Behavioral Health and the Coronavirus: How Hospitals & Health Systems Are Responding

// By Howard Gershon, LFACHE //

In ordinary times, we are a nation of people with high levels of anxiety. According to statistics reported by Mental Health America, during usual times, the combination of general anxiety disorders, phobias, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and related issues are reported to affect more than 21 percent of adults (42.5 million) each year.

These anxiety disorders are illnesses that cause people to feel frightened, distressed, and uneasy for no apparent reason. In times of a pandemic such as we are experiencing now with the ongoing fear of the deadly coronavirus, anxiety and related behavioral health issues have a significantly greater impact.