Local News

Lake Huron Medical Center and Tri-Hospital EMS want to assure the public that it is safe to seek emergency care if they are experiencing a non-COVID-19 health crisis. In light of the current pandemic, hospital emergency rooms and EMS services are seeing a decrease in the number of patients seeking care. Some of that is related to the Stay Home, Stay Safe order, and the lack of travel-related emergencies, but some patients are delaying or dismissing medical problems because of fear of coming in contact with COVID-19 patients. Delaying treatment can result in poor outcomes, especially for those experiencing a heart attack or a stroke.

Jose Kottoor, Chief Executive Officer of Lake Huron Medical Center said, “Our Emergency Department remains open, safe and ready to serve patients and our community, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. We are well prepared to handle non-COVID emergencies as well as able to deal with an influx of potential COVID-19 cases, and are following all state, local and federal guidelines to safeguard our staff and other patients from exposure.” 

Lake Huron Medical Center emergency room instituted a pre-screening system to separate patients who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms from those with other conditions. Their triage staff routes COVID-19 patients to one area of the ER and non-COVID-19 to another. Patients are also treated by a designated team of medical personnel assigned to their area.

Ken Cummings, President and CEO of Tri-Hospial EMS, said ambulance workers have had safety practices in place to protect patients long before COVID-19 came on the scene. “Our ambulances are completely decontaminated after every run,” said Cummings. The process involves spraying every surface in the truck, removing and decontaminating stretchers and any equipment used, and letting sanitizer sit for the recommended period before it is wiped off. Cummings also said that the hospital is notified at the scene to give them a 15-20 minute prep period if a patient being treated has symptoms of COVID-19.

Cummings feels their safety practices are solid. “We have transported around 60 COVID patients since this situation began, and, so far, none of my employees have been infected with the virus, ” he said. Tri-Hospital EMS is also following the CDC recommended procedures for PPE for its staff and putting masks on patients as well.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

On March 16, 2020, the American Dental Association (ADA) recommended that dentists close their practices and only see patients who were experiencing dental emergencies. The current restrictions are in place until April 30th. According to the ADA, the recommendation was intended “to observe social distancing, help mitigate the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, conserve essential personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical frontline colleagues, and avoid the need for patients requiring emergency dental treatment to go to overburdened hospital emergency departments.”

It has now been over a month since patients have had preventative dental care, and some have even delayed treatment for many dental conditions that although inconvenient and painful, were not deemed by the dentist or the patient as “worth the risk” for treatment. Now, the ADA has published interim guidelines to prepare dentists to reopen their practices, and they are suggesting the highest level of PPE for dentists and hygienists: N95 masks along with goggles or a face shield.

While dentists and hygienists recognize they are at extremely high risk from COVID-19 because of their close proximity to their patients and many aerosol-generating procedures, they are finding it hard to imagine effectively treating patients under the new recommendations.

Dr. Scott Fergsuon has been a dentist for 32 years. He is concerned that new regulations would mean an even greater disruption of service for his patients and too costly to effectively run his practice. Some of the recommendations suggested for reopening dental practices involve closing waiting rooms to patients, hiring additional staff to perform sanitization procedures, spacing out appointments, and only using every other chair or treatment room to physically distance patients.

In addition to the new requirements for PPE, Dr. Ferguson feels those measures may be financially prohibitive for many practices. “Since insurance companies only reimburse a certain amount for procedures as it is, I’m not really sure how to pay for all of this,” said Dr. Ferguson. He is also concerned about the availability of the PPE recommended for dental staff. “I haven’t even received the surgical masks I ordered in February, and we donated some of our stock to those who needed it when we closed,” he said.

Right now, the info coming from the ADA is listed as “recommendations”. Ultimately, how local dentists handle the re-opening of their practices will be subject to the laws, regulations, and rules of each state.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

In response to concern from the community, WGRT reached out to Nancy Winzer for more information about the grass situation at several Port Huron city parks. Winzer wants to assure the community that the lawn care company contracted by the city took full responsibility for the fertilization error when they became aware of it last fall, and they are cooperating with the city to repair the dead grass.

The initial report stated that the city’s insurance would be paying a claim for the repair, but Winzer clarified that the contractor’s insurance is covering the cost.

