Hospital bi-weekly update.

Hospital bi-weekly update.

LUDINGTON — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital provides a bi-weekly community update regarding activities and current information. Some content will be related to the COVID-19 pandemic as new information becomes available or changes occur. Other content will be general information related to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital.

For the latest COVID-19 information, visit www.spectrumhealth.org/covid. For COVID-19 vaccine information, visit Vaccine Information Center | COVID-19 | Spectrum Health.

The dashboard below reflects the 16-county region served by Spectrum Health. Local information can be found on the District Health Department #10 web site at www.dhd10.org.

As of April 14, 2021:

COVID-19 positive cases. The Spectrum Health dashboard reflects the 16-county Spectrum Health service area. As of April 14, 2021, there are 258 COVID-19 positive individuals in Spectrum Health facilities, up from 139 two weeks ago and 85 four weeks ago. The seven-day average percent positivity rate is 16.2%, up from 12.8% two weeks ago and 8.5% four weeks ago. Positive tests and hospitalizations are continuing to rapidly increase. Hospital officials encourage everyone to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash hands frequently, each of which are known to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Hospital officials also encourage everyone to get a COVID-19 vaccination by going to www.vaccinereg.spectrumhealth.org. To date, Spectrum Health has administered nearly 313,000 vaccine doses.

As of April 14, District Health Department #10 reports there have been 1,568 confirmed cases in Mason County (up from 1,233 two weeks ago), 2,173 in Oceana County (up from 1,879 two weeks ago), 925 in Manistee County and 467 in Lake County (up from 799 and 388, respectively two weeks ago).

Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is seeing a slight increase in its positivity rate. As of April 11, the last day statistics were available, the positivity rate was 7.41%. This compares to a positivity rate of 6.81% on March 29.

As of April 15, Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital has 17 COVID-19 inpatients.

Vaccine clinics Friday and Saturday. Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is holding two first-dose vaccine clinics, one with the Moderna vaccine on Friday, April 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m with the Pfizer vaccine. Both clinics are 400 doses, so a total of 800 doses is available for the community immediately. Saturday’s clinic is open to those age 16 and up. To access the vaccine clinics at Ludington Hospital, enter through the North entrance off Lawndale Street. See the registration process below to get an appointment.

COVID-19 vaccination process. The hospital’s scheduling process has changed based on health department guidelines and less restricted vaccine supply.  Go to Vaccine Information Center | COVID-19 | Spectrum Health and click on “Schedule Your Vaccination.” Answer the questions, and you will then be taken to a page showing the Spectrum Health vaccination clinic locations, where you can select an appointment at the location of your choice.

Appointment availability is based on vaccine supply. As the hospital receives shipments of vaccine, it will add new appointments. New appointments will generally be released on a weekly basis. If you do not see an available appointment, please check back frequently. All appointments are for a first dose only. If you are trying to schedule your second dose and have already received your first, please do so through Spectrum Health MyChart or by calling the Vaccine Call Center at 833.755.0696, which is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Those who are 16- to 18-years-old, please call the Vaccine Call Center at 833.755.0696 to be scheduled. A parent or guardian must accompany minors. The call center can also help those who need special assistance in getting scheduled.

The COVID-19 vaccine is available at no out-of-pocket cost. Insurance is not required to register for an appointment. If you have insurance, please include that information when scheduling.

Ludington Hospital is hosting vaccine clinics each Wednesday and Friday, with some Saturday clinics scheduled as well. For more information, go to https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/covid-19-vaccine#Register.

Vaccine Questions. Listen to CJ Gibson, MD, surgical critical care physician, as he helps to answer questions for those who may be hesitant to receive the vaccine.
COVID-19 Testing Hours Expand Due to High Demand. Because of the spike in local COVID-19 cases and high demand for testing, new hours went into effect on April 11. Testing hours are now Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Between April 1 and April 14, we averaged 98 tests per day.

For information on how to schedule a test, visit our web site at www.spectrumhealth.org/covid

Donor Impact Series: The Future Inspired by You.  Spectrum Health donors truly do inspire the future, as each donation allows us to provide even more innovative care, services and technology for our communities. This informative monthly seminar series highlights examples of innovative care and treatment across many different services for all types of patients. Today’s program focused on “The Parallel Pandemic: The Mental Health Crisis Facing Today’s Youth.” On May 13, we will present “Saving Lives by Saving Time” and on June 17 our topic is “Caring for our Tiniest Patients.” All are free of charge. You can sign up for upcoming topics or view previous ones at https://spectrumhealth.org/foundation/donor-impact-series.

Culinary Medicine Classes beginning April 20:  Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital is again partnering with District Health Department #10 and Lifestyle Medicine at Spectrum Health to bring culinary medicine to Mason and Oceana County residents.

The first session of classes will be held April 20, April 27, May 4 and May 11. Each class is two hours in length, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Zoom will be the virtual platform used for the classes, allowing participants to easily watch the recipes being prepared or cook right alongside our chef and dietitian and then enjoy the meals with your family afterward. The fee is just $25 per session, which includes all four classes and most of the food needed for each class. Registration is now available. Spaces are limited, so register soon at https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/AprilSeries. For information or questions, please call 231.845.2222 or email Culinary.Medicine@SpectrumHealth.org.