October 12, 2020
There are no Covid counts for the weekend done over the weekend.
Letter to the Editor: Information shared on health care at Christus
(from Brett Kinman, Administrator)
(J. Harris: Brett Kinman is a well trained and experienced hospital administrator. Marshall is fortunate to have him in our community. The Christus Health system likely kept the Good Shepherd hospitals in Marshall and Longview from having to close. Christus has a healing ministry as well as deep pockets. They have experience in many Texas communities with problems similar to ours. They will be able to recruit badly needed primary care physicians for our hospital and will be able to maintain our hospital as well as their excellent nearby hospitals in Longview and Tyler. When indicated, other medical services will be reestablished. You can see from the map below that Christus has hospitals in many mid-sized Texas towns, including Texarkana — as well as Shreveport, LA. In short, Christus Health is here to stay. My family and I have continued to utilize their services, here as well as in Longview and Tyler. )
CHRISTUS and Texas Oncology to build new cancer institute in Tyler
For years, leaders at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances and Texas Oncology met to come up with a partnership to help treat and care for cancer patients. With the new Louise Herrington Cancer Center on the fifth floor of the Bradley-Thompson Tower at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler opening, the partnership was announced. Texas Oncology and CHRISTUS said the new outpatient treatment and research center will be called the Northeast Texas Cancer and Research Institute. A groundbreaking ceremony is expected in within four months and the doors will open in summer of 2022.
(J. Harris: TEXAS ONCOLOGY is, in my opinion, the best group of cancer treating doctors in the state. This new facility and association is news to me. I also wonder what is the relationship of Christus Good Shepherd with the Christus system in Shreveport?)
Change in COVID-19 case reporting shows disagreement over types of testing
Quidel Receives Emergency Authorization for First Rapid Antigen “ABC Test”: A Combination Diagnostic Assay for Influenza A+B and COVID-19
“The new Sofia® 2 Flu + SARS Antigen FIA offers excellent performance for SARS-2 (95.2% PPA versus PCR and 100% NPA versus PCR), as well as for Influenza A (90% sensitivity versus culture and 95% specificity versus culture) and Influenza B (89% sensitivity versus culture and 96% specificity versus culture) in nasal swabs. Quidel’s new Sofia® test delivers a fast, highly accurate result for all three viruses from one nasal swab (or nasopharyngeal swab) sample in just 15 minutes, providing critical answers to patients and healthcare workers alike.”(J. Harris: Hopefully Christus will be offering this combo test locally.)
THE PEOPLE’S PHARMACY ON NPR RADIO
This program comes on KERA Radio on Saturdays at 0600. For years I have stumbled onto it while looking for news. It’s my reminder that Saturday is here. Recently, however, I have appreciated the following programs:1. 1227 regarding airborne virus and ventilation2. 1228 about Covid Vaccines3. 1230 (Saturday) which features a young healthy female PhD who lives in Beaumont, TX with “Long Haul,” as well as an Alabama MD-Infectious Disease Specialist who had COVID early. This program will make you glad to have a mask and will ensure that you use it. This last program may not be on the web yet, but it will be.
All of these broadcasts are well done, not political, not preachy, just educational conversations with experts who can translate medical happenings in understandable (and believable) language.
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