Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Bi-Weekly Update, Aug. 25, 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, August 24, 2020:

COVID-19 positive cases. There have been 101 confirmed cases in Mason County, 471 in Oceana County, 41 in Manistee County and 28 in Lake County. Confirmed cases will be reported through the District Health Department. There have been 7,726 specimens collected at Ludington Hospital, with 2,010 of those tested in the Ludington Hospital laboratory and the remainder tested at the Spectrum Health laboratory in Grand Rapids. Of those tested, 306 have had a positive result through August 21, 2020, indicating a 3.96% positive rate. This is the first time we have seen a lower than 4% positive rate in several months. Spectrum Health continues to process between 4,000 to 5,000 COVID-19 tests each day, with turnaround time between 24 and 72 hours.

COVID-19 testing. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is setting up a more permanent outpatient drive-through COVID-19 swabbing location in the southwest parking lot of the hospital campus, close to the City of Ludington electronic sign. The current swabbing site is on the north side of the hospital off Lawndale Street and is available seven days a week between 1 to 5 p.m. 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. 

Wear. Wait. Wash. Spectrum Health is continuing to promote its Wear/Wait/Wash campaign asking visitors to wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart, and wash their hands often to promote good public health. Several community residents are participating by telling why they believe it’s important to wear a mask.

Culinary Medicine program to begin soon. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has partnered with District Health Department #10 and Lifestyle Medicine at Spectrum Health to bring virtual culinary medicine to Spectrum Health’s northwest region. Beginning September 22, two sessions of culinary medicine programming will be available to residents of Mason and Oceana counties, focusing on the powerful influence food has on health.

The first session of classes will be held September 22, September 29, October 6 and October 13. The second session will be October 20, October 27, November 3, and November 10. Each class is two hours in length, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The fee is $25 per session, which includes all four classes and food needed for each class. The two sessions feature identical programming and recipes. Only 20 seats are available per session, for a total of 40 seats. To register, email your name and the session start date you’d like to: Culinary.Medicine@SpectrumHealth.org. For information or questions, please call 231.845.2222.

Dr. Dennis Besley

New cardiologist in Ludington. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has a new cardiologist. Dennis Besley, MD, will be located at 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 cardiology, and most recently worked at Spectrum Health in the Fred and Lena Meijer Heart 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.

TOAST videos. This week, several local businesses and residents posted TOAST videos. We thank our friends at West Shore Bank, Floracraft and the city of Ludington, as well as Brad Reed, Kathy Maclean, the Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital nursing leadership team, Dean Raven, and Jeremy and Laura Holmes. The TOAST challenge helps to raise funds for the hospital’s Win With Wellness community benefit programs, including our work in fourteen area schools.

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.