“Our team took on so much throughout the pandemic, including rethinking our services to create an entirely new platform of care for patients,” explains Cassandra Ruiz, Moorestown Office Manager and a member of the Spirit Week planning team. “This was an opportunity for them to take a breath and just be, rather than do.”
“I’m so proud to have helped facilitate this for the staff,” adds Ruiz. “At the end of the day, we are who we are because of our team. It’s what makes us Princeton House.”
Through daily emails and activities, the week was designed to spread joy across Princeton House outpatient and inpatient sites with the following themes.
Music Day provided upbeat pandemic playlists of songs that helped people power through 2020. Use the QR code above to listen on Spotify.
Quarantine Cooking Day shared favorite recipes and created a Quarantine Cookbook.
Laptop Silver Linings Day focused on the pandemic positives, from weddings and new homes to reconnecting with family, pet adoptions, and even the hilarity of one staff member’s cat becoming enamored with her on-screen clinical manager. A broader silver lining: mental health and wellness now has a place at the forefront of many conversations.
Affirmation Day reminded staff how important they are as individuals and how vital they are to patient care.
One Year/Wear Green Day invited the team to don something green to celebrate growth despite loss and hardship, something patients and staff reflect on every day. It also featured a celebratory Town Hall presentation.
Wellness Day featured virtual chair yoga and meditation sessions, an interactive wellness presentation, and “Lavender Bags” of self-care items for every staff member.
Pay it Forward Day encouraged staff to brighten the day for peers through small acts of kindness.
Spirit Week showcased why Princeton House is a great place to work
“I am in awe and humbled by the work of my professional colleagues.” —Iris Perlstein, LCADC, LPC, ATR-BC, Clinical Specialist/Coordinator with First Responder Treatment Services
“Creativity. Ingenuity. Grit. These are the hallmarks of our Princeton House team that we take pride in every day—and celebrated during Spirit Week.”—Neal Schofield, MD, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry
A Snapshot of care
Princeton House pivoted its care delivery model during the pandemic to continue to reach as many patients as possible. From the start of telehealth on March 17, 2020 to late May 2021, the team facilitated:
- 5,200 admissions
- 109,000 virtual outpatient visits
- 55,000 virtual groups
- 25,000 virtual individual/family sessions
Telehealth Platform Even More Secure
The BlueJeans telehealth platform used by Princeton House now incorporates Switchboard, a unique digital platform. In addition to improving access to virtual care, Switchboard streamlines the complex behind-the-scenes process of coordinating daily multiple links and passwords for group therapy sessions while enhancing security. Through this HIPAA-compliant system, patients receive a unique link for each therapy day.
“It’s like having a new key to a different secure room each day,” says Jodi Pultorak, LCSW, Executive Director of Outpatient Services. “With hundreds of patients accessing care across our sites every day, this system ensures that everyone is in the right place on the right day while preventing unauthorized access.”
