Covid Communication Boards

The Speech and Pathology department of the Mississippi University for Women create and donate communication boards for those suffering from Covid-19.

Covid-19 numbers are lower but the impacts are still huge.

Hundreds of mississippians remain in the hospital with symptoms, often times with few ways to talk with their family of their doctors.

Wcbi's stephen pimpo joins us live in the studio to tell us how some muw students are helping.

Covid-19 has forced so many of us to learn to live without many things we took for granted...even the simple act of just talking to another person.

It's the reality for a number of patients hospitalized with the virus.

That's why students at mississippi university for women are making sure they do not go unheard.

Pkg "when you're sick, the one thing you want to do is to have people with you.

You want to call a family member to just communicate that you're scared or frustrated."

Feeling isolated and alone are all too-common side- effects of the coronavirus.

For people in the hospital with the virus...the need for a ventalator or the toll the virus takes...can even....take away their ability to speak.

So mississippi university for women senior sarah williams and the school's chapter of the national student speech language hearing association decided to help give those patients a voice.

"i can't even imagine not being able to have family there and having to struggle to communicate with the healthcare providers that you are able to be in contact with."

Sarah's aunt, a nurse a a southaven hospital, told her about the need for communication boards for covid- 19 patients at local hospitals.

"they have to clean them between each patient and they don't have enough quantitiy to mach the number of patients that they are needing to serve at this time."

So sarah and her classmates made more.

Su: here's what these boards look like.

One side has symbols for specific requests while the other has a keypad to create specific messages.

Janette hreish , an instructor and clynical educator with the w's department of speech language pathology, designed to board to be versitile yet simple and not emotionally taxing for the patients.

"with one gesture or two gestures be able to build a message and communicate effectively and i wanted to include controls for their environment."

Like on, off or get the doctor.

There are also symbols for patients to express emotions, like fear, worry, or love.

"if i'm unable to get my needs met, i'm unable to get my emotional needs met, it might affect their willingness to keep fighting the disease as well."

The school created 200 of these boards for the students to pass out to baptist memorial hospital, oktibbeha county hospital and others acorss the golden triangle...to make sure their coronavirus patients do not feel alone?

"let our fellow mississippians know 'we are in this together.'" ...without having to say a single word."

Tag those communication boards went out earlier this month and janette says they will continue to make more.

For organizations who would like to request boards from the w...you can find that information on our website...wcbi- tv.com.

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