Training Hospital Staff in Brazil

Volunteers trained to provide assistance in this pandemic are attending nine units and training hospital employees, with a technique that uses the therapeutic potential of the hands. 

The initiative of the international organisation Hands Without Borders, is to bring meditation to the working environment of health professionals working through the pandemic. A humanitarian aid network that has already reached nine Brazilian hospitals. 

 The teams of volunteers started this work six weeks ago, at the Hospital Worker Complex, in Curitiba (PR). The efforts have now been expanded due to the positive results obtained from meditation and applying the  therapeutic technique Neural Stimulation. In addition to the service, training is being offered so that professionals can use the technique in self-application and also as support in patient care.

Another seven hospitals have cemented the partnership with the organisation and are receiving volunteers to help doctors, nurses, technicians and assistants. On the list are the Santa Casa de Curitiba, the Hospital and Maternity Nossa Senhora de Fátima and the Elderly Hospital Zilda Arns, in addition to the Hospital de Clínicas of UFPR, whose professionals are receiving help with accommodation at the Couto Pereira stadium. Also in Paraná, Santa Casa de Ponta Grossa joined the action and will offer the intensive course of Hands Without Borders to employees next week. The teams are also working daily in São Paulo, at Hospital Pérola Byington and at Hospital do Servidor Público Municipal.

“The group of volunteers is restricted to people who have undergone training to work in disaster situations. We receive support every day, from people from all over Brazil who would also like to help. However, for reasons of health security, we are taking turns only among those who have already undergone training. The scale allows for assistance in nine hospitals and we are willing to work in other units, even if, for that, it is necessary that everyone does the work for several hours a day. We know that it can make a difference in the lives of these professionals, who are true heroes. So we are going to expand the work and maintain the services while there is a pandemic ”, says the ambassadress of Hands Without Borders in Brazil, Lilian Miranda.

Volunteer and businesswoman, Lilian Miranda, coordinates the action with the support of the organisation's ambassador to France, David Miramond, who came to Brazil to reinforce humanitarian aid. “What we do is teach meditation and apply different treatments with the technique that is used by Hands Without Borders worldwide. The intention is to lower stress levels, improve the quality of sleep for these professionals and prevent anxiety attacks, depression and emotional imbalance. The risk is high for them, who are under tension, on exhaustive work schedules ”, explains the ambassador.

Care is being provided in isolated rooms in hospitals, following all biosafety protocols to avoid contagion. The employees of the units can receive treatments during work breaks, since the calls are made in a maximum of 15 minutes. Some groups of professionals participate in collective meditations of 5 minutes and are adopting daily practice using the 5 Minutes campaign app, Eu Medito also at home.

“I received the treatment, did the 5 minutes of meditation daily, and that helped me a lot in the first week. I was very stressed and it improved my sleep quality and my daily life. I felt lighter when I came to work and I realized that the tension has decreased a lot ”, says the nursing technician Lisandra Cochinski, who works at the Hospital do Trabalho.

Also at HT, doctor Alexandre Mansur joined the practice and received treatment from the volunteers. “It helps to relax the central nervous system. These integrative techniques are very important at the moment that we are living ”, he evaluates.

In addition to the action in hospitals, Hands Without Borders (MSF) also created a free call center for teaching exercise. Volunteers from several Brazilian cities are attending the population free of charge at the meditation call center. The numbers are available on the social networks of Hands Without Borders (MSF) Brasil and the application 5 Minutes, I Meditate.