The Mary Floyd Cushman, MD Award for Exceptional Humanitarian Service as a Medical Volunteer recognizes the dedication and humanitarian service of Maine medical volunteers.
On October 14, 2020, at its 167th MMA Annual Session General Membership Meeting, Dr. Karen Saylor, MD, MMA’s President Elect, announced that The Maine Medical Association 2020 Mary Cushman Award was presented to Dr. Edward Pontius in recognition of his leadership in creating the Maine’s FrontLine WarmLine Psychological First Aid Support phone line for healthcare workers and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Pontius has spent his career as a psychiatrist working to improve the lives of others. His compassion and empathy for others has made him an outstanding physician, mentor, educator and colleague. Early on, Dr. Pontius recognized the magnitude of the psychological toll that COVID-19 could have on healthcare workers, and built this invaluable program to help individuals who are feeling stress, anxious and overwhelmed while they are working to provide care for patients who are suffering from COVID-19. The program has been expanded to include teachers and those who work in school settings.
As Founding Director, he collaborated with multiple organizations for support and to recruit volunteers. He arranged training for volunteers on Psychological First Aid and pulled together a team of mental health leaders to serve as faculty. He participates in daily virtual meetings with volunteers to address questions, debrief calls, and provide support and insight.
Dr. Pontius has spent hundreds of hours on this program. He has made himself available to the volunteer force 24/7 just in case a volunteer has an issue or a question, or if anyone in crisis wants to “talk with someone” between the hours of 8pm and 8am where there is no one to take a call. He has devoted himself to this service and has earned the respect of DHHS leadership, his colleagues, and certainly the 100 or so volunteers he supervises. Stepping up in a time of crisis to volunteer in this way to create this vital resource for front line healthcare workers makes Dr. Pontius an ideal candidate for this prestigious award.
Mary Cushman lived in Castine and graduated from Eastern Maine Normal School (now the Maine Mariti
me Academy) in 1888 and from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1892. She practiced in Farmington, Maine and was the first woman member of the Maine State Medical Board. Dr. Cushman received her medical missionary appointment at age 52 and spent the next 30 years in Angola, West Africa where she established a hospital and clinic.
Dr. Pontius had a few words:
What an incredible honor, the Mary Floyd Cushman, M.D. award! Thank you. And it came to my house this week- such a beautiful piece. When you hold it, you see that the glass is etched so that light from behind makes the text light up like stars against the dark sky. Beautiful. That’s a lot like my experience these past months during the pandemic. With all of the darkness and uncertainty and the worry and the loss, wonderful people who have stood up to help. I can’t say enough about my colleagues on Maine FrontLine WarmLine- these are people who have volunteered to give their time, their energy and their caring for an important cause- taking care of Maine’s front line personnel- in health care, EMS, law enforcement, and now also Maine’s teachers and education staff- and helping to ensure that our front line continues to hold for all of us in the community. Our front line and our Maine FrontLine WarmLine Volunteers- they really are stars shining in the darkness.
People call us at Maine FrontLine WarmLine when they are in deep distress. They may not know much about Psychological First Aid (PFA), the evidence-based service we provide, but they quickly learn that it is confidential, it’s free, and it’s not some form of psychotherapy for people with mental illness. We provide PFA support for people who are mostly highly capable, experienced, but just now having considerable distress dealing with an unprecedented situation. People who want nothing more but to be there for their jobs, their families, but who are dealing with more than they can handle- agitation, sleeplessness, anxiety, hopelessness. It can seem like magic that in just a half hour or so we can help people find their feet again, develop a plan, connect with resources, feel a lot better. That’s what we do. That’s what Maine FrontLine WarmLine does.
If you or someone you know on the front lines is experiencing distress in these COVID times- giving you grief, taking you off your game, then call us at Maine FrontLine WarmLine (207 221-8196). We’ve got your back. Let’s keep our stars shining.
