Ochsner Health answers about their current status in meeting the demand for COVID-19 patients. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Northwest Louisiana is now home to what will be one of the most prolific COVID-19 testing labs in the region thanks to LSU Health Shreveport. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Officials with Ochsner says they are treating 271 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and nearly 300 more patients who potentially have the virus. Ochsner Chief Medical Officer Doctor Robert Hart says they are redeploying some of their personnel
Hart says they do have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment right now but they have asked staff to use them conservatively.
Ochsner CEO Warner Thomas says not only are they seeing more COVID-19 patients but their stay in the hospital is more extended.
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LSU Health Shreveport opens a COVID-19 test processing lab that at peak capacity will be able to process 1,000 tests a day with a turnaround of only 24-48 hours.
Pathology Professor Dr. Chris Kevil says the lab is vital because one of the key ways to combat coronavirus is to test, test, test…
The lab will not gather samples on-site, it has samples shipped to them from other locations.
Chief Innovation Officer Drew Mouton says two weeks ago they drew up plans for a facility that uses viral RNA extraction to generate tests that are among the most accurate in the world.
The center estimates it will be about another two weeks before they’re at peak capacity, but they should be testing hundreds of samples by the end of the week.
Mouton says the team has been pulling 18 to 20-hour days to get the facility online, and…
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Schools have been shut down for a week and a half and will remain that way through at least April 13. Governor John Bel Edwards says they are looking at different options on when kids could go back to school, but for the time being
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Many parents are wondering if their child will be able to advance to the next grade level or graduate from high school if classes do not resume or if the school calendar is shortened. Edwards says the department of education is developing a plan…
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The federal government has already granted the state’s request to suspend end-of-year testing and school and district performance scores. The governor says it’s upsetting that kids are not in school, but keeping children at home will help slow the spread of the coronavirus
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The White House and Senate leaders have agreed on a two-trillion dollar emergency funding bill that will provide cash to most Americans. Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves says the legislation calls for adults who make less than $75k annually to receive $1,200 check and each child will receive $500.
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Married couples with a household income under $150,000 will receive $2,400.
The money has various allocations for the Small Business Administration and bailouts for various industries with a total price tag of $2 trillion. Graves says it is deficit spending that results in the tab being picked up by future generations.
This particular legislation only calls for a one-time payment to citizens, but Graves says he isn’t ruling out the possibility of another payment in the future..