The chief medical officers at Lafayette General Health and Our Lady of Lourdes are offering an update on COVID in Acadiana.
Chief Medical Officers, Dr. Amanda Logue with Lafayette General Health and Dr. Henry Kaufman of Our Lady of Lourdes, filmed this video late on June 29, to address the current trends experienced in this region.
In it, they discussed the cases they're seeing at their hospitals, and offered to advice to people who might have been exposed and other topics.
Most cases are from community spread, meaning infected people are infecting others in the community, said Kaufman. The biggest jump is among young people, but the patients in ICU and hospitals are older people - meaning the younger people are probably infecting the older people in their lives, he said.
The mitigation measures are well known: Social distance, physical distance, face coverings, frequent hand washings and staying home if you are sick.
Behavior has to change and it has to change quickly, added Logue.
"All of us would agree we are ready to get back to some sense of normalcy, I think that from the health care facility side we can see the repercussions of what happens when people don't do those things," she said. "I'm very anxious, I know we all are, to get back to getting our kids back into school, going to see a football game. I just don't see how we are going to get there with our current trajectory, if we don't slow things down. All it takes for us to manage this wave a little bit better is to do the things we've discussed here, and wear a face covering that will protect you and protect the ones around you if you are carrying that virus."
Changing our behavior and slowing the spread is critical not only to avoid overwhelming hospitals, but also so that we can move to Phase III and so businesses can re-open fully, she said.
Here's the video:
Here are updates on hospital visitor policies:
As of July 1, 2020, Our Lady of Lourdes is operating in Phase 1 of their surge plan and quickly approaching Phase 2. Lafayette General Health is operating in Phase 2 effective today. For the safety of patients, guests and team members, visitor guidelines have the potential to change during surge operations. The hospitals encourage the public to check visitor guidelines on the respective websites each day, be free from any COVID-19 like symptoms and be prepared to mask for the duration of the visit.
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center and Lafayette General Health are working closely with the Governor’s Office, Louisiana Department of Health Region IV leadership and local hospitals to safely manage the patients In Acadiana.
"Through this joint statement, the area’s largest hospital systems are asking for public support of masking, more effective efforts for exposure quarantining and maintaining social distancing to help stop the community spread of this virus," a joint release states.
LINKS
To check the visitor guidelines at Lafayette General, click here.
To check the visitor guidelines at Lourdes, click here.
