The Natchitoches Police Department is investigating a shooting that took place Friday night in the parking lot of 1205 Texas Street (Super Stop).
On March 13, 2020 around 11:43 p.m., officers with the Natchitoches Police Department noticed a vehicle with its emergency flashers on pull into the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. As officers made contact with the driver they were told that a 14 year old was in the back seat suffering from several gunshot wounds. The occupants of the vehicle told officers that while they were inside Super Stop an unknown individual began to shoot at their parked vehicle. This resulted in the 14 year old being struck by bullets who was still sitting in the car.
The 14 year old was transported from the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center in serious condition to a hospital in Shreveport.
The Natchitoches Police Department will release more details as they become available.
If you have additional information in regards to this investigation please contact the Natchitoches Police Department at (318) 352-8101 or Detective William Connell at (318) 238-3911. Remember all information given shall remain confidential.
Officer John Greely Natchitoches Police Department
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As of today, there have been no cases of COVID-19 cases identified in Natchitoches Parish. Natchitoches Regional Medical Center continues to operate under normal conditions. All medical center services remain open and operating. This includes the hospital, clinics and all outpatient services.
To respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center is implementing measures to minimize disease spread with the safety and well-being of the community at large as our utmost concern. This is a very fluid situation, and we view it as our responsibility to take a leading role in working with parish and local government officials and health care providers, first responders and employers as a trusted partner and source of the most current information.”
NRMC will utilize a triage system to evaluate and test patients with COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Individuals with symptoms or concerns are asked to contact their primary care provider or call the Natchitoches Regional COVID-19/Coronavirus Screening Line at (318) 214-4267 for evaluation. The triage team will determine if individuals meet guidelines for testing based on travel to Europe, Asia or cruises, contact with someone confirmed to have COVID- 19/Coronavirus, and symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. When criteria are met, cases will be escalated to a designated health care provider for further evaluation and/or testing via an in-person appointment or by drive-thru testing in a secure setting.
Pre-check-in greeting stations will be implemented at all of Natchitoches Regional Medical Center locations including: Hospital, Courtyard of Natchitoches, Assisted Living and all hospital clinics and diagnostic centers to screen patients and visitors before entry. Patients with a cough will be required to mask for their safety. Symptomatic individuals will not be allowed to visit a hospitalized patient at NRMC
For screening purposes, access to the main hospital at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center will be reduced to three entry points on weekdays and two on weekends. On weekdays, entry points will be: the main entrance on Isadore Avenue; the Keyser Avenue Entrance 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday, and the Emergency Department. On weekends, the Isadore Avenue and Emergency Department will be the sole entry point. All other entrances to the hospital will be closed.
Hospital visiting hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice. The number of visitors allowed for patients at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center will also be restricted to one adult at a time per guidance from the Louisiana Department of Health. Visitors must be 18 years of age or older. Pediatric patients will be allowed to have both parents visit at the same time. For Labor and Delivery, only the designated support person will be allowed to visit.
“In keeping with our mission of Excellence Everyday, we are working closely with state and parish officials in leading efforts to minimize and respond to the potential impact of this virus. Our goal is to protect the health of our patients, workforce and the community, and do our part to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
“The community can rest assured that Natchitoches Regional Medical Center staff maintains a constant state of readiness to respond to emerging infections like COVID- 19 should the need arise. Preparations include year-round drills, education and training and the maintenance of supplies and equipment such as masks, ventilators and negative air pressure rooms. We take these precautions to best protect the health of our patients and staff.
For COVID-19 updates, visit the following websites: Natchitoches Regional Medical Center at www.nrmchospital.org Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov Louisiana Department of Health at www.ldh.la.gov
First United Methodist Church in Natchitoches will hold regularly scheduled services on Sunday morning at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:45. Because we are spread out over three services we are under the threshold of 250 at one event. We will hold services each Sunday through the period covered in the Executive Order issued by the Governor. We are opened and preaching Jesus!
There is plenty of room for you to join us and you will not be crowded. In our warm fellowship you can practice “social distancing.” We will NOT serve communion in any of our services from now until the first Sunday in May. We have also cancelled our Wednesday morning communion services.
We have taken every precaution in keeping those who worship with us safe from infection. If you don’t feel well, please stay home.
Sunday is our “What If ” Sunday…
What if we all came to church even as everything else appears to be shutting down?
What if we lived fearlessly in these coming days?
