Mental Health Support of Frontline Medical Personnel in the Javits New York Medical Station Federal COVID-19 Treatment Center

Background The federal government responded to the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States by mobilizing uniformed services and other federal medical personnel to treat patients at the Javits New York Medical Station. Deployment of large numbers of personnel required flexible psychiatric and psychological support. Observations This report details the establishment of mental health support services for frontline personnel in a large convention center and explores lessons learned to encourage future mental health professionals to apply creative and assertive mental health interventions in disaster settings. Conclusions Timely and effective interventions included securing safe therapeutic space in high-traffic areas, developing relationships with leadership and frontline workers in their own work environments, and disseminating services throughout the civilian medical system. We suggest mental health supplementation during the medical response mission strengthened morale in frontline workers in a disaster scenario.

Initial anterior uveitis event associated with recent novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in the setting of HLA-B27.

Purpose: To describe an atypical ocular manifestation following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Observations: A 27-year old previously healthy male with no past ocular history presented with pain, photophobia and red eye in his left eye (OS). His only notable mention on review of systems was a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection three weeks prior. Slit lamp examination demonstrated fine inferior keratic precipitates (KPs) in the inferior cornea and 3+ anterior chamber cells OS. There was no vitritis or chorioretinal lesions. The patient was diagnosed with his first event of acute anterior uveitis. Standard ocular inflammatory panel returned positive for HLA-B27. The postulated mechanism of initial anterior uveitis attack in the setting of COVID-19 infection was dysregulation of inflammatory cells and mediators in a patient with baseline elevated risk for ocular inflammation. Conclusions and Importance: It is crucial to investigate patients for HLA-B27 following initial anterior uveitis event if infected by SARS-CoV-2, as patients with HLA-B27 are at baseline higher risk of ocular inflammatory dysregulation.

Psychiatric Care in a Novel Federal COVID-19 Treatment Center: Development of a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service at the Javits New York Medical Station.

At the outset of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, New York City faced the highest burden of COVID-19 cases in the United States. In response, the U.S. Federal Government deployed medical providers from various uniformed services to treat patients with COVID-19 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. There quickly arose a need for psychiatric services for patients with COVID-19 and psychological support for medical staff. Psychiatrists were tasked with establishing a consult-liaison psychiatry service in this unique environment. The authors detail the establishment of a novel consultation-liaison psychiatry service in a large convention center and explore lessons learned from this experience with the aim to empower uniformed psychiatrists to prepare for and deliver patient-focused care in pandemic settings.