Happy New Year and welcome to PBS39 WLVT communty update on coronavirus It's brought you with help from our community partner Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We're coming to you live from the PPE public Media Center in Bethlehem.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Our guest today include an emergency medicine physician who can speak about how the coronavirus has affected the emergency room.

And since the calendar has changed, we'll also be joined by a nutritionist to share tips on eating healthy in the pandemic.

New Year will be meeting them in just a moment.

If you have a question, you can give us a call.

The phone numbers 4 8 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

Our guest will answer some of those questions live.

Plus four daily coronavirus updates.

Be sure to sign for our newsletter.

You can do that at our website coronavirus Lehigh Valley.

.Org resources are available in both English and Spanish.

Now let's take a look at today's headlines.

The state says it's working on plans to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to people.

75 years and older.

But Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine said today she didn't have specifics on when the state would have enough vaccines to begin distribution to seniors, not in skilled nursing facilities.

Seniors 75 and older are part of the one be phased allocation of the vaccines after the one a phase nursing home residents and frontline health care I wouldn't say that we're far behind again.

When he just started several weeks ago, when we're just working to ramp up one day.

And so we we're not really behind in any way.

So I can't tell you one when B will start, it'll totally dependent on how much vaccine we get and ramping up our efforts for one day.

But as we come to when one will start, I promise you we'll be ready.

We'll have all the resources that we need and we'll have all the plans that we need to start that.

But we're not there yet.

And those discussions are happening right now.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 7805 new coronavirus cases and 122 more deaths today and Sunday.

That brings the statewide total since last March to more than 665,000 cases, nearly 16 thousand 500 Pennsylvanians have died from Covid-19.

Dr Levine said the new case numbers could reflect a lower than actual number due to a dashboard software update.

Over the weekend, after more than three weeks shut down gyms and indoor dining were allowed to reopen.

Today limited capacity.

Museums, casinos and entertainment venues outside of Philadelphia also reopened.

High school sports can resume as well for restaurants.

Many restrictions remain in place, such as early last calls and no serving of alcohol unless it is accompanied by a meal.

A drive through a testing site opened this morning and will be held each day through Friday at cocacola Park in Allentown.

Testing is free and no appointment or symptoms are necessary.

Hours are 9am to 6 pm.

People are asked to enter from American Parkway and be prepared to wait in line.

Up to 450 people can be tested per day.

Results come back in two to seven days.

OK, let's meet our guests for the day.

Dr Robert Tom Show is an emergency medicine physician who works at LVHN Cedar Crest campus in Salisbury Township.

We'll ask him about managing an emergency room safely for patients and staffers in the age of Covid-19, of course.

And Meredith Magrath is a registered dietitian for Reddens Markets.

The diet educator is here to share her professional expertise in maintaining a healthy diet, something that has been a struggle for many people during this pandemic.

Thank you both so much for joining us.

Today.

And Dr Tom Show, we're going to start you, Meredith.

We'll be back with you in just a few minutes.

So Dr Tom Show, thank you so much for being here.

Emergency room medicine is often the first contact people have with the hospital.

Back in the spring, there was a lot of concern that people weren't going to the ER out of concern for exposure to the virus.

So I want to start by asking you, is that still a problem?

Does LVHN have any evidence of that?

Are people still kind of hesitant to go to the ER with some of the ailments or problems that they have?

There is a very good question and thanks for having me tonight.

I think you're right.

In the spring, people in general were worried.

We didn't really know a lot about the virus.

We didn't really know it was new to us.

We didn't know how it was really transmitted.

We've learned now that, you know, by keeping a mask on and social distancing and washing our hands, we can help to minimize our risks.

And I think people are feeling a little bit more comfortable.

We've also educated people well that to the point that they need to get checked.

So they should come to the ER and they should get tested.

And I think we are seeing all that education pan out and we are seeing more people now come into the ER that maybe before we're not sure.

So what are some of the safety measures that you have in place right now?

How is it different than it was, say, a year ago?

When you go to the emergency room?

So we have taken precautions.

As soon as people come into the emergency department.

They're screened.

They have temperature screening.

They're given a mask.

So everyone wears a mask.

We also have the luxury and the we're very fortunate that we just opened our new acute care pavilion at Cedar Crest, which has individual rooms as opposed to hallway beds that we were unfortunately forced to use in our previous ER.

