• Hospital Rounds Jan-Feb 2011
• Hospital Rounds Nov-Dec 2011
• Hospital Rounds Sept-Oct 2011

Hospital Rounds

Baton Rouge General Partners with Blue Cross

Baton Rouge General Physicians and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana have signed a formal agreement to build a patient-centered medical home or PCMH—an innovative model of healthcare delivery that improves quality and lowers costs. The patient-centered medical home is an innovative concept of healthcare delivery centered on a primary care physician who manages a patient’s healthcare needs. This physician is accountable for coordinating the patient’s care and is reimbursed based on outcomes and patient satisfaction, not just volume of services.

The medical home model of care is designed to encourage and strengthen the doctor-patient relationship by replacing episodic and reactive disease-focused care with organized and proactive care focused on preventing disease and preserving health.

OLOL Recognized for Commitment to Excellence in Stroke

Our Lady of the Lake has earned the Get with the Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award from The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. OLOL is recognized for its commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

“Our goal in this journey to Primary Stroke Center Certification has always been about best practice stroke care for our patients. Participating in Get With the Guidelines Stroke is our measure of that quality,” said Liz Marcotte, RN, Neuroscience Program Coordinator. “This recognition speaks to the quality commitment we have throughout the continuum of care here at OLOL for stroke patients.”

Facundus Joins Baton Rouge General Physicians

Edward Facundus, MD, FACS, has joined Drs. Dhaval Adhvaryu and Sidney Ross at Baton Rouge General Surgical Associates, part of Baton Rouge General Physicians. Dr. Facundus is Board Certified in general surgery and is distinguished as an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence surgeon.

Dr. Facundus is a graduate of Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his surgical residency at Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the Southeastern Surgical Congress.

Woman’s Nurses Honored

Woman’s Hospital nurse Kristy Simmons, RN, CNOR was honored as national Nurse of the Year for Exemplary Professional Practice by the American Nurses Credentialing Center at the ANCC National Magnet Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, April Morris, RN was named the Protector in Superheroes of Nursing by Mosby’s Nursing.

ANCC is the world’s largest and most prestigious nurse credentialing organization. This is the first time they have given the Nurse of the Year Awards and Simmons was one of only five recipients nationwide. Nominees were judged by a panel of nurse experts for innovation, consultation, leadership, and professional risk taking.

A perioperative surgical nurse at Woman’s for 27 years, Simmons’ professional excellence and passion as a patient advocate was noted through her many achievements including developing perioperative policies to improve patient care; being published about the proper care of non-English-speaking patients; encouraging nursing careers among local high school students and mentoring college students; working with the international community by organizing a medical clinic for underserved women in Mexico; and responding to the Japanese earthquake.

Morris, Charge Nurse in Neonatal Intensive Care at Woman’s was named a winner in the Mosby’s Nursing Superheroes of Nursing, a contest aimed to search and identify the real-life superheroes in the nursing profession. The contest was part of a nationwide Facebook campaign to recognize nurses who represent four key categories – The Validators, The Achievers, The Educators, and The Protectors – and identify how they address the issues they face daily. Morris was named the “Protector” and called “a real nurse and leader who can manage the most critical patient assignment,” by Mosby’s website.

Woman’s Hospital Earns GIFT Certification

In December Woman’s Hospital received a GIFT – the Guided Infant Feeding Techniques certification for its efforts in protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding. The largest labor and delivery hospital in Louisiana, Woman’s delivers more than 8,500 babies a year. The Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition, the Louisiana Perinatal Commission, and the Office of Public Health-Maternal and Child Health Program applauded Woman’s for its programs to educate mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding and for providing ongoing breastfeeding support. The certification was presented to Woman’s by Janie Martin, Executive Director of the Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition.

Woman’s full-time, board-certified lactation consultants visit new mothers throughout their hospital stay. Nurses also help women through prenatal classes, post-discharge consultations, private in-room visits and a 24/7 “Warmline” to answer any breastfeeding questions. Additionally, Woman’s has designated lactation consultants for mothers of NICU babies. These consultants advise mothers on how to provide breast milk, whether it is through pumping or breastfeeding, to help their babies grow stronger and healthier.

Baton Rouge General Opens ER for Seniors

Baton Rouge General Mid City recently announced it has opened the region’s first Seniors Emergency Room specially designated and designed for adults 65 and older. The Seniors ER is staffed with a team of medical professionals specializing in geriatric care and trained in administering screenings and assessments to identify patients who may need additional assistance or resources outside of the hospital. The team will include physicians specializing in geriatrics, emergency medicine, and palliative care and nurses trained in geriatric emergency care. In addition sensitivity training will be provided for other disciplines including physical therapists, pharmacists, social workers, and all staff who work with seniors.

Comprised of a special area dedicated to meet seniors’ needs, the new Seniors ER features hand rails that line walls, anti-slip flooring, color-coded directions for ease of navigation as well as furniture and amenities made for senior use. Every bed area has a heated blanket, caregiver seating, and a comfortable mattress. Room lighting is softer, the colors are muted, and assistive tools are in place for easier reading of any medical paperwork.

