HJBR Mar/Apr 2026

46 MAR / APR 2026  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Hospital Rounds hospitals and health systems. Cowart holds professional certifications includ- ing Certified Professional in Healthcare Informa- tion and Management Systems as well as Epic accreditations and credentials. In addition, she maintains memberships with several organiza- tions, including the American College of Health- care Executives (ACHE). Cowart earned a mas- ter’s degree in public administration from Marist College and a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Nyack College. FMOL Health, Orion Laboratories Announce Joint Venture FMOL Health and Orion Laboratories announced a joint venture partnership to expand access to Louisiana-based laboratory services for patients and providers across the state. While details are still being developed, broadly, the collaboration aligns FMOL Health’s integrated regional care network and clinical expertise with Orion Laboratories’ local laboratory operations, technology platform, and logistics to support a more coordinated lab experience from test order- ing through results delivery. Operations are set to begin in 2026, with services gradually spread- ing throughout FMOL Health’s Louisiana network. David Yu, MD, is Manning Family Children’s New Senior Vice President, CMO David C. Yu, MD, began his role as Manning Family Children’s new senior vice president and chief medical officer on Feb. 1. Yu earned a bachelor’s degree and his medi- cal degree at Tulane University, where he also did his residency training. He completed a clinical Patient at Manning Family Children’s Receives $31K grant On Jan. 20, the Baskin-Robbins Joy in Child- hood Foundation named nine-year-old Abigail Fisher, a patient at Manning Family Children’s, as its newest Pint-Sized Hero, granting $31,000 to Manning Family Children’s and giving Fisher a year of free ice cream. The Pint-Sized Heroes pro- gram aims to bring happiness and smiles to chil- dren that are facing challenges and receiving care at children’s hospitals across the country. Fisher has Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare inherited group of conditions that affect the growth of a child’s skull and facial bones. The $31,000 grant will support Walker’s Imag- inarium, a 15,000-square-foot child enrichment center at Manning Family Children’s that is cur- rently under construction and will be open in the fall of this year. FMOL Health Names Nicole Telhiard Chief Nursing Officer FMOL Health is proud to announce the appoint- ment of Nicole Telhiard, DNP, CPN, NE-BC, as chief nursing officer (CNO). With more than 30 years of dedicated service to the health system, she brings visionary leadership, a commitment to nursing excellence, and deep compassion for patients and staff to her new role at FMOL Health. During her career, Telhiard has made a lasting impact through transformative initiatives that have advanced workforce development, operational performance, and community engagement. Her culture of empowerment enables nurses to bring valuable insights back to FMOL Health, helping to shape standards, procedures, and clinical excel- lence for the entire organization. She has served as interim CNO for FMOL Health while retaining her CNO duties at FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake. In her new role she will con- tinue to serve as CNO for both the health system and the Baton Rouge market. Over the past ten years as CNO for Our Lady of the Lake, Telhiard has successfully led the redesign of nursing compensation. Her strategic focus on recruitment and retention resulted in a dramatic reduction in agency nurse usage and a decrease in nurse turnover from 15% to 10%. She has expanded access to healthcare careers through the RN Sponsorship program with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FranU). Her collaboration with Baton Rouge Community Col- lege created sponsorships and new career path- ways for CNAs and LPNs, further strengthening the pipeline of nursing talent in the region. Her distinguished career has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Southeastern Louisiana University Distinguished Alumnus Award (2023), the ANCC Certified Nurse Executive Award (2020), and the Louisiana State Nurses Associa- tion’s Nurse Administrator of the Year (2020). NewExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Ochsner Health Timothy Riddell, MD, is the new executive vice president and chief operating officer at Ochsner Health. Riddell, a Louisiana native, brings 28 years of experience within the Ochsner group practice to his new position. Riddell began his career with the health system as a family medicine resident in 1997. Prior to becoming chief operating officer, Riddell served as the chief medical officer for several Ochsner regions and led the Northshore and Mississippi Gulf Coast region as CEO from 2022 to 2024. Dur- ing his tenure as CEO, he added new service offer- ings across the region and established Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center at St. Tammany Can- cer Center. Riddell is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney Col- lege in Virginia and received a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. He previ- ously served two terms on the Ochsner Health Board of Directors and held leadership roles, including medical director for Ochsner Home Health Covington. Glynis Cowart New Senior VP, CIO atWoman’s Hospital Glynis Cowart is the new senior vice president and chief information officer at Woman’s Hospi- tal. Cowart, a U.S. Air Force veteran, brings expe- rience and knowledge of systems at all levels of healthcare information and technology opera- tions. Cowart has managed multiple digital divi- sions and in her most recent role as CIO of Monte- fiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, she successfully completed a multiyear rollout of Epic, a compre- hensive electronic health record platform used by Glynis Cowart