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Update: August 2, 2021

—FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION ONLY—
Thought of the Day: “Believe you can and you’re half way there.”—Theodore Roosevelt

  • State Stats

    • 541,679 COVID-19 positive cases (up 5,313 since July 30)
    • 10,999 COVID-19 patient deaths (up 31 since July 30)
    • 1,740 COVID-19 patients hospitalized (up 120 since July 30)
    • 167 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (up 5 since July 30)
    • 90% of all COVID-19 positive cases are from unvaccinated individuals.
    • 85% of deaths represent unvaccinated individuals.
    • 89% of all hospitalizations are unvaccinated individuals.
    • NOHS Stats
      • Tested 31,645 with 5 tests pending (up 400 since July 30)
      • 4,655 positive test results for inpatients/outpatients combined (up 159 since July 30)
      • 1,286 COVID-19 patients recovered (up 25 since July 30)
      • Overall positivity rate is 14.7% (up .3 since July 30).
      • For August, our positivity rate is running at 55%.
    • NOMC:
      • 89 COVID-19 patients hospitalized (up 10 since July 30)
      • 13 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (down 2 since July 30)
      • 4 COVID-19 patient deaths since July 30
    • NORH: 16 patients (0 COVID-19 positive); 4 possible patient admissions
    • Hood: 14 hospitalized (1 COVID-19 positive); 1 non-COVID-19 patient in the Emergency Department awaiting placement; 2 employees out monitoring
    • Chief Medical Officer Robert Peltier, M.D., expresses sincere appreciation for the valuable work that staff on the floors are performing in light of the patient ratios we have. Thank you also to all who have stepped up to take on extra shifts.

  • Staffing and Volume

    • MICU 2 remains open with 5 patients.
    • As of 10 a.m., the ER had 11 boarders, 7 of whom are COVID-19 positive.
    • We are on diversion for everything but trauma and stroke.
    • Chief Nursing Officer Kirsten Riney reports that staffing remains extremely tight, and all contingency plans remain activated and working. The House Supervisor is in charge of all supplemental staffing needs. Support team personnel will be put on call.
    • Medicine Unit I continues to be used for ER Infusion for COVID-19 positive patients. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. We have completed 33 infusions since July 30. Of the 33, 15 infusions were administered yesterday alone.
    • We have suspended non-emergent elective surgeries at NOMC this week. A decision about next week’s non-emergency elective surgeries will be made Thursday. Vice President of Surgical Services Terri Lewis reports that we have 11 surgeries at NOMC in the main OR, 21 at the Surgery Center, 2 Cath Lab cases and 5 Endoscopy cases.
    • Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing, by appointment only, opened today. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Monday-Friday. Schedule an appointment by calling Patient Scheduling at (985) 230-7777.
    • Visitor access remains stable with visitation guidelines that became effective July 22 remaining in force. Note: Employees wishing to visit a family member while hospitalized must check-in at the front door and register. All visitation restrictions apply for the safety of the patients and staff.
    • Chief Human Resources Officer Jeff Jarreau reports Employee Wellness has returned 6 employees back to work since July 30. This leaves 62 out monitoring symptoms at home (9 RNs; 2 respiratory therapists).
    • Chief Financial Officer Mark Anderson, Vice President of Finance Will Branson and Supply Chain Director Carol DeVault report that supply levels are good. We have more than enough PPE.

  • Vaccinations

    • Staff interested in getting the Pfizer vaccine can do so Tuesday, Aug. 3, from 1-2:30 p.m. in the 5th Floor Conference Room of the NOMC Tower. Self-schedule your appointment at https://empvaccine.nohs.org. Please print and complete the attached consent form and bring it with you to your appointment. If you have any questions, please contact Employee Services Director Tracy Pettigrew at ext. 5714 or Employee Wellness at ext. 5706.
    • Vaccinations also are available at North Oaks Urgent Care Clinics in Hammond and Ponchatoula Monday-Sunday from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Self-schedule an appointment at https://covidvaccine.northoaks.org. Over the weekend, these two locations administered a combined total of 40 vaccinations.
    • If you have questions about vaccines, Dr. Robert Peltier encourages staff to reach out to him personally at ext. 7755 or via email at peltierr@northoaks.org for evidence-based answers to assist you in making a decision that is right for you. He is happy to respond confidentially by phone, email or in person. He also welcomes questions from the public at info@northoaks.org.
    • At the suggestion of employees, we are offering employees who have been vaccinated the opportunity to have a new ID badge photo taken. To take advantage of this offer, please bring your proof of vaccination card with you to North Oaks Employment Center to have a new photo taken.
    • We had a great turnout for the COVID 100 Immunization Clinic on Saturday, July 31, and coverage by The Advocate and Daily Star newspapers

  • Infection Prevention

    • Please be aware that supplemental staff on the floors may not be as skilled in safe PPE practices. Please look for opportunities to demonstrate safe PPE practices in support of supplemental staff.
      • NO double masking.
      • Discard PPE before exiting patient rooms and patient care areas.
      • Perform hand hygiene.
    • All Infection Prevention policies referenced in the COVID-19 Toolkit on OakLink have been reviewed and are current.
    • For assistance or answers to questions, please contact Infection Prevention Manager Amanda Morse at ext. 6414 or Infection Prevention Nurse Ashley Foster at ext. 6440.

  • Public Relations/Communications

    • President/CEO Michele Sutton will participate in Gov. John Bel Edwards’ press conference today at 2:30 p.m.
    • Dr. Robert Peltier was interviewed by CNN’s Head White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly yesterday regarding our COVID-19 response and the COVID-100 Immunization Clinic.
    • The Advocate and national correspondents from The New York Times and Reuters also are expected to cover our COVID-19 response this week.
    • North Oaks is leading an effort by Northshore hospitals to provide the public with information about COVID-19 hospitalizations in our region. Together with St. Tammany Parish Health System, Lakeview Regional Medical Center and Slidell Memorial | Ochsner, we will make posts to social media on Monday, Wednesday and Friday reporting the total number of COVID-19 hospitalizations on the Northshore by vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
    • Effective today, North Oaks Walk-In Clinics officially became “North Oaks Urgent Care Clinics.” The Hammond and Ponchatoula locations continue to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to the public and administered 40 vaccines over the weekend. Follow this link to learn more about what the name change means: www.northoaks.org/urgentcare

  • Other

  • At the request of employees, PJ’s Coffee is adding weekend hours from 12-8 p.m. on both Saturdays and Sundays. Also, for the month of August, PJ’s will offer a free upsize on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All PJ’s customers are asked to be patient and adhere to proper masking and distancing practices at all times.

COVID-19 will not win. Together, we’ve got this!


—FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION ONLY—