Meet the one man you don’t want to see this July 4th
The Emergency Department at St. Tammany Health System's main campus in Covington includes the area's only Pediatric ER. The health system also operates a standalone Emergency Department on U.S. 190 across from the Mandeville Post Office. (STHS file photo)
By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org
Everybody wants to see fireworks this July 4th weekend. Everybody wants to see friends and see family – all the better if there’s a grill involved.
But one person you probably don’t want to see? Bradley Leonhard – although he and his team are ready for you if you need them.
Leonhard is the director of Emergency Services at St. Tammany Health System, and he recently visited The Lake 94.7-FM to offer tips on how you can stay safe this holiday weekend – and stay out of the ER.
And while everyone should be concerned about the recent surge in the spread of COVID-19, Leonhard added that as long as you exercise personal responsibility, there’s no reason you can’t have a Yankee Doodle Dandy of a holiday.
“We can’t live in isolation,” he acknowledged.
So, to avoid going back to the early days of pandemic and the state’s reviled-but-necessary stay-at-home order, what do people need to do?
“Proper social distancing,” Leonhard said. “Proper mask-wearing – and not just wearing it over your face; it’s got to fully cover your nose and your mouth. Personal responsibility for not only yourself, your family but the public.”
That goes for cookouts, for general star-spangled hangouts and for those families who plan on going to downtown Covington to watch the fireworks this year, Leonhard said.
“Be with your family – (but in) small groups,” he said. “No big parties. If you’re going out to downtown Covington to watch the fireworks, make sure you’re (at least) 6 feet from another family. I saw a good picture from a high school graduation where each family was in a circle. That’s great social distancing.”
All that being said, Leonhard added that the July 4th holiday often comes with its own brand of emergencies, from fireworks injuries to burns from the grill or swimming-related injuries. For those, he said, St. Tammany Health System’s Emergency Department at St. Tammany Parish Hospital – which includes the area’s only Pediatric Emergency Department – will, as always, be open for patients.
The same goes for the health system’s standalone Emergency Department across from the Mandeville Post Office on U.S. 190.
(You can monitor wait times at both the Covington and Mandeville ERs at STPH.org/ERWaitTime.)
The better plan, though, is just to be smart and exercise personal responsibility – including wearing that mask.
“Mask up,” Leonhard said. “It’s going to prevent you from getting (COVID-19). It’s going to prevent you from coming to the ER and seeing us.”
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Visit StTammany.health/COVID19 for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.