Registered nurse Haley Briggs administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Timothy Haman at Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital. (Donna Price)

By John Guidroz

The latest uptick in new COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations has nurses and physicians once again overwhelmed and stressed, Dr. Timothy Haman, chief medical officer at Christus Ochsner Health Southwestern Louisiana and an infectious disease specialist, said Monday.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported Monday that 159 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Region 5, which includes the five-parish area of Southwest Louisiana. Looking at the week of July 17, 22 patients in the region were hospitalized with COVID-19.

“We’re doing what we can,” Haman said. “A lot of us felt like we were seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in May, June, when vaccines were rolling out. I think this is going to be a painful week for us, locally.”

The speed at which COVID-19 hospitalizations are increasing is surreal, Haman said.

“In the last probably two weeks, we’ve gone from having one segment of one unit dedicated to COVID-19,” he said. “Now, one of our three units is entirely dedicated to new COVID-19 cases.”

Haman is over both Christus Ochsner Lake Area Hospital and Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital. Any COVID-19 positive patients are taken to St. Patrick Hospital in an attempt to keep Lake Area COVID-free, he said.

Haman said the hospitals are still trying to provide non-COVID-19 care, such as surgeries and emergency services. The Louisiana Department of Health reported 66 intensive care unit beds in use throughout Region 5, with only eight available.

“Our biggest focus is not losing track of everything we do as a hospital,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure we keep beds open, despite everything we’re dealing with related to COVID-19.”

Haman said anywhere from seven to 10 smaller hospitals in the region call Christus daily asking if they can transfer patients that need specialty care they can’t provide. Despite the uptick in COVID-19 cases, Haman said the hospital continues to take patient transfers from smaller hospitals.

Despite the added stress of seeing a growing number of COVID-19 positive patients, Haman said the staff at the hospitals are dedicated to helping provide patients with the care they need.

“It’s hard, but I think they’re doing well for the most part,” he said. “It’s discouraging to be right back where we were last year. The nurses that work in the COVID-19 unit have seen so many people die.”

Haman said he remains optimistic that the rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases could have just as rapid of a decline.

“Maybe we will see a fairly quick downtrend,” he said.

Anyone with questions about the COVID-19 vaccines should talk to their doctor, Haman said. Haman was one of six front-line workers at Christus St. Patrick Hospital to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine last December as part of an initial test run.

“Our medical community is very strong,” he said. “Talk to people who actually have real information, and don’t rely on something found on Facebook that is unverified. At this point, I bet a lot of people who lived through this and ended up in the hospital would probably say they would get the vaccine. That’s what we hear a lot from people who are (hospitalized) and not vaccinated.”