LHA To Host Leadership Symposium

The Louisiana Hospital Association will host its annual Winter Healthcare Leadership symposium on January 31 and February 1, 2012 at the Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge. Hospital leaders from across Louisiana will gather to learn about the latest developments in national and statewide healthcare reform, prepare for the upcoming legislative session, and gain useful knowledge that will help the hospital industry advocate for patients, healthcare workforce, and facilities.

Invited speakers include: Lt. General Russel Honoré USA (Ret.); Dave Willis, Managing Director, The Advisory Board Company; Dr. Loren Scott, President, Loren C. Scott & Associates, Inc.; Gov. Bobby Jindal; DHH Sec. Bruce Greenstein; and Stanley Hupfeld, Chairman, INTEGRIS Health Family of Foundations. In addition, an American Hospital Association representative has been invited to inform participants about the latest on national budget cuts and healthcare reform.

Registration is $150/person for LHA member hospital personnel and board members, LHA Associate members, and members of LHA societies (LONE, Attorneys, LSHPRM) and $250/person for LHA Corporate members and all others. The fee includes the seminar, printed materials, and refreshments. Lunch will be provided on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 only. For more information, go to www.lhaonline.org/.

Ochsner Men in Pink

In honor of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month several Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge men donned pink scrubs to show their support. Ochsner-Baton Rouge held several events throughout the month of October to raise awareness and support of breast cancer research.

Dupont Named Pennington Cancer Center Medical Director

Joseph Benton Dupont, Jr., MD, FACS, has been named Medical Director of Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Pennington Cancer Center. He previously served as chief of Surgical Services and Chief of Staff at Baton Rouge General from 1998 to 2004.

Dr. Dupont is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his residency in general surgery at Charity Hospital in New Orleans where he served as Chief Administrative Surgical Resident. He completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Since 1997, Dr. Dupont has been a full-time member of LSU Health Science Center’s Department of Surgery as a professor of Clinical Surgery.

Board Certified in general surgery and specializing in surgical oncology, Dr. Dupont has been an active member of Baton Rouge General’s medical staff since 1981. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the James D. Rives Surgical Society, and the Society of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Dupont helped guide the Certified Comprehensive Accreditation of Baton Rouge General’s cancer program in 1987. He also served as Baton Rouge General’s physician liaison for the Commission on Cancer, Chairman of the Commission on Cancer and the National Liaison Physician Program, and as Chairman of Baton Rouge General’s Cancer Patient Service Group.

OLOL Named Consumer Choice Again

For the thirteenth consecutive year, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has been selected by the National Research Corporation (NRC) as the Consumer Choice Award winner for the hospital with the highest overall quality and image in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. Consumer Choice award winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in NRC Ticker study. The 2011-2012 NRC Ticker study surveyed over 250,000 households representing 450,000 consumers in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Ochsner Nurses Recognized

Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge announced that eight local nurses were among those selected as the 2011 Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana. Honorees were chosen by their peers and patients based on their contributions to patients, the community, and the nursing profession. The Ochsner-Baton Rouge nurses recognized were:
• Theresa Chauncy, RN - Cardiac Catheterization Lab
• Dawn Pevey Mauk, RN – Chief Nursing Officer
• Jill Banker, RN - Endoscopy
• Cynthia Briody, RN – Women’s Services
• Jill Baxter, RN – Women’s Services
• Belinda Mounce, RN – Cardiac Catheterization Lab/CVRU
• Prentice Massey, RN – Critical Care
• Ruth Kirby, RN – Nurse Education

Tag! You’re it!

Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center has launched a new breast cancer awareness campaign called, “Tag! You’re It!” The campaign encourages women to remember the importance of a proper, annual evaluation of their breast health and monthly self breast exams with the help of short message system (SMS) text message reminders.

While signing up to receive the reminders, users have the ability to choose the exact day they would like to receive reminders, making the exams more clinically accurate. The anniversary of a woman’s last mammogram can serve as the date chosen for the annual text reminder.

Reminiscent of the children’s game of tag, the campaign asks users not only to sign up for their own text message reminders, but to pass the information along to friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to recruit as many women to sign-up as possible. Women interested in registering to receive personalized breast health text message reminders can sign-up at www.brgtagyoureit.org. Also available on the site is more information about breast cancer early detection and prevention, how-to videos, and wellness information for women of all ages.

Lane Names Telemetry Unit Director

Karla Miller, RN, BSN has been named Director of the Telemetry Unit at Lane Regional Medical Center. A lifelong resident of Central, Miller is responsible for coordinating all aspects of nursing care for the unit, including patient satisfaction, staffing, and physician relations.

Miller has more than 14 years of health care experience. Prior to this position she was the Pathway to Excellence Coordinator at Lane. She is currently a member of the Nursing Shared Governance Council and Congestive Heart Failure team and is a former Lane Employee of the Month.

