Lady of the Sea Medical Clinics announce access to Telemedicine and Curb-Side Clinic Visits

The following press release was sent by Lady of the Sea: 

Patient safety has always been the top priority at Lady of the Sea. In an effort to offer the highest level of patient safety, we have implemented Telemedicine visits for our patients in the last week.

“Prior to the Pandemic, our rural health clinics did not provide Telemedicine services due to specific rules for Medicare and Medicaid, but as the government responded to Covid-19 by changing some of the rules, Telemedicine has become a great way for us to offer medical care through our Larose and Cut Off Family Medical Clinics,” said Tad Lafont, Chief Clinic Officer at Lady of the Sea.

By offering Telemedicine, some patients will be able to access the same quality care at home as they do with an in-clinic visit. All that is needed is a phone line for audio appointments or an internet connection and a smart phone or tablet for an audio / visual visit.

All patients are asked to call their clinic if they start feeling ill or have some other healthcare need. The phone clerks at the clinics are working directly with the providers to offer the best option for medical care to protect our patients and their families. We ask that when calling in, patients be prepared to offer detailed information on the reason for your visit, so that we can offer each patient the best options for each unique situation.

Some patients may need to be seen in person by a provider, but may not need to come into the clinic. For these patients, we have set up curb-side visit areas at both of our clinics in Larose and Cut Off. We have reimagined the patient visit as they go through the process to make sure that our services continue to be timely, accessible and safe for all of our patients.

For those patients that will be seen in the clinic, Lady of the Sea has put into place limited access in our waiting area to only patients and essential caregivers of those patients. “We’ve enacted a strict no visitor policy for both of our clinics. Anyone needing to enter the clinic is screened prior to entering the waiting area,” Mr. Lafont reported. “We are committed to doing everything we can to provide health care in a safe, HIPAA-compliant environment for our community and our patients.”

We have also enacted many of the same policies and services at our Lady of the Sea Outpatient Rehab clinic. We offer Physical, Occupational and Speech therapy services through audio / visual communications as well and have been working diligently to work with all of our patients to continue to provide for their therapy needs during these trying times. Each patient case will be evaluated by the therapy staff to maximize the effectiveness of therapy plans utilizing the Telemedicine platforms available.

Our clinics, pharmacies and hospital employ people from our community. Our employees take great pride in providing the highest quality in healthcare to their families, friends and neighbors here in South Lafourche. We strongly urge everyone to continue to follow the advice of the CDC, the Louisiana Department of Health and our federal, state and local leaders – wash your hands frequently for 20 seconds at a time, cover your cough with the inside of your elbow or a tissue, practice social distancing when you must leave your home, and stay home as mandated. By all of us doing our part to fight this Pandemic, we hope to limit its impact.