So we now have the ability to isolate every patient into their own room.

We have a larger waiting room that allows people to stay more distance so that we can keep them safe.

And our staff is using personal protective equipment.

We're all wearing masks.

We're all wearing eye protection.

We're all using alcohol sanitizer before we go into room and when we come out of a room.

So we're able to keep patients safer by minimizing their exposure to coronavirus.

Sure.

was gonna ask about the staff, doctors, nurses, what is different for them now?

What do they have to do different?

Obviously, some of the protocols you just said.

So it has been challenging for all of us and it's been extremely stressful.

But I think health care workers in general and first my workers, we've all adapted.

This is what we do.

And so we've learned again, we keep ourselves safe by following the simple guidelines wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, making sure we're socially distance even from each other in our own break rooms where we have to stay apart from each other and not touching our faces and, you know, changing clothes before we go home so that we don't take anything home with us.

So those are some of the things that we've done to protect ourselves.

And then, of course, we still emphasize the need to also take care of mental health.

So exercise, nutrition and all of those things are helped to keep us safe as well.

Char, it's got to weigh on you both mentally and physically.

You know, I know the public as a collective is thinking all of our frontline workers for all that you do.

And we're kind of seeing at least we're hoping to see a turn in this pan.

Demick with the vaccines.

Has your staff yet received the vaccinations?

Yes, we've pretty much everybody in the emergency department has received the vaccine.

In fact, I believe the networks given almost 8000 vaccines to date already.

So we have all been initially vaccinated.

Now the vaccine is a two part series.

So we're still waiting for the second dose.

For example, minds next week for my second dose.

But yes, we are all vaccinated.

Anyone that wanted to be and that will certainly go a long way to help protect us as well and to protect our patients.

Sure.

And as those vaccines arrived started being administered, what was kind of the feeling amongst the staff?

Were they relieved?

Were they happy?

Was there some hesitance?

What did you get from them?

So I think that's a good question.

And I know there is some hesitancy out there in the public.

I think from a science perspective, you know, from a physician perspective, the science is there, that the vaccine is effective.

There are several vaccines out there that are all more than 95% effective.

They have been safe.

They've been tried.

They've been gone through clinical trials and have been approved.

So I think the anxiety with the vaccine should be minimal.

I think among health care workers, we were all anxious to get the vaccine.

We all wanted to be at or near the front of the line to to start to protect ourselves and give us ourselves that little bit extra protection.

But it's certainly something that I think that for many of us has kind of helped us to think that we've we start to turn the page and maybe we are now going to start to see, you know, while we're still going to see high numbers that maybe we are now coming to the other side of things and are going to get better.

Let's hope so for sure.

Let's talk about just the number of people who are coming into the ER at this point.

Are you seeing an increase, a decrease especially after the holidays?

And amid this pandemic, what are you seeing right now in the emergency room?

So our numbers are definitely increased across our network.

We are seeing high numbers, innumeracy.

Environmentalists are seeing a fair number of patients coming in with Covid symptoms.

You know that is certainly higher than we had seen previously.

So we are definitely on on the upswing, but we're certainly capable of handling the volumes again.

Our new acute care pavilion, which has close to 100 ER beds and all individual beds and all of our campuses are equipped to handle Lyons.

We've put into we've put into place surge policies and surge practices and we meet regularly to discuss how we're going to handle increased volumes.

So we're prepared for the increased volumes and we certainly don't want to discourage people who need to come to the hospital.

We certainly want them to come them.se we can certainly treat- Sure.

In the beginning of this pandemic, I know a lot of hospitals were asking people to call before they came as that's still sort of the protocol.

Should you call before you come or when do you have that moment where you're like, you know, I should go to the emergency room?

You know, I think if you feel that you need to be in the emergency, you need to be in the emergency room.

You know what?

We don't want to happen is have people that are not coming to the Mertztown because they're scared.

I don't when our network doesn't want people who have chest pain to not come to the ER because they're afraid of coronavirus, you know, we don't want people having heart attacks, strokes and bad things happening at home.

So they need to come to the ER.

We can take care of them.

We can keep them safe.

We've made every we're taking every possible precaution we can for for safety and to prevent, you know, possibly spreading coronavirus to to others.

So we still encourage people to come in if they need to be in there.

