COVID — How Shelter Island coped: What lessons can inform a future pandemic response?

This is the final article in the Reporter’s series of how Shelter Island coped with the COVID-19 crisis.

No one at the beginning of March 2020 had a hunch they would be soon be facing a pandemic the likes of which had not been seen in a century. They could not know then how many millions throughout the world would be sickened, how many would die and how everything about daily life would change.

“It was a time of uncertainty and no one understood in March 2020 how lethal it was going to be,” Rev. Dr. Stephen Adkison said. Today he is the pastor at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, but at that time, was leading a large congregation of close to 700 people in southern Florida.

In almost the blink of an eye, it became apparent people had to be sent home and there would have to be a change in how to help his parishioners. But Rev. Adkison, and another clergyman, Father Peter DeSanctis of Our Lady of the Isle, determined to keep ministering to their congregants without interruption.

They began to organize virtual religious services and communicating with congregants by telephone. Our Lady of the Isle‘s religious education program continued uninterrupted even in the period when in-person gatherings were not yet possible, Father DeSanctis said.

The telephone became a lifeline for both clergymen. “It was particularly helpful to me,” Father DeSanctis said. “But as soon as possible, we returned to house calls, a hallmark of services provided by Our Lady of the Isle.”

Rev. Adkison recalls those early days of the COVID pandemic, in an empty church except for him, a piano player and a team of technical people who operated cameras and sound equipment to offer virtual services. That same new ritual was Father DeSanctis’ link to his flock.

The one change, Father DeSanctis said, was that once people were allowed to gather the three parish entities — the trustees, the parish council and the finance council — that gathered monthly for parish administration, switched from monthly meetings to quarterly meetings and that has continued.

Those early days of COVID for Rev. Adkison were filled with personal trauma. His mother was battling cancer when she contracted COVID in a care facility, which claimed her life on Dec. 8, 2020. He was relieved when she passed away because it meant an end to her suffering, he told Reporter columnist Charity Robey in a profile in 2021, the year he started his ministry on Shelter Island.

He was dealing with his own fear of COVID, and  ensured  that masks and hand sanitizers were available at the church. While they are not required these days, he still maintains a supply for those who wish to use them.

If there was one response to the pandemic that most surprised Rev. Adkison it was the resistance many people had to taking the vaccine when it became available. He had expected that with the pandemic claiming so many victims, people would embrace any sign of hope. With passing years, even some who did take the early vaccine have not returned for later inoculations when advised to do so.

FIVE YEARS LATER

Five years after COVID-19 dominated the public consciousness, have Islanders recovered? There are fewer signs of the pandemic — not many people wearing masks, fewer people pursuing ongoing vaccines and little resistance to going out in crowds.

But is a return to what’s passing for normal covering up issues that concern professionals? Former Senior Services Director Laurie Fanelli and retired clinical social worker and Reporter columnist Nancy Green, co-chair of the Town’s Health & Wellness Committee, both saw issues before the pandemic that continue today.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed significant weaknesses nationally and worldwide in our healthcare system from public health preparedness to the structure of our medical facilities and the need for long-term rehabilitation and after-care,” Ms. Fanelli said. “The impact of COVID-19 will reverberate for many years,” she added.

Ms. Fanelli was the spark in launching the concept of what has recently become the Health & Wellness Committee, working with Lucille Buergers, an ex-officio committee member and former Town social worker.

The new Town Health & Wellness Committee grew out of an independent Health & Wellness group that had concentrated on a number of programs members thought needed attention. These have included the annual response to remembering those lost to drug overdoses with Islander Gina Kraus. Ms. Kraus’ son Evan succumbed to a drug overdose, and she channeled her pain into organizing the annual Vigil on Shelter Island to remember those who died, and to spread information about addiction.

She has carried her messages to students throughout the area, to prisoners, to other groups.  But Ms. Green said at this point, the committee wants to reach out to Island residents to find out what services they want. She thinks the isolation at the height of the pandemic continues for many elderly residents. Support services reach parents of students through the school, but not those parents of younger children not yet in school.

Given the political climate in the nation, Ms. Green said she also has concern for Latinos who may be afraid to seek assistance since many are trying to keep low profiles in a time when the government is deporting people with no due process under the law.

“The impact of COVID-19 will reverberate for many years,” Ms. Fanelli said. “There are lessons to be learned from the past that provide guidance for the future.”

Undertakings effective in 2020 should be embraced if another pandemic emerge, Ms. Fanelli said. As it became evident that COVID was “a virulent respiratory infection,” many seniors were provided with digital thermometers and instructed on signs to watch for that could indicate illness. Face masks and hand washing became effective deterrents in 2020 and seniors were instructed in respiratory hygiene and care, Ms. Fanelli said. Delivery of meals by volunteers willing to venture out, providing some human contact, also helped.

So too was the Zooming of popular programs such as chair yoga and Zumba classes to senior residents. But coping with isolation continues to be an issue not completely eliminated, even with the return of being able to gather at the Senior Center with other seniors, Ms. Fanelli said.

The entire experience reinforced that mental health services play a strong role in supporting patients, family members, first responders and health care professionals using evidence-based practices, Ms. Fanelli said.

Several factors continue to challenge the world as  the COVID-19 virus increases or declines in various locations. These include the effectiveness of vaccines over time, human behavior, infection prevention policies and gaining more understanding of what causes COVID surges, and why some people are unable to develop immunity even when they are vaccinated and cautious.

“Those factors should be considered the next time,” Ms. Fanelli said.