HJNO May/Jun 2019

30 maY / JUN 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of New Orleans   Healthcare Briefs and the health of those around them. Measles can be prevented with theMMR vaccine, which is safe and effective.Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventingmeasles; one dose is about 93 percent effective Most families in Louisiana choose to protect their children through immunization. MMR vac- cination is required for school entry in Louisiana, with more than 96 percent of kindergartners up to date for this important immunization. LSUHealth OB-GYN Residency ProgramAwarded Continued Accreditation The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medi- cal Education (ACGME) has awarded LSUHealth New Orleans’ Obstetrics and Gynecology Res- idency Program Continued Accreditation. The four-year program trains physicians specializing in obstetrics and gynecology at four main partner hospitals. In greater New Orleans these include Touro Infirmary and University Medical Center, and in Lafayette, University Hospital and Clinics and Lafayette General Medical Center. “Our ability to impact women’s healthcare positively through excellence in our educational endeavors is extremely important and vastly rewarding,” noted Lisa Peacock, MD, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine.  “As academic edu- cators, we are able to set standards for quality and improve patient outcomes and ensure our graduates will continue to do so in their own careers.” Residents in LSUHealth NewOrleans OB/GYN Residency Program benefit from a combination of public and private training opportunities, as well as a multi-million dollar simulation center where obstetric emergencies such as shoulder dystocia and postpartumhemorrhage are taught in conjunction with labor and delivery nurses. Gynecologic simulations using virtual simula- tors provide a variety of case scenarios.The pro- gram produces physicians ready for careers in private practice, academic medicine or fellow- ship training. “I amproud that our residency program is edu- cating the next generation of OB/GYN physicians to care for women in Louisiana and beyond,”said Asha Heard, MD, MPH, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program director.“Our residents and faculty provide the highest quality of care to a high-risk patient population, and I am grateful to work alongside them.”  According to the Council, the ACGME is a pri- vate, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that sets standards for U.S. graduate medical edu- cation (residency and fellowship) programs and the institutions that sponsors them and renders accreditation decisions based on compliance with these standards. ACGME accreditation is overseen by a review committee made up of vol- unteer specialty experts from the field who set accreditation standards and provide peer evalu- ation of sponsoring institutions and specialty and subspecialty residency and fellowship programs. Study: Medicare, Medicaid are Thrifty Healthcare Options Healthcare spending in the United States con- tinues to grow faster than the overall economy. But Medicare and Medicaid are not driving this trend, according to a new study by John Holahan and Stacey McMorrow of the Urban Institute. On a cost-per-enrollee basis, federal and state gov- ernments are doing a better job than the private sector in controlling growth since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Medicare and Medicaid spending per enrollee grew 2.4 percent per year and 1.6 percent per year, respectively, compared to 4.4 percent per year for private insurance. While overall spend- ing growth for Medicare (5.2 percent per year) and Medicaid (6.0 percent per year) exceeded growth in private spending (4.4 percent per year), the authors attribute this to much faster enroll- ment growth in public programs compared to private coverage. Average annual enrollment increased 2.8 percent for Medicare and 4.3 per- cent for Medicaid while private coverage enroll- ment stayed relatively flat. Tulane, LSUHealth Partner with NewOrleans BioInnovation Center for Accelerator Program Tulane University and LSUHealth NewOrleans have selected the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) as the statewide implemen- tation partner for a newly launched initiative to augment business development efforts and accelerate the commercialization of life science research from university labs to biotechnology startups in the region and to existing companies around the world. NOBIC will work closely with the two universi- ties to deliver programing, business development tools, and educational resources for the South- east Xlerator Network, a newly created life sciences accelerator hub backed by a consor- tium of 24 academic institutions, including LSU Health and Tulane. The National Institutes of Health, which is the gold standard in federal research funding, awarded more than $149 million in grants last fiscal year to life sciences investigators at LSU Health and Tulane University School of Medi- cine, Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, andTulane National Primate Research Center. “Given the substantial amount of basic science and translational research emerging from local university labs, we see enormous potential for growth as we work to build stronger relationships within our community,” said Kris Khalil, NOBIC interimpresident.“We are extremely excited that Tulane and LSUHealth— the region’s two biggest drivers of life sciences innovation — are working more closely together to amplify their impact and expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem for bio- technology ventures throughout the state.” Through NOBIC, the Southeast Xlerator Net- work will provide expertise in technology trans- fer, engage leading industry partners, and pro- mote an entrepreneurial culture throughout the region. It will also provide tools to help research- ers compete for more Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants to advance research dis- coveries and launch new ventures. The network will complement ongoing efforts by Tulane and LSUHealth tomore heavily engage private industry for research partnerships and other collaborations. Both universities came together last fall to showcase their life sciences researchers to outside investors, foundations, and potential industry collaborators at a new event called Bio on the Bayou. That event, which is scheduled for Dec. 10, will move to NOBIC this year as part of the new partnership, said James