HJNO May/Jun 2019

34 maY / JUN 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of New Orleans   Healthcare Briefs treated, the easier it is to control. MudbugMarch is sponsored by the LSUHealth New Orleans School of Nursing, the LSU Health Foundation New Orleans, Bayer, Gilead, Tulane Lung Center, Harry’s New Orleans, and Univer- sity Medical Center. Forty percent of the proceeds support the Pul- monary Hypertension Association’s efforts to provide improved patient care, expand med- ical research, and disseminate the latest infor- mation to the PH community. The remaining 60 percent of proceeds will provide further educa- tion and awareness of PH to future LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing graduates who will provide nursing care to patients with PH in a variety of clinical settings. LSUHealth Study Reports Continued PTSD inWomen Exposed to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill A study led by LSUHealth NewOrleans School of Public Health reports that women exposed to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (BP) Oil Spill con- tinue to experience symptoms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results are published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, now available online. “This is the first investigation reporting trauma and PTSD in our Louisiana cohort, with findings suggesting that women in this study report nota- bly high levels of trauma as well as a high prev- alence of probable PTSD,” noted study senior author Edward Peters, DMD, SM, SM, ScD, pro- fessor and program director of epidemiology at LSUHealth NewOrleans School of Public Health. “Unfortunately, less than half reported receiving past-year mental health treatment despite the high levels of PTSD symptoms, which suggests that many affected womenmay not be receiving needed mental health care.” The research team, which also included researchers fromBrown University, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, studied 1,997 women from seven coastal Loui- siana parishes affected by the spill (Orleans, St. Bernard,Jefferson, Plaquemines, Lafourche,Ter- rebonne, and St. Mary) who were enrolled in the Women and Their Children’s Health (WaTCH) Study. The researchers sought to better under- stand post-disaster symptomatology, particularly women’s mental health. They found five distinct types of PTSD symptoms – low, moderate with- out mood alterations,moderate withmood alter- ations, severe without risk-taking, and severe with risk-taking. Findings also include: - Women with a low-symptom profile had fewer traumas and socioeconomic risk factors. - Women with severe PTSD symptoms had more traumas and socioeconomic risk factors.   - Most women with severe PTSD symptoms had no prior PTSD diagnosis. The researchers’analysis reveals that a sizable number of women inWaTCH study communities suffer fromPTSD symptoms, with roughly 13 per- cent of their sample meeting or exceeding the score threshold for probable PTSD on the PTSD Checklist, and even more women reporting sub- threshold levels of PTSD symptoms. Ochsner Academics Leader Recognized for Excellence by ACGME Ronald Amedee, MD – dean of medical educa- tion and head of University of Queensland (UQ) Ochsner Clinical School – has been honored by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) with the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award. This award recognizes Amedee’s decade-long leadership and admin- istrative guidance as a designated institutional officer for the residency programs at Ochsner.  Awarded annually, the Parker J. Palmer Cour- age to Lead Award honors designated institu- tional officials – individuals who are responsible for all graduate medical education programs at institutions that sponsor residency programs – for excellence in overseeing residency programs. To qualify, a designated institutional official must work in an institution with a status of Contin- ued Accreditation and have at least five years of The LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing Alumni Association Annual Mudbug March.