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The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System has announced the creation of its Coronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force, whose focus will be on streamlining information distribution and clinical operations across the health system’s locations throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.

The task force will be chaired by Dr. Steven Gremillion, chief medical officer for the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, and include physicians from each of the health system’s markets. They include Dr. Catherine O’Neal in Baton Rouge (co-chair), Dr. Hamid Hussain in Bogalusa, Dr. Buster McVey in Jackson, Miss., Dr. Frank Courmier in Lafayette, and Dr. John Bruchhaus in Monroe.

Nicole Telhiard, DNP, CPN, NE-BC, Chief Nursing Officer for Our Lady of the Lake, will provide consultation from a nursing perspective.

“With locations in Louisiana and Mississippi, this task force is the next step in our preparedness plans to ensure we have a streamlined approach to serving our communities should they be impacted by the novel Coronavirus,” Gremillion said. “Physicians from each of our ministries will work together on this task force to ensure we have the resources and information necessary to provide exceptional care.”

The task force will be meeting regularly to establish and adjust processes and procedures regarding COVID-19 response and ensuring the health system’s more than 18,000 employees are provided the information necessary to provide care for their communities.

“While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Louisiana or Mississippi, it’s not a matter of if we’ll see them, but when, and we want our health system to have all of the resources necessary to respond,” said O’Neal, infectious disease specialist at Our Lady of the Lake. “We are working with local, state and federal officials, as well as large employers to best prepare our communities.”