HJNO Mar/Apr 2019

38 mar / APR 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of New Orleans   Healthcare Briefs We encourage all families, schools, and daycares to test for radon to protect everyone’s health and save lives.” Myth #1: Radon is not really harmful. Fact: Not only is radon invisible, it’s also radio- active. While you can’t see it, exposure to high levels of radon over time can cause lung cancer, and radon ranks as the nation’s second-leading cause of the disease. Radon-related lung cancers are responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths every year in the United States. Myth #2: Radon is rare and doesn’t impact our community. Fact: The reality is that radon is found at dan- gerous levels in an estimated one in 15 homes nationwide. Your home can have elevated lev- els of radon, while your neighbor’s home does not. It doesn’t matter in what part of the coun- try you live, because radon comes from rock and soil, it can be found anywhere. It then enters the home or building through cracks in walls, base- ment floors, foundations, and other openings, and can exist at dangerous levels indoors. Myth #3: Testing for radon is expensive. Fact: The only way to detect dangerous levels of radon in your home is to test the air. Various forms of do-it-yourself test kits are simple to use, inexpensive and can be purchased online or at home improvement and hardware stores. Profes- sional testing is also available, often for under $300, although the price varies by location and building size. Schools and daycares may need professional help to do the testing. Myth #4: Our schools are safe. Fact: Testing for radon in schools is not required in most states; nor is fixing the problem. Not only children, but teachers and other staff who work in schools can be exposed to dangerous levels of radon. The last nationwide survey of radon levels in schools, completed in 1993, found that nearly one in five schools had at least one class- room with dangerous levels of radon. The Amer- ican Lung Association leads a coalition of groups working to highlight the importance of testing for radon in both schools and daycares through the National Radon Action Plan. In 2014, federal actions have already reached an estimated 1.6 million homes, schools, and childcare facilities with guidance and incentives to reduce radon risk and have tested for and mitigated high radon risk when necessary in nearly 200,000 units. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Honors Eight NorthOaks PrimaryCare Doctors Eight North Oaks Primary Care physicians are among 400 providers statewide honored as 2018–19 Top Performers at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana’s 2018 Quality Blue State- wide Collaborative. The Top Performer award recognizes clinics and physicians participating in the health insurer’s Quality Blue program for providing optimal care that ultimately helps their patients with specific chronic conditions achieve better health results. Targeted health conditions include diabetes, high blood pressure, vascular disease, and chronic kid- ney disease. Beyond better health, some Blue Cross members enjoy lower co-pays for office visits with providers participating in the Quality Blue program. Those receiving the Top Performer award are Drs. Brandi Basso of North Oaks Primary Care in Denham Springs, Gayle Beyl of North Oaks Primary Care in Livingston, Charles Ducombs of Northshore Internal Medicine Associates, Wil- liam Plunkett and Susan Zacharia of Northshore Internal Medicine Associates, Joseph Heneghan of North Oaks Primary Care in Walker, Herbert Robinson of North Oaks Family Medicine (North Oaks Medical Center campus), and Felix Torres of North Oaks Primary Care in Livingston.  LSUHealth NO’s Landry Selected as Louisiana’s Top Nurse Practitioner The American Association of Nurse Practitio- ners (AANP) selected LSU Health New Orleans’ Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC, as the recipient of the 2019 American Association of Nurse Practitio- ners® Louisiana State Award for Nurse Practitio- ner Advocate Excellence. According to AANP, the State Award for NP Excellence, founded in 1991, recognizes an NP in each state who demonstrates excellence in practice. An instructor of clinical nursing, Landry coordi- nates the BSN-DNP Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. She has been a registered nurse for 17 years, a family nurse practitioner for 14 years, and has served in academia for seven years. Landry developed the Advocacy ™ Program that trains healthcare providers to communicate and provide culturally sensitive care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and inter- sex (LGBTQI) patients nationwide. She has pub- lished articles and presented nationally to dis- seminate best practices that improve healthcare delivery for this population. She facilitated Safe Zone® training for faculty at LSU Health New Orleans to support LGBTQI students. Landry also directs the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Grant and SANE Program at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. The purpose of the program is to increase access to certified sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) for people who have been sexually assaulted in 12 southeast Louisiana parishes. SANEs are reg- istered nurses who have completed specialized education and clinical preparation in the medi- cal forensic care of this patient population, and the grant supports this highly specialized educa- tion and training. Landry has also received the Daisy Award and Great 100 Award. She is a member of the National League of Nursing, American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Cen- ter, and National Organization of Nurse Practitio- ner Faculties. Landry will be recognized at an awards cere- mony and reception held during the AANP 2019 National Conference to be held June 18–23 in Indianapolis. Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC