Packed with virus patients, Louisiana hospitals await Ida

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana hospitals already packed with patients from the latest coronavirus surge are present bracing for a almighty Category 4 hurricane, which is expected to clang ashore Sunday.

“Once again we find ourselves dealing with a earthy catastrophe successful the midst of a pandemic,” said Jennifer Avegno, the apical wellness authoritative for New Orleans. She called connected residents to “prepare for both.”

Hurricane Ida is forecast to slam into the authorities precocious Sunday on the Louisiana coast. It is expected to beryllium astatine Category 4 spot astatine landfall with fierce winds up to 130 mph (209 kph). The tempest comes arsenic hospitals and their intensive attraction units are already filled with patients from the 4th surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, this 1 sparked by the highly contagious delta variant and debased vaccination rates statewide.

Daily tallies of caller cases went from a fewer 100 a time done overmuch of the outpouring and aboriginal summertime to thousands a time by precocious July. Statewide, hospitalizations had peaked astatine astir 2,000 oregon little successful 3 erstwhile surges. But that fig peaked astatine much than 3,000 successful August. The fig reported Saturday was adjacent 2,700, inactive precocious capable to accent hospitals.

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Gov. John Bel Edwards said evacuation of hospitals successful threatened areas is thing that would usually beryllium considered nether different scenarios, but it’s impractical arsenic COVID-19 patients capable beds successful Louisiana and elsewhere.

“That isn’t possible. We don’t person immoderate spot to bring those patients. Not successful state, not retired of state,” Edwards explained.

Officials astatine Ochsner Health, which runs the largest infirmary web successful the state, said Saturday that they considered evacuating immoderate of their facilities person to the seashore but that wasn't imaginable considering however packed different hospitals are successful their network. Roughly 15 of their hospitals are successful areas perchance affected by Ida. But they did evacuate immoderate idiosyncratic patients with peculiar aesculapian needs from smaller hospitals successful much agrarian areas to their larger facilities.

“COVID has surely added a situation to this storm,” said Mike Hulefeld, enforcement vice president and main operating serviceman of Ochsner Health.

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But the infirmary concatenation says successful different ways it feels arsenic prepared arsenic it tin be. Hulefeld said 3 days agone they ordered 10 days worthy of supplies for facilities successful areas that mightiness beryllium affected by Ida and everything has arrived. Each installation has backup powerfulness that's been tested and a backup substance motortruck connected site. Many of their hospitals besides person h2o wells should metropolis h2o spell out.

“We’re arsenic acceptable arsenic we tin be,” said Hulefeld.

Jeff Elder, a doc who is besides the aesculapian manager for exigency absorption astatine LCMC Health, said that the system’s six hospitals volition spell into lockdown mode Sunday morning. The unit who were going to enactment astatine the hospitals for the duration of the tempest were coming successful Saturday and Sunday greeting and would slumber astatine the hospital.

Elder said 1 of the archetypal things their hospitals bash erstwhile storms travel successful is discharge immoderate patients who are capable to leave. However, their diligent load is higher than accustomed due to the fact that of the pandemic truthful they’re not capable to trim by that much. But helium said the hospitals successful the strategy are overmuch much robust since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

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“We’ve learned a batch since 2005,” helium said. Key pieces of infrastructure are present raised to support them retired of flooding. For example, astatine University Medical Center successful New Orleans, which was built aft Katrina, the generator is raised, diesel supplies are protected and the archetypal level doesn’t person indispensable services truthful adjacent if flood waters get that precocious thing indispensable is lost.

All of the hospitals successful the strategy person generator backup power, Elder said. He besides stressed that connection is present overmuch amended betwixt hospitals successful the infirmary strategy arsenic good arsenic with assorted levels of government.

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Follow Santana connected Twitter @ruskygal.

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