HJNO Jan/Feb 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2020 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com committee has been invaluable. Her focus is always on improving patient care. ” White has been an active member in the St. Tammany Quality Network since its inception seven years ago and has been on active medi- cal staff at St. Tammany Parish Hospital for 23 years. She graduated from LSU Medical School and completed a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics. The Blood Center, St. Tammany Health System Introduce Thank The Donor The Blood Center and St. Tammany Health System introduced Thank The Donor, allowing patients to thank their blood donor. ThankTheDonor.org connects patients confi- dentially with their blood donor. The technology allows patients to send a note, photo, or video to their donor using a smartphone, tablet, or com- puter. The program breaks the communication barriers with a new and different way to share a “thank you” while protecting the anonymity of both the donor and patient.  This is the first hospital in Louisiana to pilot this program with The Blood Center. Patients, their family, or friends can all use ThankTheDonor.org to send amessage of gratitude. Blood brought to a patient’s room includes a green heart hanging from the bag along with a card containing simple instructions on accessing the site. “To date, we’ve already received ten messages of thanks from patients,” said Paul Adams, pub- lic relations manager for The Blood Center. “Our priority is insuring anonymity of the patient and donor.There isn’t direct communication between the two,but knowing how or when your bloodwas used can be extremely gratifying and hopefully encourages others to give as well.” Leapfrog Group Awards STPH another A for Safety St.Tammany Health Systemwas awarded anA fromThe Leapfrog Group during its fall 2019 Leap- frog Hospital Safety Grade review period. This marks the eighth consecutive grading period in which STPH has earned the highest safety rat- ing. Rating periods occur every six months, in spring and fall. The designation recognizes STPH’s efforts to protect patients and deliver safe, high qual- ity healthcare. The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D, or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medi- cal errors, injuries,accidents, infections,and other harms to patients in their care. Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer- reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. Thibodaux Regional’s Lilli Rozanski Achieves Sports Nutrition Credential Thibodaux Regional Health Systemannounced that Sports and Fitness Dietitian Lilli Rozanski, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN, has achieved board certi- fication as a specialist in sports dietetics (CSSD). CSSD is the premier professional sports nutrition credential in the United States. Rozanski is one of only a few in Louisiana to achieve this designation. The Commission on Dietetic Registration offers CSSD certification for registered dietitians who have specialized experience in sports dietetics. Being board-certified as a specialist in sports dietetics designates specific knowledge, skills, and expertise for competency in sports dietet- ics practice. Tulane Lakeside Receives Third- Straight A for Patient Safety Tulane Lakeside Hospital was awarded an A in the The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grade.The designation recognizes Tulane Lakeside’s continued efforts in protecting patients Dr. Elizabeth White accepts the 2019 third quarter Medical Director’s Award. Lilli Rozanski, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN