At the heart of the suits filed against Ochsner and Lourdes is the contention that with Covid vaccines, hospitals have done something new and overreached on civil liberties.
Hospitals in the Acadiana region caught a much-needed breath, with Covid patient loads easing ahead of Hurricane Ida, freeing up capacity to take in patients from elsewhere in the state.
Doctors at Lourdes and Ochsner Lafayette General believe the infusion has prevented hundreds of hospital admissions and dozens of deaths so far.
There’s still a lot to learn about Covid and the vaccines heralded to end its terrorizing. Uncertainty has bred anxiety that the cure could be worse than the disease, even among Americans who aren’t opposed to vaccinations altogether. Here are some FAQs.
The gist: As Covid rages and the flu season threatens to overwhelm an already-understaffed and overburdened workforce, local hospital systems are adding new tools to their arsenal to avoid delays in diagnosing and treating respiratory infections.
Pandemic fatigue for healthcare workers means exhaustion from months of long shifts, frustration at working uphill against a landslide of misinformation and fear that we’re giving up just as the end is in sight.
The gist: While Louisiana was spared some of the worst-case flooding that models had predicted, parts of Calcasieu and Cameron parishes are reeling from the impact of Hurricane Laura. Acadiana, while bruised in some areas, is for the most part positioned to help its western neighbors get back on their feet.
Hospitals within Lafayette’s two major health systems got federal relief from the CARES Act that will only cushion the blow from COVID-19 losses, mainly attributable to postponed elective procedures.
It’s an understatement to say it’s been a whirlwind since Dr. Henry Kaufman accepted the position of interim chief medical officer at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in early April.
The Louisiana National Guard delivered FEMA-issued face shields to Our Lady of Lourdes today to help the hospital staff safely care for coronavirus patients.
At both Lafayette General and Lourdes, which owns Women’s & Children’s, you are still allowed to have one person with you during childbirth.
In an updated notice to all of the state’s health care facilities, the Department of Health said it was “directing and requiring” hospitals to use their judgment in determining which medical procedures can be safely postponed for 30 days.