Published March 27, 2020
The University of Louisiana System and LSU are partnering to mobilize healthcare students,
graduates or active/retired members of the healthcare workforce to volunteer their
time and talents through Louisiana Volunteers by signing up at www.COVID-19LAVolunteers.org.
“It is our goal to leverage these volunteers as case managers and care coordinators
to remotely and safely work with individuals with COVID-19 positive diagnoses, and
to monitor patient conditions while under self-quarantine, said Dr. Ramesh Kolluru,
Chief Innovation Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and
Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development at the University
of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Those with backgrounds in the fields of medicine, nursing, allied health professions,
dentistry, pharmacy, counseling, mental/behavioral health, and laboratory science,
among others, are being sought to volunteer for this statewide workforce augmentation
effort.
“Using COVID-19 protocols from CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and
the Louisiana Department of Health, and in coordination with the healthcare systems,
these volunteers will direct patients to specific hospitals in their communities,
if and only when needed. We expect this will limit the number of patients showing
up at hospitals/ERs, causing a significant burden on the healthcare system, while
relieving patients and their families the burden of shopping around for hospitals
with beds, staff, resources, and the ability to take in COVID-19 patients,” Kolluru
said.
Kolluru believes more than 9,000 healthcare students from Louisiana colleges and universities
“are willing and able to join hands (figuratively speaking) with our amazing healthcare
workers on the frontlines to help the state through this crisis.”
According to LDH, as of March 26, 2020, there were 510 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the
Louisiana total to 2,305. There are 83 deaths to date.
For more information or to volunteer, visit www.COVID-19LAVolunteers.org.
