Healthcare workers took their own advice and practiced a little self care this weekend at the beach.
Torrance Memorial Medical Center sent 10 of their frontline employees to partake in a COVID-19 surf therapy session offered by the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation in Manhattan Beach on Saturday, Aug 21. Along with learning the fundamentals of surfing from experts, workers also had a chance to decompress from the emotional toll of the past 18 months.
When COVID-19 case counts surged across Southern California in the summer and winter last year, medical workers reported burnout, fatigue and exhaustion as they scrambled to save their patients’ lives. And with the emergence of the Delta variant, the stress continues to linger.
That’s when leadership at the Jimmy Miller Foundation reached out to Torrance Memorial with the idea of surf therapy classes specifically for healthcare workers.
“Being out in the ocean, trying to get on your board for the first time and ride that wave,” said Kevin Sousa, Ocean/Surf Therapy Program Director for JMMF. “It requires trust, concentration, being 100% in the moment.”
“It’s the best way to clear someone’s mind and have them focus on what’s in front of them,” he added.
The foundation began nearly 17 years ago in memory of Jimmy Miller, a passionate waterman, L.A. County Lifeguard of fifteen years — most of which he spent in Manhattan Beach — and the owner of Camp Surf, still going strong in the beach city.
“It’s just wonderful to be doing this here where (Jimmy) used to always be,” said Nancy Miller, his mother and a board member with the foundation. “He was teaching kids here years ago and he’d be happy to know we’re continuing his mission.”
Miller, who loved his time spent working with kids in the Junior Lifeguard Program, took his life in 2004. But the ripples of his legacy can still be felt in the South Bay, and beyond.
The foundation has provided surf therapy for the last 16 years to promote emotional recovery, including with homeless veterans in San Diego, and children with illnesses in Los Angeles.
The private session for Torrance Memorial healthcare workers began with a circle in the sand where introductions were made and, according to Sousa, who led the session, trust could be built among each other. And after a quick stretch, it was time to get in the water.
Each worker was paired with a volunteer surfer to help guide them through the motions, and ultimately get them riding waves on their own.
Kelie Tabangay, a grief recovery specialist and social worker with TMMC, said she had never surfed before. But within the first few tries, Tabangay was catching wave after wave.
“It was so great, so fun,” she said. “Definitely want to get out there and do it again.”
Torrance Memorial will host three more sessions for nurses this year, and leaders with the Jimmy Miller Foundation hope it can become a permanent offering at the medical center.