Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of LTC Residents: Lessons Learned From the Pandemic

Ms. Johnson was a resident in a rural long-term care (LTC) setting in January 2020. She had a history of mood fluctuations during prior years and had most recently been experiencing depressive symptoms. She was thankful that she had been receiving individual psychotherapy from a mental health provider who came to her facility on a weekly basis. However, in early March 2020 most of the residents on her hallway began to exhibit signs of illness; it was soon discovered that many were testing positive for COVID-19.