Great.

Dr Tom Shah, let's talk about a project that started before the pig pandemic began.

This was LVHN expansion of the adult and children's emergency rooms.

Has that project been impacted by the last, you know, 10, 11 months of what's going on across the world right now?

Has that project been impacted?

Well, so we actually opened our new acute care pavilion in early December.

And quite honestly, the timing couldn't have been better because of us seeing these higher volumes.

And we're now able to handle them.

You know, we have every patient now has their own private room.

We have a critical care pod that can handle our most critical patients.

We have rooms in every section, ER that have negative flow and negative pressure rooms to keep patients isolated.

And we have a very large waiting room, as you're seeing here, that we can keep those who may have to wait, we can keep them separated.

So the project kind have come at a better time.

There was really no delays because of Covid.

We opened on time and you know, where were you know, where we came in, you know, came in running.

And the volumes have certainly had had been up had been high.

But again, we're taking care of everybody and we're doing good job getting them the care they need within our network.

Can you elaborate on those negative pressure rooms and why they're so important when fighting the coronavirus?

So there's certainly a subset of people with Corona that might need a negative pressure room in these rooms or all have their own circulatory system or circulation system such that if we are concerned about aerosolized particles, for example, those that might need advanced airways or nebulizer treatments to help breathing, you know, we can put these patients in those rooms to better protect others and to better protect our staff from the potential transmission of Covid.

If that is a concern.

Sure.

We're still in the midst of this pandemic.

But as we pull hopefully on the other side with the vaccines being administered in that kind of thing, how do you see emergency medicine being impacted in the long run because of all of this?

You know, that's a great question in a probably dating myself a little bit, but I remember back I was in I was a paramedic for a long time and I remember when we started wearing gloves and that was in the height of HIV and AIDS back in the 80s.

And early 90s.

And you know, we still wear gloves.

So I really think that some of the things we have learned, the protective equipment, the protective eyewear, perhaps even mass testing, that's going to become part of our standard our standard attire.

I think even after Covid is gone, I wouldn't be surprised if physicians are still wearing masks, are still wearing protection with every patient encounter.

I think it is probably good for patients, certainly good for physicians.

It's good practice to keep us all healthy.

Sure.

Dr Tom Shalal, before we let you go, if you could let us know if people do have Covid Covid like symptoms, what is the protocol?

Should they come to the ER.?

Should they not?

Should they call first?

That's if they have any other symptoms.

They're not, you know, extremely severe at that point.

So that's a good question.

Not obviously not everybody needs to come to the emergency department.

Those who experiencing mild symptoms are just want testing.

Constantly.

You know, look on our website for a video visit or can talk to their family doctor, go to one of our testing centers and be evaluated again.

Not everyone who has Covid has to be hospitalized.

We send many people home with very close follow up.

So I think no, not everyone community are they could certainly if they are in severe distress, can't breathe.

They're having chest discomfort.

You know, really high fevers, elderly or other comorbid issues that it may make their symptoms worse than those people certainly need to come to the emergency department.

But for some somebody who's young, healthy and just wants to be tested that we have we certainly offer other options such as video visits or testing centers.

Talked to Robert Tom Show from Lehigh Valley Health Network, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise with us today.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely.

And we continue this community update on coronavirus PBS39.

You can catch the Reboard cast on the radio tonight at nine 30 on WLVT.

News.

91 three FM Let's bring in now Meredith MCGRATH.

Meredith, this pandemic has added a completely new layer to the new year and the resolutions we love to make this time of year, you know, New Year, New Me is the motto.

And with that typically comes the vow to eat better or get into better shape.

So I want to start and talk about that.

Are we seeing the same resolutions as we head into 2020 one?

Hey, Britney.

Good to be here.

Thank you so much for having me.

And like you said, the new year is amongst us and so many people typically make the normal food and exercise resolutions.

But this year does seem to be a bit different.

People are focussed a little bit more on self-care.

And I think that's so important because when you think about health, it's not just your physical health.

It's really your mental, your emotional, your social well-being.

All plays into the overall picture of your health.

So I think people are being a little bit more mindful about the resolutions they make and also trying to not be too hard on themselves.

You know, when I when I'm out and if I have talked to some people about something that they may be changing, I know a lot of folks are really just focussed on mindful eating versus any food fads in and trendy diets that we've seen in the past.