Mason Joins Hospital Medicine Group

Charles W. Mason, MD, FACP, has joined Hospital Medicine Group, part of Baton Rouge General Physicians. Dr. Mason will serve as Medical Director of Supportive and Palliative Care for Baton Rouge General’s new palliative care program. The comprehensive palliative care program gives patients and their families a voice in their care, considering their psychosocial and spiritual needs and options for symptom management, especially with chronic diseases, with a focus on maintaining quality of life based on the feedback from the patient and family.

Dr. Mason is a graduate of Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his residency and internship in internal medicine at University Medical Center in Lafayette. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Mason previously served as Medical Director of Louisiana Hospice and practiced at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the Louisiana State Medical Society.

Ochsner-Baton Rouge Earns GIFT

Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge’s Family Birthing Center received the Golden GIFT Breastfeeding Award in recognition of its recent GIFT certification. The Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition and the Louisiana Office of Public Health-Maternal and Child Health Program awards GIFT certification to those birthing centers that demonstrate a commitment to breastfeeding through hospital-wide policies that support, promote, and protect breastfeeding as the preferred and normal method of infant feeding.

Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge employs three International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC’s) to assist new moms with breastfeeding before, during, and after baby’s arrival. The hospital’s Family Birthing Center was also designed to allow babies to room in with moms throughout their hospital stay in order to make breastfeeding easier.

Lane Names New Nursing Home Director

Kathy Pate, RN has been named Director of the Nursing Home at Lane Regional Medical Center. She replaces Pam Haley, RN, who is retiring in January after 20+ years of service at Lane. Pate will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of nursing care for the facility, including patient satisfaction, staffing, and physician relations. Prior to being named director, she was Director of the Telemetry and Skilled Nursing Units at Lane.

Pate has more than 21 years of health care experience. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and is a Certified Basic Life Support Instructor and a Safe Sitter Instructor.

Anderson is New Lane CFO

Mark Anderson has been named Chief Financial Officer for Lane Regional Medical Center. Anderson is responsible for overseeing all finance and accounting functions, including strategic planning and capital budgets. He will work with various departments to grow volume, control costs, and improve operations.

A native of Bossier City, Anderson has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare financial management. Prior to joining Lane, he was Chief Financial Officer for Danville Regional Medical Center, a 290 bed hospital in Danville, Virginia with 1,300 employees and net revenues in excess of $170 million. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, received his MBA from Regis University in Denver, and is a Fellow Graduate of The Advisory Board Academy in Washington, D.C.

Pre-Schoolers Warm Woman’s Preemies

In December, fifteen Parkview Baptist pre-schoolers warmed Woman’s Hospital’s tiniest babies, and the hearts of many grown-ups, with hundreds of donated blankets for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In the spirit of the holiday season, the four- and five-year-old students hopped in a school bus to visit Woman’s as the culmination of their lesson plan about the importance of giving to those in need. The little philanthropists collected hundreds of blankets and hand-delivered them to Woman’s Special Care Nursery.

As Woman’s NICU nurse Ashley Hobson, RN gave the children a short lesson about babies, the children were excited to play with baby bottles and baby clothes. But the true excitement came when a real baby was brought to the nursery window. The children were convinced that the weeks-old infant waved “hello” to them. The children were then treated to milk and cookies in the cafeteria.

Baton Rouge General Announces New Board Members

Baton Rouge General/General Health System recently announced three new members to be appointed to its Board of Trustees: James L. Llorens, PhD, Patricia J. Tyson, and Rev. Ronnie L. Williams. They join current members of the Baton Rouge General Board of Trustees: David Pitts, Chairman; Evelyn Hayes, MD, Vice Chairman; Venkat Banda, MD; Peter J. Bostick, MD; Gregory Bowser; Sue Anne Cox; Perry Franklin; Gary Graphia; Leslie Herpin Marx; Margaret Hart; William R. Holman; Roy Kadair, MD; Nanette Noland; Andrew Olinde, MD; Janice Pellar; Charles “Buddy” Roemer; and Ed Starns, CPA.

Dr. James L. Llorens is Chancellor of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge. Llorens previously served as Dean of Southern University’s Graduate School, Chair of the University’s Political Science Department, and Associate Professor of Public Administration. Llorens also worked in various governmental positions in East Baton Rouge Parish, including Assistant Chief Administrative Officer to Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden as well as Personnel Coordinator, Director of Human Services, and Federal Aid Coordinator for East Baton Rouge. In addition to receiving a doctorate in political science from Louisiana State University, Llorens was named a post-doctorate Fellow in Public Policy and Minority Communities at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Policy and is an American Council on Education Fellow.

Patricia J. Tyson is a teacher with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and has served public schools throughout the Greater Baton Rouge Area for more than 10 years. Certified in elementary education, she currently teaches at University Terrace Elementary in Baton Rouge. Tyson is a graduate of both Louisiana State University and Southern University A&M College.

Reverend Ronnie L. Williams is the founder and President of Camelot College in Baton Rouge. Nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and certified by the U.S. Department of Education, Camelot College is one of the largest privately owned colleges in Louisiana to provide short-term, job-specific training. Williams, a licensed and ordained pastor, has presided over the Power in The Word, World Ministries, located on Camelot College’s campus, since 2002. Rev. Williams served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era and was discharged with honors. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University.