HJBR May/Jun 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE  I  MAY / JUN 2020 39 Stewart T. Gordon, MD, FAAP Chief Medical Officer, Medical Affairs Louisiana Healthcare Connections cial distancing. One of those states was ours, where Governor John Bel Edwards, at the 2020 Health Equity Summit in Baton Rouge on March 3, encouraged attendees to join his administration in promoting NPIs. He noted, “It’s no longer a matter of ‘if’Louisiana will see this virus; it’s a matter of ‘when.’” The governor was right – the state re- corded its first case days later. By March 31, there were 5,237 cases and 239 deaths. Less than a third of the hospital beds in the New Orleans region, and only 50 percent of the remaining hospital beds in the state, were available for new patients. Then and Now In June 2019, mere months before the world became aware of COVID-19, CDC researchers, in “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Re- construction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus,” described what would happen if such a pandemic struck today. They wrote, “If a severe pandemic, such as occurred in 1918, happened today, it would still likely overwhelmhealth care in- frastructure, both in the United States and across the world,” and predicted shortages of healthcare personnel and a need for in- creased production of equipment, such as ventilators. Now, with nations around the globe ac- tively battling the COVID-19 pandemic, those predictions are ringing true. But in Louisiana, we are also working collabo- ratively and aggressively to address those challenges. Retired nurses and physicians are re- turning to their fields to fill the shortage of trained medical workers. Louisiana physicians are sharing data with their counterparts nationwide. Hospitals are implementing innovative tactics to stretch available resources. Convention centers are serving as hos- pital overflow areas. State parks are serv- ing as coronavirus isolation zones. In New Orleans, a hotel is housing many of the city’s homeless as local officials work pro- actively to prevent the virus from sweep- ing through one of Louisiana’s most at-risk populations. Employers’ work-from-home policies are supporting social distancing guide- lines. School districts are working with parents to provide the tools necessary for education at home, including offering meals to children. State leaders areworking collaboratively with the federal government to access ad- ditional resources, while municipal leaders work collaboratively with community or- ganizations to address gaps in healthcare and social determinants of health. Louisiana Strong In a state that is no stranger to disas- ter, we tend to take stock and take action. We did it after Hurricane Katrina, we did it after the Great Flood of 2016, and we are doing it now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no denying the challenges in reversing the virus’s spread, but there is also no denying the resilient spirit of Louisiana’s leaders, healthcare profes- sionals, and residents. The strength, col- laboration, and innovation our state has demonstrated throughout this pandemic gives us courage for what comes next: the recovery. n Sources 1. “The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Why It Matters 100 Years Later.” CDC, Public Health Matters Blog. May 14, 2018. 2. “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pan- demic Virus.” Douglas Jordan with contributions from Dr. Terrence Tumpey and Barbara Jester. CDC. 3. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. John M. Barry. Viking Press. 2004. 4. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health. 5. “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.” Nature Medicine, www.nature.com/naturemedicine