Vaccine adds layer of protection at Le Bonheur Outpatient Center in Jackson
JACKSON, Tenn. — Here at Le Bonheur Outpatient Center in Jackson, the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has arrived.
“We have 24 associates today that will be getting their second dose,” said Director of West Tennessee Pediatrics Diane Rushing.
The risk of COVID-19 among immunocompromised patients is high. Employees at the center have taken extra precautions, and now, the vaccine can add another layer of protection.
“It just makes us feel better, knowing we’ve been vaccinated,” Rushing said. “With the vaccine, we are much more secure in being able to add more visitors and those kinds of things to what we do.”
For the outpatient center, they’ve been forced to adjust, with telemedicine being their biggest leap forward.
“At the beginning, our numbers kind of dropped and we had to do things differently, but then they picked up and we actually have been able to see more children than ever, even during the pandemic,” said Rushing.
The outpatient center serves 7,000 patients a year. But the center wasn’t the only service needed.
Le Bonheur does community health programs, and many of those were temporarily on hold as well.
“When schools shut down, that did cause us to redirect our programs, just a little bit, because most of our programs are linked to schools,” said Cindy Hogg, director of health services for Le Bonheur Community Outreach.
The most important of which are behavioral therapy programs, which are now resuming with the reopening of schools.
“We have seen an uptick in children dealing with behavioral health issues, and the mental health problems you hear being talked about all the time on the news,” Hogg said.
With the vaccines now in the facility and continuing to spread throughout the organization, they’re confident Le Bonheur will soon be back to a semblance of normalcy.
Le Bonheur was also able to temporarily convert their bus to a COVID-19 testing site during the height of the pandemic.
For more information on COVID-19 in the West Tennessee area, including the latest data on new cases, click here.