Both the City of Port Huron and the contractor are testing the soil to find a good solution to get grass growing again in those spots as soon as possible. Some of the grass that had a stronger root base survived the over-fertilization while weaker grass was more severely affected and died. The fertilizer used by the company is pet-friendly and would never be applied in amounts that would affect the nearby water. There is no danger to pets or animals walking on the dead grass.

“We understand how important these prime park areas are for our city,”said Winzer. “This company has provided the city with excellent service for years. They were forthcoming about their mistake and are cooperating fully to find a solution to the problem.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 21st at 5:25 PM are as follows:

• State of Michigan: 32,967 confirmed cases; 2,700deaths
• St. Clair County: 291 confirmed cases; 16 deaths
• Ontario: 11,735 confirmed cases; 622 deaths
• Sarnia-Lambton: 148 confirmed cases; 14 deaths

St. Clair County Community Services Coordinating Body (CSCB) has a new website at www.cscbinfo.org. The new CSCB website will serve as a central repository for information and links to resources available to St. Clair County residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes information about resources such as food distribution dates, utility assistance, housing resources, and unemployment assistance. The CSCB is a network of over 70 organizations, businesses and non-profits, that have collaborated for over 35 years to strengthen the community and meet the needs of St. Clair County residents.

The website was developed in partnership with The St. Clair County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), St. Clair County Health Department, and St. Clair County Community Mental Health (SCCCMH), and it will be updated continually as new information becomes available.

“Having this critical and necessary life sustaining information available at your fingertips, ensures that our community is able to meet personal and family needs at a time when resources are less available.” says Justin Westmiller, Director of St. Clair County Homeland Security and Emergency Management. For those without internet access, these resources can still be reached over the phone by calling the COVID-19 Support Line at SCCCMH (noted below).

The Government of Ontario recently confirmed that physical distancing and the many public health measures in place are working to contain the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve. The City of Sarnia wants to thank all those who are following social distancing practices and staying home. However, the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health believes that these emergency measures continue to be critical and does not recommend relaxing them at this time.

Please continue to rely on reputable sources for information on COVID-19:

• Centers for Disease Control:  cdc.gov/coronavirus
• State of Michigan: Michigan.gov/coronavirus  or Info Hotline  1-888-535-6136 Daily 8:00 am – 5:00 pm or email questions to COVID19@michigan.gov
• St. Clair County Health Department: COVID-19 Info Hotline (810) 966-4163 Mon – Fri, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm or email questions to covid19@stclaircounty.org
• St. Clair County Community Mental Health COVID-19 Support Line (810) 985-8900, available Monday-Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Lambton Public Health: https://lambtonpublichealth.ca/2019-novel-coronavirus/
• City of Sarnia COVID-19 Hotline: 1-877-4-SARNIA (1-877-472-7642)

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Rep. Shane Hernandez of Port Huron today helped unveil a regional approach to safely move toward reopening Michigan’s economy.

The proposed House Republican framework calls for a rolling restart — an approach based on the prevalence and risk factors of the virus, which varies by region. A transition task force would be established to determine which counties could have some COVID-19 restrictions eased more quickly, getting more people back to work and more facets of everyday life – when it’s safe.

“This framework provides a good start toward allowing more people to safely provide for their families and pay their bills during this challenging time,” said Hernandez, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “Everyone’s top priority is protecting public health and defeating this virus. We can work on that mission and also allow the economy to start reopening in safe, smart ways.

“The governor’s across-the-board, cookie-cutter approach has been far too restrictive on Michigan families and workers. I am hopeful she will take this opportunity to work with us, and make some commonsense adjustments to help get our state moving again.”

A transition task force – including representatives from Gov. Whitmer’s administration, the Legislature and outside groups – would place counties into one of three tiers based on coronavirus activity and other factors such as hospitalization rates and capacity. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties – which have the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the state – would be in the tier with strictest restrictions. Other counties would be placed in tiers with fewer restrictions.

The same task force would help determine which jobs and activities could be resumed safely, starting from the premise of federal CISA guidelines which in some cases are not as restrictive as the prohibitions now in place in Michigan. The task force would make frequent recommendations to the governor to reflect changes in coronavirus activity.

“There’s no question some workers who have been forced into unemployment by the governor’s orders could be on the job safely,” Hernandez said. “People are worried about their futures and what’s going to happen next. I am hopeful the governor will consider our common-sense recommendations and help move Michigan to better days ahead.”

Submitted by Tim Martin