HJNO Jul/Aug 2020

46 JUL / AUG 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS MEDICAL SOCIETY available daily, and healthcare providers of all specialties need to know how to care for these patients, and how to best keep themselves and their staff safe.” Dr. Schief- felin, who serves as associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine, sections of infectious disease at Tulane University School of Medicine, added, “These telecon- ferences have proven to be a great way to share ideas and research data.” According to David Janz, MD, MSc, as- sistant professor of medicine, pulmonary/ critical care and allergy/immunology at LSU Health Sciences Center, “SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that causes critical illness syndromes that are not at all novel to the intensive care community. Intensiv- ists have many evidence-based tools at their disposal to support and treat patients with COVID-19.” Dr. Janz, who presented and answered questions on the April 7 and April 28 calls, added, “Implementing these evidence-based ICU practices will improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19, and also increase our ventilator and ICU bed capacity.” Dahlene Fusco, MD, PhD, who appeared on the April 14 and May 5 calls, said, “From the COVID-19 pandemic experience, I have learned that we have a major public health need to preemptively explain clinical trials to the Greater NOLA community, in every major language used in this community. We are not out of the crisis yet, and can- not be assured that cases won’t increase again next winter. We have post-exposure and preventive clinical trials about to start opening, and must work with our entire NOLA community to first, prepare to un- derstand the need for research in our com- munity to identify best countermeasures, and second, make the most informed deci- sions possible regarding trial enrollment.” Dr. Fusco, who serves as assistant profes- sor of medicine, adjunct assistant profes- sor of tropical medicine at Tulane Univer- sity School of Medicine, added, “We will not find best preventives without research, so our community needs to be informed of and engaged in this research to the abso- lute best of our ability.” “The leadership role of Dr. Kanter was invaluable, as was the collaboration among the physicians and faculty of our major healthcare systems and teaching institutions, including LSU, Tulane, Ochs- ner, LCMC, and the New Orleans Health Department. In fact, the clinical trials be- ing conducted by many of these Louisiana healthcare leaders are at the forefront of world research on the pandemic,” said Dr. Gershanik. “Those that volunteered their precious time to provide updates and guidance, and answer questions, were the warriors on the frontlines of this crisis.” “I am proud of how the physician com- munity of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes showed leadership in the face of this un- precedented challenge. I believe the uni- fied medical front exhibited during the early weeks of our COVID-19 outbreak provided a powerful amplification of pub- lic health messaging, and promoted re- silience to our patient community,” said Dr. Kanter. “In the weeks since, the New Orleans region has received accolades for flattening the curve in a manner few other areas have been able to accomplish, and I am thankful to the medical community for the role played in this.” n “I am proud of how the physician community of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes showed leadership in the faceof thisunprecedentedchallenge. I believe the unified medical front exhibited during the early weeks of our COVID-19 outbreak provided a powerful amplification of public health messaging, and promoted resilience to our patient community.”