
Opelousas General Health System continues to monitor the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak closely to ensure our community's preparedness. Please know we are committed to caring for our patients and ensuring we respond to the healthcare needs of our community.
If you develop fever, cough and/or shortness of breath, and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, Call your primary care doctor. If you don’t have one, please call Opelousas General Health System at (337) 948-3011.
Opelousas General Health System is now providing a call center for answering COVID-19 questions. Callers can also be screened through this call center for possible testing via our drive-thru testing area. Testing will be conducted by appointment only through our call center to abide by our social distancing policy.
Please call to determine if you meet criteria for testing. Only those who have been screened and scheduled are allowed to come to the screening station. We ask that you please have your Government Issued Identification & Insurance Information with you upon arrival. Call 1-337-678-4705.
Due to the significant increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Acadiana region, Opelousas General Health System will be returning to a No Visitor Policy. For the continued safety of our staff, patients, and providers, visitors will not be allowed into our facilities. We encourage families to use alternate means of communication such as FaceTime, Skype, or other telecommunications services.
Beginning July 3, 2020 at 6:00pm CST, NO VISITORS will be allowed - except for the following circumstances:
All essential visitors must be screened for COVID-19, be asymptomatic, and wear a mask at all times (children under age 2 are exempt from wearing a mask). Visitors refusing to wear a mask or wear the mask appropriately (per CDC guidelines) while within any building on an OGHS campus will be required to leave the building.
COVID-19 CONVALESCENT PLASMA DONATIONS
Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients can be used to help treat critically ill patients. If you have had a documented diagnosis of COVID-19 by a molecular PCR test and are now recovered and asymptomatic, please call 337 943-7180 to find out if you qualify as a donor. To learn more, visit http://www.lifeshare.org/faqs
The American Hospital Association has launched a "Protect the Heroes" campaign which allows the general public to make direct impact donations to America's hospitals/health systems. Every dollar raised from Protect the Heroes goes directly to the donor’s choice of local hospital to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and other support for their local healthcare workers to fight COVID-19.
Visit www.protecttheheroes.org to be connected to a local hospital and contribute to hospital emergency relief funds. Each hospital will determine where funds should be applied.
Children's Resources:
CDC Resources:
Community Resources:
As our community transitions to Phase 1 of Reopening, it is important to follow any and all guidelines established, including wearing masks in public settings. In an effort to ensure masks continue to be available to healthcare workers, we must make all efforts to conserve our supply. Please follow the guidelines below for mask use and re-use.
The Wound Treatment Center at Opelousas General Health System is the only facility in the state of Louisiana, and one of only a handful in the country that uses Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to prevent mechanical ventilation.
Dr. Kerry Thibodeaux, FACS, CWSP, FAPWCA, initiated HBOT early on as a successful means of treatment. “It differs from ventilator treatment because it doubles the atmospheric pressure, thus doubling the amount of oxygen that enters the lungs and the blood stream. Oxygen binds to red blood cells, and is delivered throughout the body, but when it is received in the body under pressure, it also dissolves in the plasma, which greatly increases the oxygen level in the blood stream. This allows cells to work normally, crucially boosting the anti-inflammatory response which helps the patients lungs recover greatly benefiting the healing process,” he explained.
The video link below features Dr. Thibodeaux in a television interview with KALB in Alexandria and further explains the treatment procedure of HBOT.
Dr. Thibodeaux continues to educate medical executives throughout the country and the world about HBOT for COVID-19 patients. Recently, he served as faculty in a webinar, entitled “Evidence Review for HBO2 Treatment of Covid-19” along with Marcus Speyrer, RN, CWS, DAPWCA, Chief Operating Officer of The Wound Treatment Center for the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society, which is the United States governing body for Hyperbarics. Dr. Thibodeaux shared data from previously treated patients, while Speyrer shared best practices for infection control and transporting patients. Faculty from Australia, Sweden, Italy and Australia were also in attendance.
This video highlights the work that Dr. Kerry Thibodeaux is doing regarding treatment for COVID-19 patients. https://youtu.be/jG2LBW4mpNk
To Re-Don Mask