
“I think the biggest impact to tele-health is that it’s impacted workers and how they work in the agency. We saw a mass exodus from the workers and from agency work a lot of individuals went into full-time tele-health work in their homes, marketing more toward private, commercial insurances and leaving our health centers in the community. We have really felt the impact of workers leaving the industry so it has been difficult to recruit people to come here and work these positions; not only clinicians and master-level clinicians, but also direct-care providers.”
Peninsula Community Health Services are navigating through the post pandemic world and trying to adapt to the situations. Medical agencies are trying to work together to fill the gaps.