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Wednesday was a historic day at Terrebonne General Medical Center, when the COVID-19 vaccinations arrived bright and early to be distributed to front line health care personnel.
The hospital received its first shipment of 250 doses early this morning and will administer all of them within days. TGMC is anticipating receipt of 250 doses weekly and potentially more as the availability permit.
Health care workers are considered a priority population for receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. The family of TGMC employees is excited and thrilled to be offered the vaccine first, the hospital said in a press release. They have spent countless hours caring for our COVID-19 patients and are happy to be included in the first step of eliminating COVID-19 in our country.
Dr. Nathan Sutton, medical director of hospital medicine, was one of the first to receive the vaccine. He encourages his fellow team members to take advantage of being the first to get the vaccine.
“We have strong confidence in the vaccine and are encouraging healthcare workers to receive it, said Sutton. “Health care workers receiving the vaccine gets us one step closer to fewer COVID-19 illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths,” he said.
“TGMC is doing its part to help eradicate this pandemic,” said Phyllis Peoples, president and CEO. “As healthcare leaders, it is important for us to set the example and educate our community to ensure the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. We are excited to be leading the way by taking this important step in protecting ourselves and individuals from getting severely ill, and most of all protecting our families, co-workers, and patients.”
Employees are relieved to be able to receive the vaccination after fighting this novel virus for the last nine months. They will visibly show they received the vaccine by proudly wearing an “I got my COVID-19 vaccine!” sticker.
The hospital urges anyone with concerns about the efficacy or safety of the vaccine, to reach out to their health care provider to discuss those concerns. Facebook and other social media sites are not the preferred way to educate yourself about the safety of the vaccine.
"We know the general public may be hesitant to receive the vaccine when it is offered to them," the hospital said.
No steps were skipped in the process to bring the vaccine to market.
What was different is that multiple steps occurred at the same time, thus the quick approval process. If you have concerns, the hospital strongly encourages you to discuss those with your doctor or other health care providers.
Hospital officials warn that while the COVID-19 vaccine is another line of defense against the COVID-19, it is still important to wash your hands, social distance at least 6 feet from other people, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily, use a 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wear a mask. It takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after the vaccination.
TGMC will vaccinate all of its staff who want the vaccine. The hospital's leadership said it looks forward to working with community partners to provide vaccinations for first-line responders, critical infrastructure employees, and patients, as outlined in the guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the state and federal government. TGMC said it continues to be the wellness provider in our community and continually stays on the forefront of medical advancements.