So I do think some positive will come out of the New Year resolutions for 2021.

Sure.

And let's talk about just being mindful when you're choosing what you eat when you're grocery shopping.

What tips do you have for people who are heading out and maybe they do want a little bit better during this pandemic.

We've all heard by now of the quarantine.

15.

Maybe someone wants to shed that or just eat healthy in the new year in general.

What are some of the tips that you have when grocery shopping and preparing your food at home?

So first of all, one of the good things that that's pandemic has brought us is that folks, for the first time in many years are eating from home and are actually learning how to cook.

Which I find you know, really inspiring because for the longest time everybody was getting takeout all the time and fast food.

So now folks are really starting to be invested in their food, invested in ingredients, taking the time at the grocery store.

So as for tips at the store, you obviously you can see here I have a wide variety of food and that is going to be very important.

You know, every single time you go try to find something new, whether it's a new fruit or vegetable or a different type of protein that you can incorporate into some of your meals.

But having that variety in addition to moderation is truly going to be key.

So when you think about some of the diet principles, you know, I love the fact that we didn't have to rewrite any rules.

A lot of the same nutrition principles apply.

And that is to look across all the different food groups, you know, enjoy your food, but eat less.

I've heard people say in the past and over the years that when you do your grocery shopping, you should kind of do the outside perimeter of the store first.

That's kind of where you find your produce and that kind of thing.

Would you think that rings true for REDDENS markets?

So they have been saying that for many years and although there is some truth to shopping the perimeter, obviously you know, in most retailers, especially runners, when you walk in you're going to walk right into the produce department.

And I have some wonderful things here.

Fresh avocado, fresh mango, one of our favorites in our household are the on the bag salads because they're super quick and easy.

I have some chopped lettuce here know prepared ready to be steamed broccoli.

So we have that.

Then we move into the fresh meat and then obviously our healthy dairy.

So all of those are on the perimeter of the grocery store.

But at the same time, there are so many healthful foods that are in the center aisles.

Some examples that I have up here as we talk about some of going to hear people say plant based a lot and people moving to word foods that are not from animals.

And some of those foods like our beans and lentils, some whole grains, those are all foods that are going to be found in the center store of the grocery store.

So, you know, I'd hate for people to just walk around the outside and miss all those because you're going to be missing a lot of key nutrients like fiber and antioxidants.

Absolutely.

Merideth, you.

Looks like you have some really great choices there in front of you.

Is there one specific meal that you think is quick and easy that you share with people often that's also healthy.

So since the pandemic, I too, although I normally cook a lot, I have certainly upped my game quite a bit.

And again, one of the good things that has come about this besides the fact that folks are cooking and eating at home a little bit more folks are actually eating breakfast more, which I have always been a breakfast fan.

So this definitely near and dear to my heart.

But you know, sometimes breakfast, you do have to be a little creative.

So I recently came upon this this recipe from the folks at the American Egg Board.

You know, eggs are one of the most affordable sources of protein and high quality protein.

So I certainly encourage people to in to incorporate that into their diet as much as possible.

But one of the recipes that I just came up with and one of my favorites is a whole grain flatbread and there is a chopped spinach, sliced pears, eggs, a little bit of cheese.

Certainly if you don't want the yolk, you could eliminate the yolks if you want.

But nonetheless, this has really been a great breakfast for me.

You can make it ahead of time, save some for later habit for a snack.

So this is one my new favorite recipes that I do love to share.

It takes less than 10 minutes.

It's quick and easy.

The kids love it.

Adults love it.

So I really I'm just going to say, Meredith, you have a little one at home and some little ones on the way.

Congratulate patients to you.

I was just going to say, does your toddler worry that it sounds like you're hiding all the good stuff in there?

She doesn't even notice.

Yes.

She has been a very good eater from the start.

And you know, that's something also that's very important.

The dietary guidelines of 2023 2025 have just been released.

And what I love about them is for the first time in 40 years they're really focussing on all the different life stages because truly as you go through life you typically have different nutrient needs and you know they start as young as birth and then all the way through pregnancy, into older adulthood.

And you know, I think it's going to be key for folks to pay attention to some of these tips because, you know, setting the stage early for a little one so that they can grow and to healthy adults is still important.

Sure.

