HJNO Jan/Feb 2020

60 JAN / FEB 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Hospital Rounds Children’s Hospital NO, Willis- Knighton Health System, Tulane University School of Medicine Collaborate to Advance Pediatric Healthcare in NWLA Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Willis-Knigh- ton Health System, and Tulane University School of Medicine announced a new partnership that will enhance pediatric academic medicine and improve access to care for patients and families in the Greater Shreveport-Bossier area. Willis-Knighton is the largest healthcare provider in northwest Louisiana. “Creating regional affiliations enhances our abil- ity to deliver high quality care to children across Louisiana,” says John R. Nickens IV, president and chief executive officer at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “Pediatric specialists in Shreveport and New Orleans will collaborate on clinical pathways and care protocols to help ensure one high stan- dard of care is delivered across the state. This is what Extraordinary Together for the children of Louisiana is all about.” “This new partnership with Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Tulane enhances our ability to deliver high quality pediatric healthcare services to children as the leading healthcare provider in northwest Louisiana,” says James K. Elrod, pres- ident and chief executive officer at Willis-Knigh- ton Health System. “We’re offering new medical education opportunities and Shreveport-Bossier families will now have better access to Children’s Hospital New Orleans’ pediatric-trained sub-spe- cialists through virtual care platforms.”  “Willis-Knighton-affiliated pediatric providers will now be able to participate in the robust aca- demic activities available through Tulane and Children’s Hospital New Orleans,” says Samir El- Dahr, MD, chair of pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. “The pediatric training and teaching programs led by Joseph A. Bocchini, Jr., MD, in Shreveport will further support our shared goal to deliver comprehensive, cutting-edge care while training the next generation of pedi- atric physicians. Children’s Hospital New Orleans has experi- enced significant growth in the last year, includ- ing the incorporation of Tulane University School of Medicine to an already vibrant academic com- munity Children’s enjoys in partnership with LSU Health New Orleans. Children’s Hospital and Tulane University School of Medicine now collab- orate on clinical, academic, and research activities to advance health outcomes for children. Avala is First Hospital in Louisiana to Offer Minimally Invasive NanoScope – Nano Operative Arthroscopy System Avala is the first and only hospital in Louisiana offering patients minimally invasive arthroscopy procedures to diagnose and treat joint problems utilizing Arthrex’s NanoScope. The state-of-the-art NanoScope systems uses a high-definition image sensor technology to pro- vide surgeons with a needle-sized, single-use camera system. This provides patients will smaller incisions, less scarring, and faster recovery times. St. Tammany Health System Earns Reaccreditation from the Joint Commission St. Tammany Health System announced it has again earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital Accreditation by dem- onstrating continuous compliance with its perfor- mance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organiza- tion’s commitment to providing safe and effec- tive patient care.  The hospital underwent a rigorous, unan- nounced onsite survey in July. During the review, a team of Joint Commission expert surveyors eval- uated compliance with hospital standards related to several areas, including emergency manage- ment, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership and medication manage- ment. Surveyors also conducted onsite observa- tions and interviews. The Joint Commission has accredited hospitals for more than 60 years. More than 4,000 general, children’s, long-term acute, psychiatric, rehabil- itation, and specialty hospitals currently main- tain accreditation from The Joint Commission, awarded for a three-year period. In addition, approximately 360 critical access hospitals main- tain accreditation through a separate program. “Joint Commission accreditation provides hos- pitals with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas from the enhancement of staff education to the improvement of daily business operations,” said Mark G. Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission. Ochsner Health System to Pilot Genetic Screening Program in Partnership with Color Ochsner Health System (Ochsner) and population genomics technology com- pany, Color, announced a first of its kind, fully- digital population health pilot program that inte- grates clinical genomics into standard care as part of Ochsner’s focus on delivering personalized healthcare. Developed by Ochsner’s innovation lab, innovationOchsner (iO), the health system’s program will proactively identify patients who are at higher risk for certain hereditary cancers and heart disease with the goal of early detection and prevention of future illness. The partnership leverages Color’s unique combination of medi- cal grade genetics, clinical services, and patient engagement with Ochsner’s approach to mak- ing individualized patient-level insights action- able and integrating them into routine patient care at scale.  According to the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention (CDC), nearly two million people in the United States are at increased risk for adverse health outcomes because they have genetic mutations with one of the three conditions[i]: • Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syn- drome (HBOC) due to mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes • Lynch Syndrome associated with increased risk in colorectal, endometrial, ovarian and other cancers • Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) which increases the risk for heart disease or stroke Ochsner’s program will screen for these three conditions, based on the CDC’s determination that early detection and intervention could signifi- cantly reduce the risk of disease and the availabil- ity of evidence-based guidelines with well-estab- lished, effective actions providers and patients can take to reduce risk. Different from direct-to-consumer genetic test- ing, Color uses clinical grade genetic testing tech- nology while also providing support to individuals