T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
“ Around 90%of all admissions to our hospitals are unvaccinated. ”
—Shelly Strayhorn, Chief Nursing Officer WADLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
photo by Brian Jones
How many vaccines has your hospital distributed locally? Shelly Strayhorn “We have administered over 2,500 at Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana and 200 at Wadley Regional Medical Center in Hope.” Dr. Loren Robinson “At CHRISTUS St. Michael we were excited to administer about 2,000 vaccines to our employees, physicians and local frontline workers. Then, in February 2021, the State of Texas recognized the hospital as a vaccination hub. The State was sending us vaccines every single week. From December 2020 to May 2021, we administered over 25,000 vaccines. That was really exciting for our area because we know that we have fully vaccinated folks who are trying to get back to their new normal. It was interesting because we had people come from outside Texas and our region even. We had someone come from Spain, some who came from Mexico, and I’m glad we were able to deliver care to those folks. Sometimes people discount small towns and think they can’t get top care there, but they can! We led the region and are a leader in the country in terms of how we did our vaccinations.”
What are your thoughts on alternative or preventative treatments such as Ivermectin that have become popular? Dr. Loren Robinson “I think Ivermectin is a hotly debated issue. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug. It’s most popular for use in horses and dogs for heartworms. But especially in our area, it is used on cows and horses. I think one challenge is that for medications for your animals, it is easier to get them than going to a doctor. What I’m cautioning people about is don’t take medicines that are made for animals. The concentrations are different. You are not a horse, so do not take horse medication! That being said, Ivermectin is available for humans and there are doctors who are prescribing it. If you are interested in that, talk to your doctor about it. I’ve talked to doctors who are taking it for prevention. I think there is less evidence there for that. But what we do know is that there is some evidence that Ivermectin can work in the early stages of COVID-19; however it is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of COVID-19. We don’t know exactly how, so I think some doctors are reluctant to say, ‘Yes, let’s do Ivermectin.’ I think it is a little premature right now, but I think it’s very important for folks to be talking to their doctor to find out if it’s something that may be right for you.”
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