If you would like to remain at home and worship at home we stream our 1045 service. You can find that service at FUMCNLA.org
ATTENTION: To limit the spread of the corona virus and out of deep concern for Natchitoches Parish residents, our employees, attorneys, and their staff who frequent our courthouse, the 10th Judicial District Court has initiated the following precautions, effective immediately, in response to the present coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:
NATCHITOCHES: Leo Collins, Jr. February 24, 1950 – March 9, 2020 Arrangements TBA
Richard Lynch March 6, 2020 Arrangements TBA
Eardis Mallard March 4, 2020 Service: Saturday, March 14 at 2 pm at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, located at 318 North Street in Natchitoches
Daisy Phillips February 5, 1939 – March 3, 2020 Service: Saturday, March 14 at 3 pm at the Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church near Clarence
Joseph Besant May 19, 1929 – February 29, 2020 Service: Saturday, March 14 at 11 am at the We Care Ministries Church on Ouida Drive in Natchitoches
Leroy Charles Roberson January 17, 1949 – February 28, 2020 Service: Saturday, March 14 at 11 am at the Winnfield Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, located at 318 North Street in Natchitoches
RED RIVER: Jimmy Roy Haynes January 2, 1939 – March 11, 2020 Service: Saturday, March 14 at 1 pm at Hall Summit Event Center
Gov. John Bel Edwards today signed a proclamation that among other actions immediately halts any gathering of more than 250 people until Monday, April 13, closes all K-12 public schools statewide effective Monday, March 16 and resuming Monday, April 13, as Louisiana seeks to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state. As of midday Friday, Louisiana has 33 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19.
Natchitoches Parish schools were originally scheduled to be off on the 13th of April for the Easter break, but will return to school on Monday, April 13, 2020.
If a change is made, you will be notified. Be safe.
Gov. John Bel Edwards today signed a proclamation that among other actions immediately halts any gathering of more than 250 people until Monday, April 13, closes all K-12 public schools statewide effective Monday, March 16 resuming Monday, April 13, as Louisiana seeks to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state. As of mid-day Friday, Louisiana has 33 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19.
The Governor will address this order at his 3 p.m. joint media briefing with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at New Orleans City Hall, which will also be live-streamed at Facebook.com/LouisianaGov.
“We are at an inflection point now and we are going to take bold action to minimize the further spread of this illness. That is why I am issuing this order today, ending all events of more than 250 people, closing our schools, and reducing the amount of face-to-face public interaction at state government buildings,” Gov. Edwards said. “In a separate executive order, I will grant Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s request to move our upcoming elections for April and May to June and July. The limits on gatherings of 250 people or more statewide is based on federal CDC guidance given the community spread which we are currently experiencing. These steps are necessary to protect the health and safety of the people of Louisiana from the risk of COVID-19.”
Northwestern State University President Dr. Chris Maggio issued the following statement regarding the on-going threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Northwestern State University will suspend all in-person classes effective at the end of the day Friday, March 13, and transition to online instruction and other remote learning alternatives beginning Thursday, March 19.
There will be no classes at the university Monday-Wednesday, March 16-18, as plans are finalized for the conversion from in-person classes to the online and remote delivery format. On-line classes will begin Thursday, March 19. University offices will remain open all week.
Northwestern will join other schools in the University of Louisiana System in moving from face-to-face instruction to online and other alternative learning in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The university will provide technical support to students and faculty who require that assistance.
There are no reported cases of COVID-19 at any of Northwestern’s campuses. University offices will remain open, and all ancillary services, including dining accommodations and access to the library and computer labs, will continue. Students in residential facilities may continue to reside on NSU campuses or participate in classes from other sites.
To ensure the health and safety of students, faculty and staff, the university will continue to monitor conditions related to coronavirus. Alternative work arrangements for personnel and modified residential accommodations for students could result from an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus or in the community.
Numerous university events and activities are being canceled, postponed or adjusted as a result of this public health crisis. All athletic events have been suspended through March 30, and events expected to attract more than 50 participants will be canceled or postponed to conform with social distancing criteria recommended by health authorities. Please continue to check the university’s website at www.nsula.edu for updates on NSU activities, events and programs.
International travel and non-essential domestic travel has been suspended. Students, faculty and staff are directed to report to the university all personal travel to a country identified by the CDC as Level 1 or greater risk.
