HJBR May/Jun 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  MAY / JUN 2020 31 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com affairs and population health in the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s National Hospi- tal in Washington, D.C. Additional speakers and presenters at the event included Alma C. Stew- art, founder and president of the Louisiana Cen- ter for Health Equity; Dr. Alexander Billioux, assis- tant secretary at the Louisiana Department of Health Office of Public Health; Jennifer Drake- Croft, director of Child Well-Being at the Tennes- see Commission on Children and Youth; and sev- eral public health experts from across the state. Redman Named Associate Executive Director, Scientific Education, Pennington Biomedical Leanne Redman, PhD, professor and direc- tor, Reproductive Endocrinology and Women’s Health Laboratory, has been named associate executive director for scientific education at Pen- nington Biomedical Research Center. Redman is co-program director with Phillip Brantley, PhD, professor and former associate executive director for scientific education, on Pennington Biomedical’s most recent renewal of the Training in Obesity Research National Insti- tutes of Health T32 award. The grant funding is used to train postdoctoral fellows. Redman has extensive mentoring experience, and her mentees have received awards and rec- ognition at National and International Societ- ies and independent training grants through the NIH. As a testimony to her mentoring, Redman won the 2018 National Postdoctoral Association, Garnett-Powers & Associates, Inc. Mentor of the Year Award. “Training the next generation of scientists is an essential part of our mission. For nearly two decades, Dr. Brantley provided exemplary lead- ership in establishing Pennington Biomedical as one of the national leaders in postdoctoral train- ing and education in obesity and metabolism,” Executive Director John Kirwan, PhD, said. “We are confident that with Dr. Redman’s guidance, Pennington Biomedical will remain on the cut- ting edge of scientific education and training the highest quality postdoctoral fellows.” Redman’s research includes a focus on helping to break the cycle of obesity, which can begin in the earliest stages of pregnancy. One of her current NIH-funded studies aims to help low- income moms improve their lifestyles and main- tain a healthy weight during pregnancy. Redman also led one of the first studies that showed cutting calories by 15 percent for two years slowed aging and metabolism and pro- tected against age-related diseases. Alto- gether, Redman’s work has drawn $10.5 million in research funding to Pennington Biomedical. Office of Behavioral Health Offers Free Counseling Services Through Keep Calm Through COVIDHotline Recognizing the strong emotions and asso- ciated stress many people are feeling with the COVID-19 outbreak, the Louisiana Department of Health’s Office of Behavioral Health has estab- lished a hotline to help Louisianans cope. The Keep Calm Through COVID crisis phone line provides trained, compassionate counselors to support Louisianans through this difficult time. Counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with information and service coordi- nation, linking callers to mental health and sub- stance abuse counseling services. This service is available to the public at no charge. “We are all learning so much about this virus each day and we have made significant changes to our day-to-day lives to prevent the spread of the illness. The threat of COVID-19 and so many changes to our normal routines can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety,” said Karen Stubbs, assistant secretary of the Office of Behavioral Health. “These are normal feelings and it’s impor- tant for each individual who is having a hard time with these emotions to reach out for help. The Keep Calm Through COVID hotline is available to help.” Call the Keep Calm Through COVID hotline at (866) 310-7977 at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All calls are confidential. This line is for counseling only, and people calling for gen- eral information should call 211. Opioid Treatment Program to Use Technology-Driven Methods Due to COVID-19 In response to meeting restrictions put in place due to COVID-19, Lake Wellness Center, an out- patient addiction treatment center with eight locations throughout south Louisiana, is deliv- ering addiction treatment programs to existing and new patients struggling with opioid addic- tion solely through the use of video technology. Telehealth platforms enable physicians, coun- selors, and patients to communicate online while still maintaining HIPAA compliance through secure video conferencing. Stephen R. Russo is Coordinated Personal Protective Equipment Donations Initiative to Support Medical Community The Baton Rouge Health District, in partner- ship with area healthcare providers, the Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Pre- paredness (MOHSEP), and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), started up a coordinated busi- ness-to-business donation initiative of personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Health District has established a process to identify needs for protective equipment and collect the equipment at a centralized warehouse on Plank Road being made available through a partnership between the metro airport and the mayor’s office,” said Steven Ceulemans, Health District executive director. “We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for area businesses to donate supplies to protect healthcare workers, and to distribute those supplies to area hospitals based on equitable, real-time need. Participating hos- pitals currently include the Baton Rouge Clinic, the Baton Rouge General, Lane Regional Medical Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Ochsner Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake, and Woman’s Leanne Redman, PhD

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