Iberia Medical Center Board OKs funds for COVID-19 care rooms
Published 6:00 am Friday, October 30, 2020
- Iberia Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Dionne Viator said creating permanent negative-pressure rooms for COVID-19 patients will allow the hospital to operate them in inclement conditions.
The Iberia Medical Center Board of Directors approved spending up to $240,000 to create 20 permanent negative-pressure rooms for the care of COVID-19 patients during its meeting Thursday night.
According to IMC Chief Operating Officer Shane Myers, the hospital had three negative-pressure rooms at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak. That number grew to 45 rooms on a temporary basis, all of which were used at one point or another.
“When COVID hit, we opened up a wing, a temporary unit with 11 rooms,” Myers said. “We were one of the first in the state to have a wing for COVID patients.”
Hospitals worldwide have had to engineer negative-pressure rooms on the fly to provide the proper space needed to treat COVID-19-positive patients while still keeping other areas — like nurses stations, hallways and common areas — free from infection. By creating lower air pressure in a COVID-positive patient’s room, it allows for the air to be vented in a way that prevents the disease from spreading under doors, through ventilation systems or even through wall or ceiling cracks and seams.
Chief Executive Officer Dionne Viator said that creating the permanent rooms will allow them to operate in inclement conditions, as opposed to the temporary setups.
“We had to use plywood on the windows, so it was not aesthetically pleasing,” she said. “Also, it would not work during a hurricane. It is more sustainable for us.”
The goal of the project is to have the work done by Dec. 31, allowing it to qualify for funding with money the hospital received under the CARES Act.
John LeBlanc, director of facilities for IMC, listed a trove of projects either recently completed or nearing completion at the hospital. They include:
• Addition of a new 750 kw generator for the hospital’s emergency power supply.
• Completion of a clean room for the hospital’s pharmacy, primarily for the preparation of chemotherapy drugs.
• Repairs to the roof of the hospital’s North Campus.
• Between 70 and 80 percent completion of the new roof at the hospital’s Main Campus.