Sanitation of university facilities has been expanded to include intensive efforts to disinfect and sanitize all surfaces of buildings and other sites.
“These extraordinary efforts are intended to help mitigate the escalation of rapidly expanding cases of coronavirus,” Maggio said. “I apologize for any inconvenience or disruption created by the university’s response to the impact of coronavirus and appreciate your understanding and patience.
“Your recommendations for other measures to enhance the health and well-being of students, faculty, staff and others in the university community and reinforce NSU’s firm commitment to its mission and goals and those we serve would be appreciated and receive careful consideration.
Information regarding NSU’s response to COVID-19 will continue to be available and updated at https://www.nsula.edu/covid-19/.
Local elections scheduled for April and May have been delayed due to the Coronavirus spread. Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin just moments ago revealed the plans at a news conference in Baton Rouge.
This announcement delays the April 4th election until Saturday, June 20th and the May 9th runoff election to Saturday, July 25th.
The delay of the local elections means that Early Voting will not begin on Saturday, March 21st as originally scheduled.
More details on the election delay will be forthcoming from state and local election officials.
NATCHITOCHES – Several area financial institutions met on Thursday, March 12, 2020 to discuss protocol regarding banking transactions in the parish amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Financial institutions in the parish are working together to ensure that our customers and the communities we serve will be taken care of during this sensitive time. These institutions include: BOM Bank, City Bank and Trust Company, Engage Federal Credit Union, Exchange Bank, First Federal Bank of Louisiana, La Capitol Federal Credit Union, and Hancock Whitney.
While there are no confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in Natchitoches Parish at this time, these institutions aim to be prepared in the instance that every day occurrences may be altered. The health and well-being of all of our customers, employees, and communities is our top priority. When available and appropriate, please use available digital tools and other resources for self-service banking and 24/7 account access. These digital tools such as your bank’s mobile app or online banking will allow you to pay bills, deposit checks, transfer money and more, all from the comfort of your home should you choose to minimize your exposure to others, or if you become sick. If you have not registered for your bank’s online services, please contact your local branch in order to enroll and take this easy step in helping keep our community we love and know safe. If you do have to visit a branch, consider using the drive-thru or ATM as doing so can limit your contact with others if the virus begins to spread in our area.
These participating institutions want to encourage everyone to come together, remain positive and support our small businesses. We are here to support all of you and our communities to ensure we all come out of this stronger than before. For up to date information regarding COVID-19 please continue to follow the global outbreak by visitingwww.cdc.gov.
Pictures are: Rhonda Jones- Whitney Hancock John Ackel- City Bank & Trust Company Ken Hale- BOM Tracy McNemar- La Capital Federal Credit Union Michele Waskom- First Federal Holly Guillory- Engage Federal Credit Union Mike Newton- Exchange Bank
If you, your business or a member of your non-profit organization would like to appear on The Magnolia Minute, then contact us at the email or number below!
The Magnolia Minute Natchitoches Parish Journal magnoliaminute.npj@gmail.com 318-354-4000 #6
NSU – All Northwestern State athletic competitions have been canceled through March 30 in accordance with the decision made by the Southland Conference on Thursday.
The steps were taken to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and comes in lock step with numerous other conferences across the country.
The release from the conference allows for practices to be held, with those decisions handled by each institution’s athletic leadership. Conference and university administrators will meet in the coming weeks to determine return-to-competition arrangements and other issues, according to the release.
Northwestern State also has canceled its annual Joe Delaney Bowl, set for March 21 at Turpin Stadium, and has postponed the March 20 Triple B Invitational golf tournament, which was to take place at Northwestern Hills Golf Course. Northwestern State’s Junior Day, scheduled for March 21, also has been postponed to a later date.
The “All In” Giving Day, set for March 20, will continue as planned. and the online auction to support Northwestern State football will remain open longer than the originally scheduled end date of March 22.
The Natchitoches Parish Detention Center has suspended all on-site visitations for Natchitoches Parish inmantes until further notice, in an effort to prevent the COVID-19 ( Coronavirus) from entering the facility according to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Victor Jones.
We are taking preventative measures to ensure the health and safety of our employees and inmates according to Sheriff Jones”.
According to NPDC Major of Corrections Roger Henson, “It is imperative that we keep our facility healthy and safe from a potential outbreak wiithin our facilities”.
Major Henson also said at this time, only legal professionals and vendors will be allowed at the facility, however, they will have to go through a screening process before entering the detention center.”
