Update: August 24, 2020

Thought of the Day: Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

Hurricane Laura Update—Planning for Business as Usual Remainder of Week
COO Michael Watkins shared the 10 a.m. National Weather Service report as follows: The center of Hurricane Laura is taking aim at the Louisiana-Texas border. It’s moved further west since yesterday. This puts us further away from the storm. This means our area has a very low probability of experiencing any significant wind. To the extent that we have wind, it would most likely arrive late Wednesday, Aug. 26. In light of the storm’s current track, it does not appear that our area will see a significant impact.
Based on the 10 a.m. National Weather Service report, President/CEO Michele Sutton announced that we should plan for business as usual for the rest of the week.
Shelter in Place will officially close today. However, employee safety is what’s most important to us. Therefore, if any employee feels that he or she needs to stay in-house during this weather event because of place of residence or concern about driving, we certainly can accommodate you! Moving forward, the process to request a room assignment will be contacting the house supervisor at NOMC (ext. 6388) or NORH (ext. 5772) dependent on your place of employment.
COVID-19 Update—Case Numbers Appear to be Stabilizing
Overall, we are seeing a stabilization of COVID-19 cases. Numbers are declining across the state and within our health system:
- COVID-19 stats reported to date for Louisiana:
  - 143,566 confirmed positive cases
  - 4,623 deaths
  - 939 hospitalized patients (decrease of 221 since Thursday, Aug. 20)
  - 152 patients on vents (decrease of 23 since Thursday, Aug. 20)
- COVID-19 stats reported to date for North Oaks:
  - 1,939 positive tests out of 11,078 tests performed with results for 71 tests pending
  - NOMC:
    - 445 patients successfully recovered (increase of 19 since Thursday, Aug. 20)
    - 28 COVID-19 positive inpatients (decrease of 12 since Thursday, Aug. 20)
    - 6 patients on vents (decrease of 6 since Thursday, Aug. 20)
    - 4 deaths (since Thursday, Aug. 20)
  - NORH: 17 total patients of whom 2 are COVID-19 positive patients
  - Hood: 18 patients of whom 2 are COVID-19 positive patients
Chief Human Resources Officer Jeff Jarreau reports that the stabilization of COVID-19 cases is carrying over to the employee front. Employee Wellness returned 11 employees to work yesterday, Aug. 24. The count of employees out monitoring has substantially decreased to 19 (3 who are RNs and 2 who are respiratory therapists).
Continuing the stabilization trend, Vice President of Clinics Kanna Page reports that the number of calls to the COVID-19 Hotline was 38 yesterday, Aug. 24. The Return to Work Clinic continues to function well, and the Walk-In Clinics are experiencing a slight decline in volume, which we will monitor closely to determine if related to weather or the statewide stabilization of COVID-19.
COO Michael Watkins affirms that supply levels are good. We have been able to order gloves and expect to be well-stocked by September.
“I know we say it every day, but I don’t think we can say it enough. We truly appreciate everything that you all are doing. I feel very fortunate to work with each of you. Thank you very much.” – President/CEO Michele Sutton