Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Weekly Update, April 13. 

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Weekly Update, April 13. 

The following was submitted by Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital:

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is providing a weekly update regarding activities and current happenings related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We encourage you to visit spectrumhealth.org for resources and information, including a dashboard updated daily with information about the number of people who have been tested across the Spectrum Health service area, the percent positive and negative, and the number hospitalized. The dashboard numbers are for the 16-county region served by Spectrum Health. Local information can be found on the District #10 Health Department web site at www.dhd10.org.

Below is the Spectrum Health COVID-19 dashboard, located at https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19, as of Wednesday, April 15, 2020:

Week of April 13, 2020:

COVID-19 positive cases. To date, as of Wednesday morning, April 15, there are three confirmed cases in Mason County, three in Oceana County, 10 in Manistee County, and two in Lake County. Confirmed cases and deaths will be reported through the District Health Department.  www.dhd10.org

COVID-19 testing process: The testing process for COVID-19 at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital involves 3 steps:

1. Screening:  Those who are having symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, and want potential testing through Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, should first call the free Spectrum Health screening hotline at 1.833.559.0659. For emergency symptoms, please call 9-1-1.
2. Specimen Collection: Those who call the Spectrum Health hotline and are screened by a medical provider and those who meet the criteria for testing, will be given an appointment at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital for a specimen collection. The collection is done via a swab of the nasal pharynx juncture (back of the nasal cavity). Specimens are ordered by a medical care professional, and no specimen collection is done without an order. Currently, specimen collection is conducted, by appointment, at the COVID-19 triage tent on the East side of Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital. We continue to monitor hours of operation to best serve the community. Because of low COVID-19 patient volumes, the tent is currently open two hours each day, seven days a week.
3. Testing:  Once a specimen is collected, it is tested. Testing capacity across the country has been increasing, but test supplies are still very limited. Therefore, testing criteria must be met before an order will be given for specimen collection. To date, Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has completed 105 swabs for tests. If a test comes back positive, notification is provided and instructions given on what to do. Follow up by District Health Department #10 is made to discuss recent contacts so they can be made aware of potential exposure.

Screening Hotlines:  Several health care systems have screening hotlines. If a patient wants to have his or her specimen collection and test through Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, they must call the Spectrum Health screening hotline number. The screening is free of charge. Not everyone is eligible for a test, even if he or she has symptoms of COVID-19. CDC criteria are in place nationwide to prioritize patients based on highest risk and greatest need given the limited testing supplies available.

Non-urgent appointments and procedures. We have extended canceling all non-urgent appointments and procedures through April 27. This is to preserve PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) and minimize exposure of COVID-19. However, in certain very limited cases, where patient outcome would be detrimental if a procedure or surgery is delayed, those procedures will be scheduled, with all precautions taken to protect patients and staff from exposure.

COVID-19 surge planning. Work continues on surge planning, both internally within the hospital and externally within the community. This includes several area agencies, nonprofits, local hospital personnel and logistics coordinated throughout Spectrum Health and across other health care organizations.

COVID-19 Resources and Tools for Area Employers: Spectrum Health has developed a comprehensive resources page for area employers and businesses. It includes a symptom checker that employers can use to screen employees for fitness to work before each shift. That information can be found at https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/employer-resources 

COVID-19 In Our Communities: Video Resources for Your Organization and Networks. To ensure we’re reaching as many audiences as possible, we developed the COVID-19 In Our Communities video series. The goal is to provide trusted information to our partners and community members, to help keep everyone safe and healthy.

You may watch the full videos and excerpts from the videos here: https://vimeo.com/channels/covid19inourcommunities 

Personal Protective Equipment: N95 masks and other PPE continue to be collected at the short-term Goodwill drop off-site. It was previously announced that this site had closed to donations, but that was in error. This week we gratefully received a donation of over 700 N95 masks from Emerson Manufacturing. Supply shortages continue for PPE, so preserving our existing supply is vital. Spectrum Health will be purchasing a UV light system with shown efficacy for disinfecting PPE for safe re-use. The Spectrum Health Foundation is working with a local donor on a gift that would help underwrite the cost of this equipment.

Safe Harbor Credit Union. This week Safe Harbor Credit Union made a donation of $5,000 for the purpose of directly supporting Ludington Hospital employees. We thank Safe Harbor for this incredible show of support for our team members.

Hospital medical staff support the team. Our area physicians have come together to purchase staff meals every Tuesday for the next several weeks. This is a wonderful gesture by our medical staff and much appreciated by all team members. 

Philanthropy continues to play a pivotal role. Spectrum Health has focused all efforts on addressing the COVID-19 crisis. The safety and health of our patients and team members is the number one priority. Philanthropy has played and will continue to play a vital role in keeping our hospital strong and thriving. The COVID-19 fund remains open for monetary.

We thank our community for the strong support. Together, we will get through this.