Health & Wellness

HEALTH & WELLNESS Safe in Phase Two: Re-Opening in COVID-19

Chenier Reynolds-Montz Director of Outreach & Development for Access Health Louisiana CReynolds@accesshealthla.org

“When COVID-19 cases began surfacing in New Orleans, there was a dangerous myth circulating in our communities that African Americans were immune to the virus,” explains Dr. Eric Griggs (aka “Doc Griggs”) Community Medicine Health Educator. “The public was not respecting the science of the virus and unfortunately, misinformation cost people their lives.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in New Orleans, Doc Griggs has been operating on adrenaline battling what he calls a war that could potentially leave a lot of casualties. “A lot of the labor on the ground has been debunking myths surrounding the novel coronavirus.”

Griggs appears daily on WVUE-TV FOX 8 in New Orleans educating viewers in hopes of avoiding future spikes here at home. He’s using his talents of taking difficult health topics such as COVID-19 and making it understandable for families living in our communities. He’s also serving as an expert advisor to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the New Orleans Health Department for creating policy to keep residents safe.

“Everyone needs to play a role in keeping others safe until a vaccine is available,” urges Dr. Griggs. “The best thing that you can do is wear a mask in public and stay home if you don’t need to go out.”

Despite taking precautions, people will still get sick, but it’s important to know that most survive the virus. Griggs wasn’t exempt. He’s living proof after having battled COVID-19 himself during this pandemic. “COVID-19 is a virus. It doesn’t know what race, ethnicity, sexual preference or gender a person is. It just invades a host body and spreads.”

People need to use this time to focus on their health. Seek care especially if you have a chronic illness like diabetes, hypertension or asthma. Coroners throughout the state say they’re seeing an increase in deaths among people with chronic illness

es. Some of those deaths could have been prevented had the individuals kept up on their care; however, fear of COVID-19 is keeping some away from the doctor’s office.

The same message is being sent to parents regarding children and adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is urging parents to continue their child’s vaccination schedule despite the pandemic. “As states begin to open up and families move about in their community, we are afraid that we could see outbreaks of measles, whooping cough and other diseases that can spread very rapidly and be deadly for children,” said AAP President Sally Goza, M.D., FAAP. “It’s important that parents work with their pediatrician now to get all children caught up on their vaccines.”

Physician offices and community

health centers are taking special precautions to keep you safe, even designating special times in clinic where children only are admitted for visits with clinicians. You can also take advantage of telemedicine visits and talk to a provider by phone, tablet or computer. If you’re new to telemedicine, it’s easy to use. Access Health Louisiana has videos posted on its website in English and Spanish explaining how to navigate a virtual appointment. Visit accesshealthla.org for more information.

Chenier Reynolds-Montz is Director of Outreach & Development for Access Health Louisiana, a registered 501(c)3 organization. She can be reached at creynolds@accesshealthla.org. For information about our services, log onto our website at

accesshealthla.org