The arrival of COVID-19 brought about many disruptions to our world and communities. The hospital visitation restrictions were one of the more, if not most, challenging aspects of psychosocial care for patients and families. It was difficult to anticipate the emotional toll that visitation restrictions would take on patients, families, and staff. Once hospital visitation restrictions were in place, new strategies for patient/family connection and team communication had to be established. The Palliative Care team at a large, urban, Midwestern academic medical center created an interprofessional Family Support Team in the spring of 2020 to address the psychosocial needs of the families of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Keywords: Bereavement; COVID; coronavirus; family support; interprofessional; palliative care; social work; visitation restrictions.