La. Department of Corrections and Louisiana Sheriff’s Association were made aware of suspended jail visitations in Natchitoches Parish.
Smart Communications will still be available for inmates to receive messages and mail.
If you would like to send money to an inmate you can access TouchPay using the following options:
Sheriff Jones and Sheriff-elect Stuart Wright both confirmed the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, Natchitoches Office of Homeland Security and Office of Emergency Preparedness along with the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, Parish Government, health care providers, law enforcement and emergency medical services are closely monitoring updates being provided by GOSHEP, the Louisiana Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concerning the impact of COVID-19.
There are no known cases of COVID-19 in Natchitoches Parish. We stand prepared and ready to respond to any emergency with our local, state and federal partners in the event of an emergency, Jones said.
The City of Natchitoches’ Fire Department was recently awarded a grant from the Union Pacific Foundation in the amount of $25,000. The Union Pacific Foundation takes pride in helping communities across the nation strive, by prioritizing funding for projects focused on the following criteria: safety, workforce development, and community spaces.
In 2019, through partnership with the Cane River National Heritage Area, the Natchitoches Fire Department submitted an application to the Union Pacific Foundation with an emphasis on public safety through education on parish wide fire prevention and safety. The objective, if funded, was to purchase research-based and effective training tools to ensure community risk reduction for parish citizens, specifically children in daycares, Kindergarten to college students, and senior citizens.
In order to meet this goal, Chief of Fire Prevention, Kory Leo was able to purchase a new costume for mascot Sparky the Fire Dog, an interactive Sparky Robot, and a Hazard House. Although, Sparky the Fire Dog has been around for many years, this character still remains effective when bridging the apprehension some children have towards people in uniform. In the event of an emergency, children will relate Sparky to the firefighters and be less fearful of them. The Sparky robot is child size and uses a robot voice modifier as the firefighters talk and interact with students on protecting themselves and their families from fire. The final component, the Hazard House, is an electronic module imitating a house with a family and provides a more realistic example with visual aids on how to respond with proper safety procedures in an emergency situation.
The Fire Department has had much success utilizing these tools during school visits amongst the city and parish, while also attending community events which include: Witch Way to Main Street, the Natchitoches Christmas Festival, the Natchitoches Parish Fair, and most recently the Home and Garden Expo. Chief Kory Leo stated, “The purchase of these tools and resources for the City of Natchitoches has been a game changer not only for our department, but how we are able to reach the community effectively in our fire prevention efforts.”
The Natchitoches Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Program directly correlates with Union Pacific’s mission to build safe, prosperous and vibrant communities. Thanks to Union Pacific Foundation and their investment, the city now has up to date resources to educate and prepare our citizens for an emergency event.
Every child dreams of going to the big, “D”. My children were no different. As soon as our oldest daughter was of the age where she could navigate a theme park without a stroller we decided to take her to Walt Disney World.
Pixie Dust here we come.
The weather was picture perfect for the entire trip and it was turning out to be just as memorable as all of the commercials portrayed it to be for families. We ate Mickey Mouse ice cream ears multiple times a day, we took family photos that documented the pure joy and thrill of all of the stomach dropping rides. We stood in line for hours on end for autographs and photos with all of the characters.
We did Disney as grande as you possibly could in 2005.
Earlier in the trip we noticed that our daughter had white marks on her right chin. It looked as if it were an aging injury that many young kids collect through childhood. But, on the very last day of our trip we noticed that the white marks were also beginning on her left chin. She wasn’t complaining about them causing pain and she didn’t have fever but my mama bear instincts would not let me overlook this.
This was before the debut of iPhones so I did not have an arsenal of medical journals at my fingertips.
However, we did see that Disney had First Aid Centers throughout the parks. Being the low key worry wart that I was, I was prepared to stand in line for this ride as long as it took.
When the nurse made her rounds, she carefully inspected our daughter. It took her all of five minutes to diagnose that she had the early stages of Vitiligo. She was not worried and told us not to worry. Her exact words were, “It’s just a little auto-immune disease.”
Disease? That is a “D” word we were not prepared to hear. We could see the Pixie Dust disappearing before our very eyes. The nurse exited the room after dropping the, “D” bomb and told us to follow up with our pediatrician when we return home. Again, she was not concerned at all so I tried to follow suit and not be worried.
