Lafayette General Health System CEO David Callecod joined Jan Swift to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted our healthcare system and way of life. The bottom line is that progressing to Phase III of the pandemic, the full reopening of our economy, and returning to "normal" is totally dependent on our own individual and collective behavior changes: everyone must wear a mask, maintain social distance, wash their hands, and stay home if sick.

The reality is that for the next 18 months (and worst case scenario, the next 24 months), we will not going to be back to the life we experienced and enjoyed as "normal" before the pandemic closed down the U. S in March 2020. Moreover, some people will probably continue to wear masks from here on out, in a manner similar to Asian and European countries pattern, particularly if their immune system is compromised.

We all need to be diligent every day in making good choices as to how we work together and celebrate life as we wait for an effective vaccine to be developed. Callecod shared a telling story about a recent COVID outbreak affecting 18 anesthesiology residents and fellows of the University of Florida Health System following a private party on July 10; even with explicit warnings about private gatherings, these events continue to happen across the U. S., even among our most educated.

Locally, Callecod says it is "absolutely safe" to enter hospitals, as long as people make good choices in wearing a mask and following good hygiene procedures. Cleaning protocols are in place and the hospitals screen people before they enter.

When determining which hospital to bring trauma victims to, emergency medical responders and hospitals rely upon LERN, "Louisiana Emergency Response Network," a statewide system of care coordination that is utilized in the face of large scale emergencies such as COVID. LERN manages data on trauma cases throughout the state, and as long as LGH can handle the case with adequate staff, people will be brought to the main campus. Callecod stated, "As long as LGH can handle it from a staffing standpoint for the patient's particular situation, we'll take the patient."

There are currently over 100 COVID-19 patients at the main Lafayette General campus in the Oil Center, and they are separated from other patients in the facility. Elective procedures have been moved to other LGH campuses such as Lafayette General Orthopaedic Hospital and Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, in order to ensure that staff can take care of emergencies at the main campus which serves as the Level II Trauma Center for the region.

Staff shortages experienced by hospitals has been a hot topic in the news and Callecod explained what is different now from the early days of the pandemic. "On April 13 during the first peak of the pandemic cases, we didn't have a lot of community spread, so we didn't have a lot of workers out. With the peak today, with over 140 COVID patients throughout our entire system, a lot of workers are out sick. There aren't enough nurses and we have 86 employees system wide out today with COVID. Once they're back, they are fatigued and we have to be cautious with our shifts."

At the time of our interview, eight contract nurses had been recruited by LGH from outside of the region and were set to start work. The community spread of the disease is greatly impacting staffing capacity at all hospitals. Healthcare workers are in short supply as Lafayette General and other hospitals; as facilities increase ICU beds and add medical surge capacity needed to address the anticipated increased volume of patients, staffing needs will continue to grow. Typically the hospital could easily recruit out-of-state, but COVID's reach has dramatically affected the supply of available workers.