HJNO Sep/Oct 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  SEP / OCT 2020 21 strongly encourage everyone to get a flu shot to help mitigate the potential impact of flu season. Heaton & Masterton  Yes, in fact, the summer months have given us time to plan, evaluate par levels, and disseminate the latest research onmedical therapies for COVID 19.Addition- ally, flu spreads like COVID-19, so we hope the social distancing and masking reduce the infectivity this year. Lastly, the value of a vaccine has become something much more easily understood, and I believe many in the community will now take their annual flu shot. Mauldin  We started last month with new planning meetings and table top exercises to prepare for this possibility. We’re also working with our HCA Healthcare partners to ensure adequate PPE supplies, testing resources, and staffing. What is the biggest overall challenge for healthcare in New Orleans? Hart  Our challenge, which was widely dis- cussed this spring, is that our population faces many chronic health issues. Hyperten- sion, obesity, COPD, diabetes, cancer, and kid- ney disease are very prevalent, and we know that people with comorbidities are at higher risk for complications, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19. For the first time, health is being discussed every day, and on every news broadcast. I hope this can be an opportunity for people to make their health a priority. We are committed to helping them, and being part of the solution to improve the health of this state, and spark new interest in every individual to work toward being healthier. Heaton & Masterton  The availability of healthcare workers is the biggest overall chal- lenge the healthcare landscape faces. It is a truly heroic profession, and I hope the stories of saving lives andmaking a difference draws more people into the profession of using their scientific talents in the service of others. Regarding staffing, LCMC Health, early in the pandemic, and after outpatient surgical services were temporarily halted, managed to redeploy healthcare workers fromhospital to hospital, easing the strain on staff working on the front lines of patient care. An example of this was the many nurses from Children’s Hospital who volunteered to step away from their area of comfort and healthcare special- ties to work in adult hospital units to treat patients with COVID-19. Two other areas of growth and meeting patients’ needs: • The incredible rise in telehealth across the LCMC Health system, starting with Children’s Hospital, and spreading throughout our five-hospital system. • LCMC Health formed a Nurse Health Hotline to answer the communi- ty’s calls regarding return-to-work screenings, guidance with health con- cerns, and assistance with finding care. Another important aspect of the hot- line is the home monitoring program for individuals who have tested posi- tive for COVID-19. The patients register through the LCMCHealth Patient Portal, and complete a daily symptom tracker online. If any symptoms reported by a patient trigger an alert, a hotline nurse will contact the patient to discuss symp- toms, and connect the patient with a physician, if necessary. Mauldin  One of the biggest challenges we all face is simply convincing people to protect themselves and others by taking the simple steps of wearing masks, social distancing, and frequently washing their hands. From my anecdotal experience, New Orleanians have done a fairly good job, which has been reflected in the reduced COVID activity in Orleans Parish. I hope the message is get- ting through to the rest of the state too, or we’ll quickly be back where we were inMarch and April. New Orleans is also greatly affected by socioeconomic determinants of health. In my opinion, this affects the overall popula- tion the most, as it influences every area of healthcare and population health. NewOrleans is also blessed to be the home of an incredible teamof healthcare providers, workers, researchers, and institutions. We’ll compete where we should—that’s a good thing, as it spurs improvement and innova- tion. But as we’ve shown this year, we’ll also collaborate where we should, and that’s a good thing too. n