I did want to ask you about those nutritional guidelines and how they've changed over the last few years.

So they're there to truly something any earth shaking changes that we've seen.

You know, again, the whole goal of this is they're very their science based recommendations for food and drinks for Americans across all spectrums of life.

And it's really for health promotion, for disease prevention and just overall making sure that you're meeting your nutrient needs.

So you're going to hear a lot of the same pieces and that is going to be to have a variety of foods in order to make sure that you're meeting your nutrient needs.

Keep I focussed on saturated fats and added sugars.

We want to keep those as minimal as possible.

Watch your alcohol intake, which is, of course, another food trend that folks really are on.

You know, as much as they still do love to have an adult beverage.

They are trying to get some beverages that are lower and calorie and lower in alcohol.

So that was a good a way for you to still incorporate some of the things that you like, but do it in a more healthful way.

Sure.

I know a lot of people take January as dry January and try to cut out the alcohol completely.

But if you're not doing that, but you still want to jump on that health train, are there any suggestions for those healthy cocktails?

Yes.

Of course.

I am not enjoying any of them currently.

However, for those of you who do get to enjoy them.

I know a lot of the seltzer beverages have very popular again, a little bit lower calorie lowering alcohol.

They taste great.

They're spun flavors.

I know a lot of men and women alike have been drinking.

So that is probably been the go to of the new alcohol industry.

Also, I love that.

And also I know you know that you said that you have upped your game and cooking.

I fortunately have not in the past year the crock pot, my best friend, but something that perked my interest when you were looking and showing us some of the food in front of you.

The take and big items.

How do they work?

Yes.

So, you know, you're going to see that a lot of different places, not just grocery stores, but some restaurants as well.

And basically they're going to have the foods kind of already prepped for you.

And then all you've to do is come home and put them in the oven.

You know, I look at that as almost like a big step for people just to get in their kitchen and start actually cooking their food.

Even though there's not a whole lot to do besides put it in the oven, you know.

But still, you know, what to look for.

Some of these dishes that do have the fruits and the vegetables, the whole grains, the lean proteins, you know, maybe skip some of the foods that are fried and high in saturated fat.

Absolu.

Absolutely.

And of course, there's options.

I'm sure healthy options that retinas for people to add.

And every grocery store to go and get these meals pre-made if they're not at home.

You know, at home cooking all day.

Wonderful.

Any more healthy tips as people embark on their healthy eating for the new year?

You know, bleeding head what?

Headline for the dietary guidelines is make every bike count.

And that just made me so happy that they led with that because it's so true.

The science has shown us over and over again that it's really the cumulative dietary pattern.

So the foods that we eat throughout our life, you know, the most consistently vs in just a single setting that really impact our health.

And you know, we see the direct correlation between the foods that we put in our mouth and how we know how healthy we are.

And I think that's so important that think about every single thing you put in your mouth, make sure that it's contributing positive nutrients.

And of course, make sure that you are enjoying your food and get out, exercise, drink plenty water and get lots of sleep.

Meredith, before I let you go, I have to ask what's for dinner tonight?

So because I don't get anything on right now, I'm actually pulling out my instant pot.

And that is one thing that is my learning curve and that's going to be my New Year's resolution that I still have a lot of learning to do with the instant pot.

I think there are so many great resources online wine and in different community groups where people kind of help each other learn how to cook.

And that is one for me is that I'm going to be making think like a big DVD and the instant pot with grilled chicken on the side.

So we'll see how goes.

Sounds delicious.

Meredith McGraugh from Renner's Markets, thank you so much for joining us and best of luck to you.

We want to thank you for watching and our guests for being here today.

Thanks for joining for community update on coronavirus.

We'll be here at 4pm each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on PBS39 and on the radio at 9:30 those same nights on WLVT News.

We'll be back Wednesday at 4:00 with a special guest.

If you have a question, you can give us a call.

Thank you so much for joining us for PBS39.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Stay safe.

Sure.

Thank you, everybody.

Dr Tom Show, thanks for filling in.

Brian Downs was was was scrambling about he came through for us and you sure did to Will.

Hopefully I did OK for you.

Thank you for us.

It was great.

I really appreciate you stepping in there and doing that.

Sir.

Anytime.

Thank you.

Hey, thanks again, guys, and have a happy new year.

I thank you, guys.