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday voted to ask Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration to prioritize school staff members when deciding which groups of workers will get COVID-19 vaccinations next.
Vaccinations began Monday in Louisiana.
Based on federal guidelines, tier 1 hospital workers are first in line for the limited supply now available.
Long-term care residents and staff and emergency medical drivers are next.
BESE’s request does not include a timeline.
Members are asking state officials to make vaccines available to school and early childhood education workers “as soon as possible.”
State Superintendent Cade Brumley said that group includes about 166,000 people and suggested vaccinations would help keep schools and early childhood centers open.
“Birth through 12th-grade employees cut across every region of the state,” he added.
“They cut across every demographic in our state. It’s a really good sample population of the state.”
As of last week, about 65% of Louisiana’s students were attending classes in person five days a week, Brumley said.
About 20% were attending class remotely, while 15%were attending schools holding a mix of in-person and remote classes, he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets the immunization schedules based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Prioritizing health care workers and long-term care residents and staff is the first official recommendation, though state leaders have the final say.
Edwards was asked about vaccine prioritization Tuesday during an online meeting of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
Though state officials expect to receive a total of about 79,000 COVID-19 vaccinations this week and next week, going forward, Edwards said they expect to find out on Friday evenings how many vaccines they will get the following week.
Edwards said state officials will consider the advisory committee’s next set of prioritization recommendations.
He has said he expects Louisiana to follow ACIP guidelines for the most part, though some adjustments may be made based on the state’s hospital patient population.
“We’re going to be making decisions and communicating with the public going forward what the different priority groups are going to look like,” Edwards said Tuesday.
“We’re asking people to be patient.”
By DAVID JACOBS
The Center Square
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday voted to ask Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration to prioritize school staff members when deciding which groups of workers will get COVID-19 vaccinations next.
Vaccinations began Monday in Louisiana.
Based on federal guidelines, tier 1 hospital workers are first in line for the limited supply now available.
Long-term care residents and staff and emergency medical drivers are next.
BESE’s request does not include a timeline.
Members are asking state officials to make vaccines available to school and early childhood education workers “as soon as possible.”
State Superintendent Cade Brumley said that group includes about 166,000 people and suggested vaccinations would help keep schools and early childhood centers open.
“Birth through 12th-grade employees cut across every region of the state,” he added.
“They cut across every demographic in our state. It’s a really good sample population of the state.”
As of last week, about 65% of Louisiana’s students were attending classes in person five days a week, Brumley said.
About 20% were attending class remotely, while 15%were attending schools holding a mix of in-person and remote classes, he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets the immunization schedules based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Prioritizing health care workers and long-term care residents and staff is the first official recommendation, though state leaders have the final say.
Edwards was asked about vaccine prioritization Tuesday during an online meeting of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
Though state officials expect to receive a total of about 79,000 COVID-19 vaccinations this week and next week, going forward, Edwards said they expect to find out on Friday evenings how many vaccines they will get the following week.
Edwards said state officials will consider the advisory committee’s next set of prioritization recommendations.
He has said he expects Louisiana to follow ACIP guidelines for the most part, though some adjustments may be made based on the state’s hospital patient population.
“We’re going to be making decisions and communicating with the public going forward what the different priority groups are going to look like,” Edwards said Tuesday.
“We’re asking people to be patient.”

Crystal Marie Horton, 46, a resident of Morgan City, passed away on Saturday, December 12, 2020, at her home.
Crystal was born on May 31, 1974, in Morgan City, the daughter of Joseph Horton and Gloria Ann Lee Horton.
Private family services will be held.

A change to how Louisiana’s health department pays nursing homes is expected to cost the state an extra $5 million-plus per year.
State officials say the boost is meant to benefit nursing home residents by encouraging facilities to establish private rooms, though some advocates and lawmakers say there are better uses for the extra dollars.
The Louisiana Legislature’s Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee met Tuesday. Rep. Tony Bacala, a Prairieville Republican, said Louisiana has a higher proportion than other states of residents in nursing homes, as compared to those receiving home health. Allowing people to receive services in their homes is cheaper, he said.
Groups representing older and disabled residents said many of the people they advocate for would prefer to receive services at home and questioned the spending increase during a time of economic uncertainty. Bacala has in the past said the nursing home industry gets special treatment because of their political influence.Andrew Perilloux with the Louisiana Department of Health said nursing home residents prefer private rooms, which are associated with better health outcomes. They also make it easier to isolate someone who has an infectious disease such as COVID-19, though that’s not the reason LDH made the change, he said.
Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, said he preferred nursing homes because with home health it’s impossible for regulators to know if the services taxpayers are paying for are being performed. Nursing homes, by contrast, have staff on duty 24 hours a day to care for residents.
Despite the name, the oversight committee that met Tuesday has no regulatory authority over the Medicaid program. The heads of the committees that do have that authority declined to take up the issue, so the new rule goes into effect Dec. 20.
In other discussions Tuesday, Tara LeBlanc, interim head of the state’s Medicaid program, said they were launching three pilot programs that involve working with credit bureaus to begin using credit applications as a possible tool to uncover Medicaid fraud. While people might be tempted to understate their income to qualify for Medicaid, which is taxpayer-funded health insurance for low-income residents, they are less likely to do so if they’re applying for credit, LeBlanc suggested.

She said LDH also is meeting with the Department of Revenue to find ways to expand the use of state tax data to verify eligibility