S heila Chew was working as a supervisor at the postal service, DPS (Delivery Point Sequence), and was also a bowling coach. One of her bowling clients was none other than the CEO of EMAGES, Dr. Wash! One day, while bowling, Dr. Wash asked Sheila a computer question. “Dr. Wash had just gotten a computer, and something was wrong. So, I went to her office, and I connected the printer and made sure she had everything she needed to start using a computer in her one office.” EMAGES has grown quite a bit since then! “Now we have 12 rooms! We have a computer and TV in almost every room.” At first, she came aboard as a consultant, but in 2010 was hired as office manager. When COVID hit, and social distancing became essential, Sheila was faced with quite a challenge. “By the fourth week of March 2020, when the clients couldn’t come in, I started up the free conference calls. We got three or four numbers so that our clients could call in on that particular number, and we could have group therapy that way. I care so much about EMAGES; I was just trying to keep us going.” There were new requirements from the Department of Health Services, and Telehealth was introduced, which is a communication service for mental health and substance abuse therapy, as well as individual or group therapy, done over the phone. Sheila laughs, “We thought it would be over in a few months. Now mostly everything is on Zoom and hybrid.” She explains that hybrid is when they have groups with both virtual clients and those who come in person. Since April, things have loosened up, and EMAGES is hoping to get the majority of clients to come in person.
TECH- SAVVY HYBRID Counseling IN A COVID WORLD Sheila Chew: office manager & tech support
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online