When we returned home we followed up with our Pediatrician and educated ourselves about this “little auto-immune disease.” We poured over every article we could find and we looked at all of the approved treatments. But, the more we read and the more we learned we realized that it was mainly just cosmetic and it was a loss of pigment to the skin or inability to produce pigment.
A cosmetic disease sounded easy enough and non-life threatening. As time went on it spread to other areas of her body. It changed in size and color and it seemed to travel and disappear. The summer months were the worst as her white spots were more visible because of her ability to tan easily.
Not too long after she was diagnosed with Vitiligo my mother passed away and we had lots of long distance family members come and attend the funeral. One of my Aunts pulled me aside and told me that Meredith was, “Marked”. I asked her what she meant and she went on to explain that she, “Was pigmented and marked by God as special.”
We knew our girl was special with or without marks.
As she approached middle school it seemed to reek-havoc on her self-esteem. She would go for weeks and not even think about how different it made her until someone reminded her.
The reminders mainly came in the form of ill-meaning family people who offered her foundation to cover up the spots on her knees or suggested that we check into tattooing her spots so they would blend in. When faced with adversity such as this, you really get to know someones true character or lack thereof.
Middle school is a time where you want to blend in and possibly go unnoticed. Our sweet girl did not have this luxury. Every time she wore shorts or a dress she found herself explaining what it was and why she had it. Her closest friends never mentioned it and never noticed it. It was just part of who she was. We attempted medication but soon learned that it caused damage to your liver.
The aftermath of the medication was not something either of us wanted to risk just to have her body produce more pigment. We abandoned those treatments.
When her high school years were upon us life became somewhat easier. The school uniforms included pants that remedied her areas that were marked. Her random sad days became less and less. The sad days are practically nonexistent now that she has matured and God has given her peace about her body.
She learned to embrace her differences as God’s handiwork. She even had fun drawing artwork on her spots from time to time. Some of the areas have even completely healed naturally over time.
Our precious daughter was marked from birth. She was marked as a child of God. She was marked with a beautiful soul who makes her care for others more than herself. She has been marked as a true lady with so much empathy for others. These are marks that we wouldn’t want the Pixie Dust to erase.
“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” – Isaiah 64:8
We regret to inform the community that we have decided to postpone the Steel Magnolia Run to a yet to be determined date. With the Southland Conference decision to cancel all athletic events through March 30th, we want to be in solidarity with our partner, Northwestern State University.
We know you want your awesome Steel Magnolia Run t-shirt so we will continue with packet pickup on Friday, March 13th at the NRMC Legacy Classroom from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. We are also looking into having a couple of alternative packet pickup dates in the next week or two. So stay tuned.
We will be exploring future date options with NSU, the City, and the Parish. It is our hope to find an alternative date if possible.
Remember – you have played an instrumental part in making best in class technology in breast detection available in Natchitoches. You are saving lives. Thank you from the bottom of Pacey the Armadillo’s heart.
KATY, Texas — The remainder of the men’s and women’s Southland Conference basketball tournaments have been canceled, the league announced late Thursday morning.
“The Southland Conference has been monitoring the situation with the coronavirus very closely. The health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches, officials, fans and other tournament personnel is of utmost importance. As a result, the Southland Conference has determined that the prudent course of action is to cancel the remainder of the tournament effective immediately.”
Northwestern State won its first-round tournament game Wednesday, 79-62, against No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Demons will finish the 2019-2020 season with a 15-15 record, tying for fourth in the SLC standings and posting a 12-9 mark against league opponents including Wednesday’s tournament win.
The impact of COVID-19 has put LSMSA in the situation of needing to take unprecedented steps to balance our educational mission with the duty to protect the health and well-being of our entire community.
Although there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at LSMSA, NSU, or Natchitoches Parish at this time, we know that many members of these entities have been traveling recently to parts of the country and world where there may be community spread of COVID-19. As a precaution, LSMSA has made the decision to temporarily transition LSMSA classes to virtual instruction.
The school has asked that parents begin to bring their students home following classes end on Friday, March 13. The LSMSA residence halls will close Sunday, March 15, at 2 p.m.
All in-person classes will transition to online instruction for students on Wednesday, March 18. Classes will continue in this mode for two weeks, at which time the school will assess where things stand with COVID-19.
Instruction will move online in its entirety until further notice. Students will need to meet academic requirements remotely during this time.
