Federal assistance team arrives at Louisiana hospital to help cope with influx of Covid-19 patients

Notre-Dame du Lac in Baton Rouge said that on average an infected patient is admitted every hour. The hospital was treating 155 Covid-19 patients, about a third of whom were in intensive care units, according to a hospital statement.

The 988-bed hospital says the vast majority of their Covid-19 patients are unvaccinated and are seeing a “rapid influx” of patients under the age of 50. The hospital has already suspended the admission of non-emergency patients to preserve resources for Covid -19 patients.

According to Our Lady of the Lake spokesperson Ryan Cross, the DMAT team consists of two doctors, three mid-level providers, seven nurses, 11 paramedics, a respiratory therapist, two pharmacists, a mental health specialist. and six administrative support specialists.

“Their team will be there for a month and will allow us to open six more [Covid-19] intensive care beds and provide clinical assistance to our [Covid-19] units, ”Cross said in an email.

Cross said the hospital has sent staff requests to the state government and the federal government.

The hospital requested 106 registered nurses, 17 certified practical nurses, 17 office workers and 17 respiratory therapists from the state, Cross said.

The state’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 residents is 1.7, the third highest in the country, with Nevada the highest and Arkansas the second, according to data released Friday.

Over the past week, Louisiana recorded 3.8% of total Covid-19 cases in the United States despite only 1.4% of the national population, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.