Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Bi-Weekly Update, July 28, 2020.

Drew Dostal

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Bi-Weekly Update, July 28, 2020.

LUDINGTON — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital provides a bi-weekly community update regarding activities and current information. Some content will be related to the COVID-19 pandemic as new information becomes available or changes occur. Other content will be general information related to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital.

For the latest COVID-19 information, visit spectrumhealth.org/covid-19. The dashboard below reflects the 16-county region served by Spectrum Health. Local information can be found on the District Health Department #10 web site at www.dhd10.org.

As of Monday, Aug. 10, 2020:

COVID-19 positive cases. There have been 92 confirmed cases in Mason County, 454 in Oceana County, 34 in Manistee County and 21 in Lake County. Confirmed cases will be reported through the District Health Department. There have been 6,492 specimens collected at Ludington Hospital, with 1,799 of those tested in the Ludington Hospital laboratory and the remainder tested at the Spectrum Health laboratory in Grand Rapids. Of those tested, 289 have had a positive result through August 8, 2020, indicating a 4.45% positive rate.

New Northwest Regional Market Leader. Drew Dostal, new Ludington Hospital president and Northwest regional market leader, began his new role on August 3. Drew has responsibility for Ludington Hospital, Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, the Spectrum Health Integrated Care Clinic in North Muskegon and all Spectrum Health associated clinics in Mason, Oceana, Newaygo and Muskegon counties. Drew has returned to the area after he and his wife, Dena, spent several years in the western part of the U.S., where Drew most recently served as CEO of Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis, New Mexico.

Visitor update. All non-COVID adult inpatients may now have two adult visitors at a time. These two visitors must be the same two people throughout a patient’s stay. For patients hospitalized with COVID-19, virtual visits are allowed. For adult patients in the emergency department, one visitor or guest is allowed. Thank you for planning ahead to comply with these new visitor policies. We are working hard to keep our patients, visitors and team members safe. 

Walk-In clinic relocated. The Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Walk-In Clinic has moved to 922 Lawndale Avenue in Ludington, located within the Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Family Medicine Clinic. This is a permanent location change for the walk-in clinic. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Evening and Saturday hours will start again soon. 

New cardiologist in Ludington. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has a new cardiologist. Dennis Besley, MD will be located on the third floor of the Medical Office Building at 7 Atkinson Drive, Suite 302 in Ludington. He received his medical degree from the Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine at University of Illinois in Chicago and completed a cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Besley is board certified in internal medicine and in cardiology and most recently worked at Spectrum Health in the Meijer Heart and Vascular Center in Grand Rapids. He is familiar with Ludington after working on a rotation basis with Ludington Hospital’s specialty clinic providing both in-person and telemedicine cardiovascular consults. Dr. Besley is available for outpatient cardiology appointments. Call 231.845.2161.

COVID-19 testing. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is conducting COVID-19 testing at the north side of the hospital campus. Testing is available seven days a week between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. with patients staying in their vehicles. An appointment is required. Please visit this link for directions on calling the COVID-19 hotline or scheduling an appointment from your MyHealth account, which is now accessed through MyChart in the Spectrum Health app: https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/myhealth-screening.

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Cancer Center providers. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, our cancer center has remained open and serving patients. Dr. Pritesh Lohar and Kodi Bone, PA-C, are the medical care providers at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Cancer Center. Dr. Lohar received his medical degree from Baroda Medical College in Vadodara, India. He completed his Internal Medicine residency followed by a hematology/oncology fellowship from State University New York in Syracuse, NY. He is board certified in internal medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Lohar has moved to Ludington and is a full-time resident here.

Kodi Bone, PA-C, is a certified physician assistant. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska, graduating with a master’s degree of Physician Assistant Studies in 2008. She served in the United States Air Force first as a medical technician and then, after finishing her degree, as a physician assistant stationed at various locations throughout the United States and abroad. She is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Both providers are welcoming patients at the Ludington Hospital Cancer Center.

Laboratory hours have changed: The Ludington Hospital laboratory has expanded its hours to better accommodate patients. Outpatient testing is now available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. We ask all patients to please plan lab testing within these hours.

TOAST challenge. Join SHLH for a virtual toast to our health care teams, patients and community members throughout the month of August. Champagne. Milk. Ice cream. Coffee. Wine. Water. Black Tie attire at the beach. At the breakfast table eating avocado toast. You name it. Get creative—there will be a prize for the most creative toast.

1.            Post your toast video online using the hashtag #SHToastChallenge

2.            Tag others and challenge them to toast!

3.            Donate to support Win with Wellness community benefit programs at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital  https://give.spectrumhealth.org/toastchallenge

Challenge others and donate to the Spectrum Health Foundation Ludington Hospital to help us address health disparities in our own community.

Virtual waiting rooms. Spectrum Health has begun an initiative to reduce the number of people in waiting rooms in the hospital and in our primary and specialty care clinics. This effort will help keep patients safer and promote greater social distancing. Patients will call or text their locations upon arrival and complete a virtual check-in using their phone. Patients will remain in their vehicle until they are contacted to enter the building. Our virtual waiting room process will be rolled out across Spectrum Health in phases with most locations ready by the end of August.

Wear. Wait. Wash. Wearing a face mask when out in public, waiting at least 6 feet away from others and washing your hands will help keep everyone safer and help stop the spread of COVID-19. Thank you for doing your part.