HJNO Nov/Dec 2019

62 NOV / DEC 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS   Hospital Rounds patients upon discharge from the hospital to pro- vide post-acute care right here in St. Tammany Parish,” said John Herman, CEO, Northshore Region, OHS. “All services involve additional partnerships with national best-in-class provid- ers. Northshore Medical Complex is a new, inno- vative approach in this region to incorporate trans- parency and visibility into care for patients and enhance continuity of care, patient satisfaction, and quality outcomes.” The Northshore Extended Care Hospital is designed to provide long-term acute care for the most critically ill patients. OHS, STPH and SMH are partnering with LHC Group to provide these services.  “This partnership enhances post-acute care options for residents of St. Tammany Parish and provides a better quality of care all in one loca- tion, allowing patients to progress as they improve after they leave the hospital,” said Joan Coffman, president and CEO, STPH. “Together, STPH and OHS are committed to enhancing access to care, improving quality, advancing patient-centered technology, and reducing the overall cost of care to invest in more for our patients.” In addition to expanding access to post-acute care services, the new facility offers outpatient imaging services and houses the Northshore Region Service Center for administrative support functions. Outpatient imaging services includes x-ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound. The service center houses over 100 non-clinical employees with room to accommodate expected population growth in St. Tammany Parish. “SMH and OHS formed a strategic partnership to expand access to care, advance quality and innovation, and increase value for our patients, and this new complex is the next step in cen- tralizing and growing healthcare services for St. Tammany Parish,” said Kerry Tirman, CEO, SMH | Ochsner. “Through partnerships like this one, SMH and Ochsner Medical Center–Northshore have the opportunity to make a significant invest- ment in our community by offering critical post- acute care services, growing jobs, and expand- ing administrative services on the Northshore.” LCMCHealth Sends Aid to the Bahamas LCMC Health employees joined relief efforts to With the third highest cancer incidence rates in the U.S., Louisiana loses more than 9,000 residents each year to cancer. Disparities in minority can- cer incident rates are of national concern—black males overall have the highest cancer incidence and death rates of all major racial/ethnic groups and black females have 13 percent higher can- cer death rates than non-Hispanic white females, despite seven percent lower incidence rates. As a group, Hispanics in the U.S. have the highest rates for cancers associated with infection (ex. cervical, liver and stomach cancers). Healthcare Partners Bring Post- Acute Care Services to Lacombe Northshore Medical Complex opened in the former Louisiana Heart Hospital building, provid- ing post-acute care services for the Northshore region. Working together as partners, Ochsner Health System (OHS), St. Tammany Parish Hos- pital (STPH), and Slidell Memorial Hospital (SMH) are offering long-term acute care and rehabilita- tion services in one location at 64026 Highway 434 in Lacombe. “This facility is the first of its kind in St. Tammany, and it brings a world-class level of care to our res- idents, and jobs to our local workforce,” said Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish president. “We are excited about the commitment of OHS, STPH, and SMH to work together and provide quality medical care close to home.” As the population on the Northshore grows, this partnership provides the opportunity to improve clinical coordination, allow more patients to receive care close to home, and reduce the over- all cost of healthcare. Nationwide trends show people are living longer, and advances in medical treatments are increasing the lifespan of patients with debilitating diseases. This creates an imme- diate need for more access to post-acute care ser- vices across the country. With an investment of $15 million over five years, the Northshore Medical Complex includes the 30-bed Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital and 58-bed Northshore Extended Care Hospital. The Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital is oper- ated by Select Medical and provides intensive rehabilitative care in an inpatient setting.  “The partners have worked together to plan and open this specialized destination care center for Heart and Vascular Institute (JOHVI). Led by Aditya Bansal, MD, Ochsner surgical director of heart transplant, mechanical circula- tory support and ECMO (extracorporeal mem- brane oxygenation) and Hamang Patel, MD, Och- sner medical director of heart transplant, the case took more than 10 hours to perform. Ochsner, Statewide Partners Awarded $13.6Million NCI Grant Ochsner Cancer Institute (Ochsner), along with its Gulf South NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) partners, has been awarded a $13.6 million grant by the National Cancer Insti- tute to expand the statewide clinical trials network with a special emphasis on minority and under- served cancer patients. The primary partners of Gulf South NCORP are Ochsner Cancer Institute, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport – Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU Health New Orleans Stanley S. Scott Cancer Cen- ter, and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Ochsner has been a NCORP grant recipient since the pro- gram began in 2014 and an NCI Oncology Pro- gram site since 1983. The new Clinical Trials Network will provide can- cer care and access to clinical trials for more than 50 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients in the region, expand the number of sites offering access to clinical trials from 22 to 42, and increase the proportion of minority patients participat- ing in NCORP trials. It will also take advantage of the clinical subspecialties at the primary affili- ate sites, utilize the valuable samples in biorepos- itories to advance research in health disparities and treatment, as well as expand its partnerships with community health organizations. The prin- cipal investigator is Augusto Ochoa, MD, direc- tor of LSU Health New Orleans Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center. “Clinical trials are essential to improving the outcomes for patients with cancer,” said Brian Moore, MD, FACS, director of the Ochsner Can- cer Institute and board-certified otolaryngologist who specializes in head and neck cancer surgery. “These trials will expand the availability of innova- tive treatments, as well as approaches to screen- ing and prevention, for all patients in the Gulf South, especially the minority and underserved populations who stand to benefit the most.”