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58
NOV / DEC 2013
I
Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
LHA Launches Geaux Lite
In October, the Louisiana Hospital Association
launched Geaux Lite Louisiana, an initiative to
address the state’s challenge with obesity and
help Louisianians lose 200 tons statewide. The
goal is to enlist teams from 100 hospitals in a
friendly, fun, weight loss competition that will run
fromOct 1st to April 1, 2014. Teamsmay bemade
up of staff, familymembers, individuals, and com-
munity partners. Prizes will be offered through
the LHA Research & Education Foundation.
Ochsner Pediatric
Echocardiography Accredited
Ochsner Medical Center for Children has received
a three-year accreditation in Pediatric Transtho-
racic, Pediatric Transesophageal, and Fetal Echo-
cardiography by the Intersocietal Accreditation
Commission (IAC). Ochsner for Childrenunderwent
a thorough reviewof its operational and technical
components by a panel of experts. The IAC grants
accreditation to facilities that are found toprovide
quality patient care, in compliance with national
standards through a comprehensive application
process and detailed case review.
Ochsner is the only IAC Pediatric Tranesopha-
geal accredited lab and one of two Transthoracic
and Fetal accredited labs in Louisiana.
IAC accreditation is a “seal of approval” that
patients can rely on as an indication that the facil-
ity has been carefully critiqued on all aspects of
its operations considered relevant by medical
experts in the field of Echocardiography.
Lakeview Nurses Recognized
This past summer, nearly 100 nurses attended the
Louisiana Emergency Nurse Association Confer-
ence in Baton Rouge. LakeviewRegional Medical
Center announced it had three employees walk
away with two awards and two scholarships
awarded by their peers and the Louisiana Coun-
cil of Emergency Nurses for their dedication and
commitment to emergency nursing.
Angelica Brookshire, RN received the Injury Pre-
vention Advocate Award—This award honors an
active ENA Injury Prevention volunteer who has
served as a leader in the development and pro-
motion of injury prevention programs in Louisi-
ana. Brookshire also applied for andwas awarded
the Keith Richard Emergency Nurse Advanced
Nursing Practice Scholarship valued $500.00. She
is presently enrolled at SoutheasternUniversity in
the RN-BSN program. Her dream is to become a
Clinical Nurse Specialist with the focus on emer-
gency nursing.
John Becklehimer, RN received the Patient
Champion Award—This award honors an emer-
gency department nursewho advocates actively
for patients and their families and inspires other
teammembers to inform, educate, and advocate
for “Safe Practice, Safe Care”
Sierra Stewart, PCT received the Shay Ives
Student Nurse Award valued $250.00—Stewart
is an LSU student nurse. She has worked as an
ER Tech for the past year between Lakeview and
Tulane EDs.
St. Charles Cardiac Rehab
Program Certified
St. Charles Parish Hospital recently announced
the certification of its Cardiovascular Rehabili-
tation program by the American Association of
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
(AACVPR). St. Charles Parish Hospital was recog-
nized for its commitment to improving the quality
of life by enhancing standards of care, making St.
Charles Parish Hospital the only hospital in the
River Parishes to hold this certification.
Cardiovascular rehabilitation programs are
designed to help people with cardiovascular
problems (e.g., heart attacks, coronary artery
bypass graft surgery) recover faster and improve
their quality of life. The program includes exer-
cise, education, counseling, and support for
patients and their families.
The St. Charles Parish Hospital Cardiovascular
Rehabilitationprogramparticipated inanapplica-
tion process that requires extensive documenta-
tion of the program’s practices. AACVPR Program
Certification is the only peer-review accreditation
process designed to review individual programs for
adherence to standards andguidelines developed
and published by AACVPR and other professional
societies. Eachprogram is reviewedby theAACVPR
Program Certification Committee and Certifica-
tion is awardedby the AACVPRBoardof Directors.
AACVPR ProgramCertification is valid for three
years.
Ochsner One of 35 Selected
for National Initiative
Ochsner Clinic Foundation is one of 35 medical
centers nationwide selected to participate in
National Initiative IV: Achieving Mastery of CLER,
sponsored by the Alliance of Independent Aca-
demic Medical Centers (AIAMC), a national mem-
bership organization based in Chicago, Illinois.
Ochsner’s selection was based upon its demon-
strated leadership in using medical education
as a key driver to improve the quality of patient
care and its strong commitment tomastering the
newClinical Learning Environment Review (CLER)
process required by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education.
The AIAMC National Initiative is a national and
multi-institutional effort that specifically focuses
on aligningmedical educationwith hospital qual-
ity and safety strategies.
Ochsner has been a participant in each of the
three previous National Initiatives dating back
to the first that launched in fall 2007. “Through
these 18-month-long initiatives, we have rapidly
learned to value the role that residents play in
advancing common institutional goals aligned
around quality patient care and safety,” said Ron-
ald Amedee, MD, Ochsner’s Designated Institu-
tional Official and Chair of the Department of Oto-
laryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Each year,
341 residents train at Ochsner.
For its National Initiative IV project, Ochsner
will focus on improving transitions of care: the
critical process of transitioning patients fromone
care provider to another, fromone department to
another, and fromone shift to another. Ochsner’s
multidisciplinary approachwill not only enhance
the training and learning opportunities of its
medical faculty, but will also engage the next
generation of physicians in an important quality
and patient safety initiative. A leadership team