HJNO Sep/Oct 2019

40 SEP / OCT 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of New Orleans   Healthcare Briefs and task forces of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and is an Executive Leadership inAca- demic Medicine graduate. She has chaired com- mittees and task forces for the American Medi- cal Women’s Association, Generalists in Medical Education,Arnold P. Gold Foundation, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, and the Lou- isiana Chapter of the American College of Physi- cians, where she also served as secretary of the Governor’s Council. Lazarus has also served as an associate editor, editor, and as a member of the editorial board of a number of journals. Integrated Care Initiative Helps Providers Support Patients with Underlying Mental Health Conditions Louisiana Healthcare Connections announced a new initiative that will aim to improve access to behavioral healthcare for members of Louisiana Healthcare Connections, includingMedicaid ben- eficiaries. Leveraging Quartet’s technology and services, Louisiana Healthcare Connections will support behavioral health and primary care pro- viders at the local level to help ensure those with behavioral health conditions get the right care at the right time. This effort is a key element in Louisiana Health- care Connections’ strategy to increase access to quality, value-based behavioral healthcare for its 450,000 members across the state. The Healthy Louisiana Medicaid health plan will work with Quartet to help primary care physicians identify patients with underlying mental health conditions, and to provide those physicians with the data and tools necessary to seamlessly refer patients to a qualified network of mental health providers. The HIPAA-compliant platform, available to Louisiana Healthcare Connections’provider net- work at no cost, will empower primary care and behavioral health providers to form virtual care teams, where treatment progress can be shared in real time. Each patient referred by a Louisi- ana Healthcare Connections’ provider will be matched with a clinically appropriate, and care- fully vetted, behavioral health professional within their network. Furthermore, this effort will ena- ble physicians to quickly connect and consult with psychiatrists to validate treatment plans, or receive advice on patients withmedication needs. “As a health plan, we have long recognized the correlation between physical and behavioral health, and the importance of ensuring access to holistic, integrated care for improved outcomes,” said Kendra Case, chief operating officer of Lou- isiana Healthcare Connections. “By partnering with Quartet, we are making this high level of quality care more readily available to our mem- bers, and empowering our physical and behav- ioral health providers with the tools and data they need to help their patients – our members – achieve better health.” In Louisiana, less than 40 percent of adults liv- ing with mental health conditions receive any form of treatment. However, research shows that connecting mental and physical health- care improves overall patient health. This evi- dence-based approach will improve speed-to- care, with members receiving behavioral health services within a matter of days rather than months. “We know that mental health is a central part of human health,” said David Wennberg, MD, MPH, CEO at Quartet. “We are proud to partner with Louisiana Healthcare Connections as they lead the way to help ensuremembers - including those whose behavioral health conditions have historically been unaddressed - receive an ele- vated level of comprehensive care.” Quartet will begin rolling out its technology and services to Louisiana Healthcare Connections’ network of providers in the New Orleans area in early summer 2019 before expanding state- wide. Physicians will be contacted by Quartet with more information on how to join the Quar- tet community. UnitedHealthcare/NewOrleans Saints Hold ‘Get Fit’ Event at ReNEWSciTech Academy UnitedHealthcare-Louisiana team members and New Orleans Saints players demonstrated the importance of physical activity to nearly 100 students fromReNEWSci TechAcademy in New Orleans. Designed as part of the NFL’s PLAY 60 initiative, students now have access to new“kid- sized” fitness equipment that will help them increase their physical activity and fight child- hood obesity. The equipment in the school’s new “Get Fit” Youth Fitness Zone is donated by UnitedHealthcare. LSUHealth NONursing School Degree Programs Earn MaximumAccreditation Three academic programs at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing are re-accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for a period of 10 years. LSUHealth New Orleans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Mas- ter of Science in Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice degree programs are accredited through June 30, 2029. The accreditation process is rigorous and takes 12-18 months. It involves a comprehensive self- study culminating in a document showing how the program meets accreditation standards. CCNE then appoints an evaluation teamof peers to conduct an on-site visit to validate the infor- mation and provide supplemental information including processes to foster continued self-im- provement of the program. The team’s report is submitted to the Accreditation Review Commit- tee (ARC). The ARC makes recommendations to the board, which then determines accredita- tion status. “I am proud of the extraordinary effort our fac- ulty and staff put into the accreditation process,” said Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD,ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing,“The result is indicative of their commitment to providing nursing education of the highest quality.” LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing is the only nursing school within an academic health sciences center in Louisiana. It offers degrees at the baccalaureate,master’s, and doc- toral levels in an array of nursing specialties, as well as continuing nursing education. It serves to provide local, national, and international lead- ership in the education of professional nurses to function as generalists, advanced practitioners, educators, scholars, and researchers who shape the delivery of nursing practice and education. n