August 30, 2021 – Hurricane Ida slammed into southern Louisiana on Sunday, adding more stress to hospitals and their intensive care units which were already filled with patients from the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked by the highly contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates across Louisiana.
Federal healthcare teams — which were already responding to the COVID-19 surge in Louisiana and Mississippi — will assist in that effort, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
Louisiana state officials said the state would focus on making sure hospitals have enough water and generator power to keep up with vital patient needs – like working ventilators.
Ochsner Health, one of Louisiana’s largest hospital systems, told NPR that two of its facilities will need to evacuate roughly 60 patients after experiencing flooding, roof damage and generator failures.
All patients at Ochsner St. Anne Hospital (Raceland, LA) and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center (Houma, LA) were evacuated to other facilities.
According to local CBS affiliate 4WWL, the worst of the damage was at the St. Anne facility, where the roof was damaged and a section above an elevator blew out, rendering that elevator unusable, local news reported. System-wide, Ochsner Health reports roof damage and water leaks at several of its facilities.
Beyond the damage done to facilities in hard-hit areas, the states will also experience a reduction in their ability to quickly identify new cases. In Mississippi, all testing and vaccination sites run by the state health department were closed on Monday. Those in central and southern counties will remain closed Tuesday and possibly longer, the department said.
The Louisiana Department of Health closed its community-based testing and vaccine sites early on Friday, with no further information posted about reopening. It also said it would be pausing its COVID-19 case and vaccination reporting on Monday due to the storm.
According to NPR only 40.6% of Louisiana’s population has been fully vaccinated, and 48.9% has had at least one dose, as of Aug. 26. Regardless, the CDC advised people in public shelters to practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and follow other shelter policies to mitigate risk.