As a state agency, LSMSA will remain open at the direction of Louisiana’s Commissioner of Administration. We will practice social distancing and preventative measures throughout the school, which may include some individuals working from home. Email will be the most reliable means of communicating with school employees, although the main line for the School will always be covered (318.357.2500).
We are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. Public health officials have not yet made this a requirement for public institutions. Nevertheless, given all that we know and what we can anticipate based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we believe this is the most prudent course of action at the current time for our unique high school residential school setting.
LSMSA’s response website, www.LSMSA.edu/COVID-19, will continue to be the primary source of information and updates related to School operations. We will communicate changes across as many channels as possible, and we have teams of individuals across the campus ready to assist faculty and students with the transition to online instruction.
The spread of COVID-19 may necessitate changes in the way we interact, but it does not change what we do. LSMSA will continue to operate and will continue to deliver the highest-quality education possible to the students we serve, and LSMSA employees will continue to perform their duties.
It takes less space to grow up these days than it took in the olden days.
Back in the day, teenagers had their stereo in their bedroom. It was usually a monster. There was a turntable, an amplifier, and speakers. The two speakers were the size of a medium end table. The speakers could put out some sound. Then the collection of materials played up space too. If you were of the album era, those albums while thin had a large diameter. The album had the album jacket that slid into the album cover. Some artists would release double albums. There were transition times with the music. Albums would try to give way to eight-track, which never caught on. The eight tracks gave way to cassettes. Some of the stereo systems would handle two or three types of music media. Plus there were storage requirements for eight tracks and for cassettes.
If a kid was lucky, they had a phone in their room. The phone would be attached by chord to the wall and the receiver was attached by chord to the base. Really lucky kids had phone with long chords so they could walk around their room to change albums while they were on the phone.
There was an alarm clock or clock radio in the room. That was necessary so the kid could get that great sleep between the time the alarm goes off and the parent came into the room and made one get out of bed. We get that same great sleep today by hitting the snooze button.
Some studious kids had a desk in their room with a typewriter on the desk. The term papers looked better typed and if you had a Pica typewriter those pages added up quicker, or so it seemed. There was rarely a television in this ancient bedroom. The television was in the den. It was a 25-inch RCA color and the family would gather in the room to watch a show. Since there was no remote, channel changing was done manually by the youngest member of the family.
In 2020, kids don’t need as much space as those of us of another era. Their music, alarm, computer, TV, telephone, and speakers are held in their hands. Pull your phone out and look at everything it does. There is a tool that allows us all to do things we never dreamed could be done by one tool. We know that tool.
iPhone
There are times you don’t know what to do or where to go. What can you do when you have lost something in your life, and you are grieving? If you are ill and the doctors seem stymied, what do you do then? If you have a parent or a child who does not listen and they are doing hurtful thing what do you do? If you have done something wrong, hurting yourself or someone else, where do you go for healing and forgiveness? As you look at life, the decision you need to make the direction you need to discover, who will help you with that? There is one way to deal with these kinds of challenges.
Effective today, the Louisiana Department of Health is requiring all licensed healthcare facilities in the state to restrict visitors to those deemed essential, vital or necessary to the care and well-being of patients, clients and residents. This action is being taken to limit the spread of COVID-19, commonly referred to as coronavirus, among the populations most vulnerable to the virus.
This prohibition will last for the next 30 days, ending on April 10, 2020 unless otherwise extended by the Department.
Visitors who will be allowed into each facility will be determined by those facilities after consultation with families and responsible parties. This does not extend to non-essential visitors in situations involving end of life care, as approved by the facility.
However, any visitor that meets the definition of a restricted person cannot enter a facility.
A restricted person is defined as someone who: Has signs or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat as assessed by the facility; In the last 14 days, has had contact with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, or is under investigation for COVID-19 or has been or is currently ill with respiratory illness; Has been on international travel within the last 14 days to countries with sustained community transmission of COVID-19; or is residing in a community where community-based spread of COVID-19 is occurring.
Facilities are required to provide alternative means of communication, including virtual visitations, and should consider assigning staff as primary contact for families and regular calls to keep families up to date.
The Department also recommends that all facilities consider limiting or restricting all elective or voluntary medical procedures for the next 30 days.
About the Louisiana Department of Health The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state residents. The Louisiana Department of Health includes the Office of Public Health, Office of Aging & Adult Services, Office of Behavioral Health, Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and Healthy Louisiana (Medicaid).
