HJNO Nov/Dec 2019

Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS I  NOV / DEC 2019 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com Amid a $100-million three-year expansion project, the hospital has the busiest and largest capacity operating rooms and emergency facil- ities serving St. Tammany Parish, with the main campus ER and pediatric ER at 1202 S. Tyler St. Covington, and the Mandeville ER at 2929 Hwy 190, across from Mandeville Post Office. North OaksWomen &Children’s Services TeamCompletes CDC-Funded Breastfeeding Support Training North Oaks Medical Center is among the first hospitals in the nation to complete EMPower Training, a skills-based competency program to support breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition. North Oaks Medical Center is one of 90 hospi- tals selected to participate in the yearlong train- ing program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). EMPower’s goal is to improve public health by advancing health care providers’ knowledge of and skills in evidence-based maternity prac- tices that support breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition. As part of this effort, North Oaks Medical Cen- ter is committed to training its entire Women & Children’s Services nursing staff in accordance with Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Ini- tiative (BFHI). Tasha Daniel, lead lactation consultant at North Oaks Medical Center, said, “A mother’s milk is always preferred because it provides her baby with ideal nutrition for growth, fighting infection, and promoting brain development. Thanks to EMPower, our entire Women & Children’s Ser- vices nursing team is now equipped with the know-how and skills necessary to confidently help new mothers successfully breastfeed. Ultimately, this will lead to better outcomes for our mothers and their newborns.” The EMPower Team is led by Abt Associates, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, and the Center for Public Health Quality. Ochsner Hospital for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine NowOpen Ochsner Health System’s (Ochsner) Ochsner to handle critically injured patients, including those suffering organ injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple bone fractures, and gunshot wounds. The designation also reflects STPH’s trained trauma staff, constant access to trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, critical- care physicians, anesthesiologists, surgical ser- vices, and other specialists. “We are a Level 3 trauma center, verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the state of Louisiana,” Kerry Milton, STPH chief nursing officer, said. “That means we have the capacity and capability to provide advanced life- saving measures for trauma patients in this region, and it further demonstrates our commitment to our community.”  STPH’s verified status received approval from the Verification Review Committee, an ad hoc panel of the Committee on Trauma of the Amer- ican College of Surgeons. It was designated by Louisiana Department of Health. aid the residents of the hurricane-ravaged islands in the Bahamas in the aftermath of Dorian. LCMC Health’s hospitals were joined in the effort by Crescent City Surgical Suites, Medline, as well as Morris and Dickson, a pharmaceutical products wholesaler, donating more than a dozen pallets of medical and surgical supplies, and over- the-counter medication. The supplies were deliv- ered to a warehouse owned by local entrepreneur Sidney Torres IV, who organized the donations and the transport of supplies to the damaged islands. Donated items included catheters, sutures, nee- dles, scrubs, operating room gloves, tourniquets, surgical drapes, IV supplies, bandages, and much more. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Verified as Level 3 Trauma Center St. Tammany Parish Hospital has completed ver- ification as a Level 3 trauma center. The designation verifies the hospital is equipped North Oaks Women & Children’s Services Team Pictured are: (first row, from left) OB/GYN Unit Registered Nurses Nisha Hebert, Heather Ratcliff and Megan McClendon; Children’s Services Manager Tamara Mitchell; Social Worker II Linda Goudeau; (second row, from left) Women’s Services Manager Holly Myers; Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Dale Sanderson; Lead Lactation Consultant Tasha Daniel; Vice President of Patient Services Director Kirsten Riney; and OB/GYN Unit Certified Nursing Assistant Claudette Johnson.