St. Tammany Quality Network presented its 2022 first-quarter Medical Director’s Award to John d’Hemecourt, MD, Chris Connell, and Brian Grissom for initiating the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program at St. Tammany Health System.
“This group has been instrumental in helping develop our ERAS program for colorectal surgery at STHS,” said Michael K. Hill, MD, STHS vice president for quality and utilization management. “Under their leadership, the multidisciplinary team at STHS has developed a certified level ERAS program that focuses on improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. This program will next expand across many of our surgical procedures.”
The STHS ERAS program is an evidence-based care improvement process for surgical patients. Preoperative and postoperative nutrition, early patient mobilization, and pain control with minimal use of opioids are some of the standard practices in ERAS. Enactment of ERAS protocols have resulted in shorter length of hospital stay, reduced hospital readmissions, and reduced recovery time.
Head of the anesthesia group at STHS, d’Hemecourt is a board-certified general anesthesiologist. He is a graduate of St. Paul’s High School in Covington, LSU, and the LSU School of Medicine. He is past chief-of staff at STHS.
Chris Connell is the director of surgery and anesthesia at STHS.
Brian Grissom is the lead CRNA at STHS and spearheaded the ERAS program.