Universal Masking
The health and safety of our patients, visitors, Associates and our communities remain of utmost importance. Beginning Monday, April 6, patients and visitors will be required to bring their own mask to wear while in our hospitals or outpatient clinics. You can learn more about how to make your own cloth masks by visiting the CDC website. Our health professionals providing care for presumed COVID-19 or known COVID-19 patients are expected to wear N95 respirator masks. Hospitalized patients do not have to wear a mask while in their rooms.
March 20, 2020 - 9 a.m.
Updated CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital Visitor Guidelines
The Louisiana Department of Health recently announced they will now require all licensed health care facilities in the state to restrict visitors to those deemed essential, vital or necessary for the care and well-being of our patients.
CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini wants to assure the people of this community who trust in us for their health care that we are prepared and stand ready to care for our community. Because our goal is to ensure our hospital continues to be a safe place to receive care, we are following CDC guidelines and implementing new visitation restrictions. The goal of these updated visitor procedures is to limit the risk of exposure to our patients, visitors, Associates, physicians and volunteers.
Visitors will be guided to designated entrances in which visitor screening stations are available.
- Emergency Department (24/7)
- Labor and Delivery Sky Walk (From Garage to Women’s Pavilion) (24/7)
- Texas Avenue OP Entrance (5 a.m. - 7 p.m. daily)
We are also limiting the number of visitors. In all areas, we are restricting visitors to 1 visitor per patient for a 24 hour period. All visitors are required to go through screening at one of the 3 entrances.
- Surgery Patients: 1 Visitor
- Same Day Procedure: 1 Visitor
- Critical Care: 1 Visitor
- Medical-Surgical Units: 1 Visitor
- Labor and Delivery: 1 Support
- Pediatrics: 1 Support
- NICU: 1 Visitor
We want to be perfectly clear – CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini remains a safe place for all to receive quality care. While COVID-19 is new, our processes and procedures in place for infection prevention and preventing the spread of illness are not. From physicians and nurses, quality and safety experts to those responsible for ordering supplies and keeping the hospital clean — all our Associates are involved in making sure we provide a safe environment for our patients and their families, our Associates and this community we serve.
CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Health System Statement Regarding COVID-19
With the recent announcement of a positive case of COVID-19 in Rapides Parish, CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Health System wants to assure the people of this region who trust in us for their health care – we are prepared and stand ready to care for our community. The health care community, including CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini, is united in our commitment to responding to the needs of all patients safely and effectively.
On March 19, CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini received a presumptive positive result for a patient with COVID-19. Out of respect for our patient and in following HIPAA guidelines, we are limited in what we can share. We can say that we tested, identified and isolated this patient..
We want to be perfectly clear – CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Health System remains a safe place for all to receive quality care. While COVID-19 is new, our processes and procedures in place for infection prevention and preventing the spread of illness are not. From physicians and nurses, quality and safety experts to those responsible for ordering supplies and keeping the hospital clean — all our Associates are involved in making sure we provide a safe environment for our patients and their families, our Associates and this community we serve.
We continue to follow the CDC’s guidelines for health care facilities, and our providers are working together non-stop and with authorities and our local health care community to prepare and respond when called upon. The CDC guidelines and our efforts are in place to ensure public health and to ensure our hospital is a safe place for all to receive care.
Across CHRISTUS, we will continue our standard process of screening patients at our clinical points of access for relevant travel history, to assess for various evolving infectious disease risks, including this one. If a patient meets the CDC criteria, and is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the virus, we will isolate the patient in a room and take proper respiratory precautions to safely assess and treat the patient. We continue to remain vigilant in responding to this evolving situation, meeting daily to ensure we are prepared and continuing to follow CDC’s guidelines for patient isolation and cleaning.
We suggest that everyone follow the CDC guidelines regarding prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and the flu. The best things anyone can do to prevent the spread of illness are:
- wash your hands well before eating, drinking or touching your face
- get your annual flu shot and
- get a pneumonia shot if you have not already and are above the age of 65 or have diabetes or other illnesses that affect your heart or lungs.
In addition, we advise anyone who may be ill with fever and cough or shortness of breath and have had travel to any region that has known community spread of COVID-19, please contact your primary care provider before visiting their office so they can be sure to provide you with the best care possible while doing everything we can to keep our community healthy. For more information on COVID-19 and preventive measures, please visit www.CDC.gov.
March 14, 2020 - 4:00 p.m.
CHRISTUS Health Statement Regarding COVID-19
We continue to work in solidarity with our partners in the health care community, city and county leaders, and local health authorities to ensure our community is well prepared. Together, we stand united in our commitment to keep the people we serve safe.
At CHRISTUS, we remain vigilant in responding to this evolving situation, meeting throughout the day to ensure we are prepared to respond to present and potential future needs of our community. We continue to follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for healthcare facilities located in areas, like ours, that are not experiencing community spread. We do have emergency preparedness plans in place and are fully prepared to execute as appropriate for our community circumstances.
CHRISTUS facilities remain a safe place for all to receive quality care. While COVID-19 is new, our processes and procedures in place for infection prevention and preventing the spread of illness are not. From physicians and nurses, quality and safety experts to those responsible for ordering supplies and keeping the hospital clean — all of our Associates are involved in making sure we provide a safe environment for our patients. Every single day.
March 3, 2020
CHRISTUS Health Statement Regarding COVID-19
CHRISTUS values the importance of collaboration and coordinated action for the identification and care of those patients exhibiting signs of the COVID-19. Which is why we continue to follow CDC interim guidelines and work non-stop, in partnership with local, state and federal government authorities. We are fortunate to be part of a local health care community committed to responding to the needs of these patients in the safest manner necessary.
In the event that possible coronavirus patients need hospitalization after screening, we have identified a portion of our facility as the best place to allow us to isolate and safely care for any potential patients without risk of transmission to other parts of the facility.
At CHRISTUS, we have always screened patient to our clinical points of access for international travel, to assess for various evolving infectious disease risks, including this one. If a patient meets the current CDC criteria, and is exhibiting symptoms consistent with the virus, we will isolate the patient in a private room and take proper respiratory precautions to safely assess and treat them
If you are ill with fever and cough or shortness of breath and have had travel to any region that has known community spread of coronavirus, please contact your primary care provider before coming to the clinic so we can be sure to provide you with the best care possible while doing everything we can to keep our community healthy.
It’s still flu season. We continue to encourage all our patients and the community to practice good respiratory hygiene habits, like washing hands frequently and covering mouths while coughing especially during times like this where catching the flu is a far greater risk.
In summary, the best things you can do to prevent the spread of illness are:
- Wash your hands well before eating, drinking, or touching your face
- Get your annual flu shot and
- Get a pneumonia shot if you have not already and are above the age of 65 or have diabetes or other illnesses that affect your heart or lungs.
CHRISTUS Health currently convenes daily, sometimes more, to check in on our emergency preparedness plans. We have had many hands on deck during this process. Nearly everyone — from physicians and nurses, quality and safety experts to those responsible for ordering supplies and keeping the hospital clean — is involved in making sure we can do best for our patients our Associates and this community we serve.
For the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 visit CDC.gov.
CORONA VIRUS ASSESSMENT TOOL