Dr. Loren Hamel, President of Spectrum Health Lakeland convened a press conference at noon today to address the COVID-19 outbreak around the world. While he had some very sobering statistics, he also reports that Berrien County still has not experienced a single case of the coronavirus to date, and he’s hopeful that everyone will continue to do their part in helping keep the community safe.
Hamel says that experts are predicting somewhere between 500,000 and 9.6-million cases in the U.S., and warns, “If that is accurate, we may run out of hospital beds, ICU beds, ventilators, and critical supplies.”
Hamel was joined today at the press conference by several colleagues including:
- Natalie Baggio — Vice President of Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Executive
- John Froggatt, MD — Vice President of Medical Affairs
- Lowell Hamel, MD — Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Chief Clinical Officer
- Debra Johnson, RN, BSN — Assistant Vice President of Love & Respect & Chief Experience Officer
- Kendall Troyer — Vice President, Organizational Excellence & Quality
Hamel says, “At Spectrum Health Lakeland, we live by a mission to improve health, inspire hope, and save lives. But never has that mission been more of a motivating force and guiding light than it is today, as we face times that are both uncertain and unprecedented. The safety of our friends, neighbors, and clinical team has always been a top priority for us. It continues to be our top priority, so we have taken steps to protect our clinical staff and patients.”
Hamel says that by the end of the day, today, there will be more than 175,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with about 7,000 deaths globally. There are more than 3,700 cases in the US with 15 confirmed cases in Indiana and 53 confirmed cases in Michigan.
He wants everyone to know that there is a lot of information, and a lot of disinformation about the novel coronavirus or COVID-19.
Many have compared it to the Spanish Pandemic Influenza of 1918. That comparison is difficult, because:
- None of us were there…
- The numbers commonly quoted (overall incidence, reproduction number, case fatality rate) are mostly good “guesses”…
- The world was very different place (travel, events, hygiene)…
However, the infectivity or transmissibility and the mortality rate appear to be somewhat similar. And neither could be prevented with a vaccine, or specifically treated.
It makes little sense to compare COVID-19 to the seasonal flu, because unlike seasonal flu, COVID-19:
- Cannot be prevented, or effectively treated with antivirals…
- Person to person transmission is more likely and can occur over a longer period of time, and…
- Is more likely to be fatal.
COVID-19 is:
- Much less likely to make children very sick and extremely unlikely to kill them…
- It is much more likely to kill older adults, especially those that have chronic medical conditions…
- And when COVID-19 kills, it does so much more slowly, requiring much more critical care and ventilator treatment…
Somewhat reassuring about COVID-19:
- Not everybody gets sick,
- Not everybody that gets sick, gets very sick
- Children least likely to get sick, least likely to get very sick, and extremely unlikely to die
Somewhat alarming about COVID-19:
- There is no vaccine, to specific treatment or cure, and not enough diagnostic tests…
- Each infected individual infects 2 to 3 others before they recover…
- Experts are predicting somewhere between 500,000 and 9.6 million cases in the US…
- If that is accurate, we may run out of hospital beds, ICU beds, ventilators, and critical supplies…
- The current case fatal rate varies between 1% to 7% and averages around 4% across the world…
- That translates into a prediction of somewhere between 20,000 and 4 million deaths in the United States…
What are the State and Federal Government Doing?
Government actions and CDC recommendations are changing every day. It is imperative that community members stay informed and follow the latest guidelines. As you know, there is currently the States of Michigan and Indiana have declared States of Emergency as has the federal government. That frees up additional resources, and comes with additional rules and regulations. We are in continuous contact with elected officials at both the state and federal level. We are committed to do even more than is required to keep our community members safe.
Here are the links to the most valuable resources:
State of Michigan response: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services hotline: 888.535.6136
John Hopkins Coronavirus map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus
Travel guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers
National state of emergency:
What are Lakeland and Spectrum Health doing?
Hamel says, “At Spectrum Health Lakeland, we are taking the Coronavirus situation seriously and doing everything we can to keep everyone safe. Our goal is to reduce the transmission of Coronavirus and be prepared as we possibly can be to serve patients if they get sick enough to require a stay in one of our hospitals.”
He adds, “We have hundreds of team members working 24 hours a day, seven days each week right now on this effort. Spectrum Health system is committed to providing resources for our community members and has expediently launched several options.”
Those include:
- Chatbot screening tool: People can get real-time virtual answers to general COVID-19 questions using the chatbot on http://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19
- Free virtual screening: If people in Michigan have COVID-19 symptoms such as fever and cough with or without difficulty breathing, they can schedule a free virtual screening by calling 616.391.2380. If they have severe or life-threatening symptoms, they should call 911.
For more information, cancellations, and resources, visit spectrumhealthlakeland.org/covid19
Hamel addressed the testing conundrum, saying, “We know that everyone is concerned about the availability of COVID-19 tests. The criteria to receive those tests have been controlled by the state and federal government, and many feel the criteria have been too restrictive, and everyone feels it has taken too long to get results back. By the middle of next week, we should have the availability to perform our own tests at Spectrum Health.”
Hamel went on to explain: “We are launching a drive-up COVID-19 specimen collection center at the Center for Outpatient Services at 3900 Hollywood Road in St. Joseph, to enable fast, efficient and safe collection for testing,” however, he cautioned, “It is important for community members and people who are worried about COVID-19 to understand that we may collect specimens only from individuals who have a physician’s order. It is not a drive-up site for screening, testing or on-demand specimen collection. During the specimen collection, individuals will stay in their car for the entire process while medical personnel wearing protective gear swab inside the nose. This center decreases potential risk of exposure and reduces impact on urgent care, emergency rooms, and primary care offices.”
What can you do?
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director, if it looks like you are overreacting, you probably are doing the right thing: “I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.” (Meet the Press, NBC)
Here are key behaviors to keep safe:
- Know the symptoms of COVID-19 (gradual onset of fever, dry or productive cough, shortness of breath, fatigue)…
- Stay home if you’re sick, and isolated to your own room and bathroom if you can…
- Call before you show up at a medical facility…
- Wash your hands frequently…
- Don’t touch your face…
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, discard it, and then wash your hands…
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces…
- Avoid all crowds: practice “social distancing” and stay at least six feet away from others…
- Encourage your family members, roommates, friends, and neighbors to practice these behaviors…
Spectrum Health Lakeland is a not-for-profit, community-owned health system serving Southwest Michigan and northern Indiana with a full continuum of care and wellness services including three hospitals, an outpatient surgery center, a cancer center, and 48 physician practices. Lakeland is a division of Spectrum Health with 31,000 compassionate professionals, 4,300 medical staff experts, 3,300 committed volunteers and a health plan serving one million members. Lakeland was named a 15 Top Health System and 100 Top Hospital by IBM Watson Health in 2019.
