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Notre Dame Health System released a statement on a new isolation unit opened today for its residents who exhibit signs or have tested positive for coronavirus.
Notre Dame Health System opened today a newly refurbished isolation unit to house residents from any of its three residential facilities who are exhibiting symptoms or have been confirmed with COVID-19 diagnoses.
The stand-alone unit, which is completely separate from Wynhoven Health Care Center, is equipped to initially accommodate eight patients but can be expanded to 10 beds, if necessary.
A dedicated skilled nursing staff will care for patients in the unit. These staff members will work only at the isolation unit and not at any other Notre Dame Health System facility.
“We made the decision last week to open this isolation unit to help alleviate some of the overwhelming burden on the hospitals in the New Orleans area,” said Notre Dame Health System President and CEO Wayne Plaisance. “No one was prepared for this crisis, but we responded by making the investment into refurbishing this facility to care for our residents. Like many in the healthcare profession, we are in need of personal protection equipment (PPE), medical and cleaning supplies, to sufficiently operate the unit for the long-term.”
The system is accepting donations of surgical gloves, gowns, surgical masks, N95 respirator masks, hand sanitizers and sanitizing wipes. Anyone wanting to make a donation can email [email protected] to arrange for a pickup or drop off.
Plaisance explains that if a resident at any of their residential facilities presents fever or other symptoms of coronavirus, they will be transported to the isolation unit at Wynhoven for subsequent testing and care until test results are received. Currently, due to the demand on hospitals and lack of beds, people are being sent away after testing as they await results.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspected the facility March 27. According to Plaisance, the CDC officials hope to use the Wynhoven facility as a model for setting up similar isolation units in other parts of the country.