HJNO Jul/Aug 2020

28 JUL / AUG 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs Free COVID-19 Virus Testing Available at DePaul Community Health Centers DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC) offers free COVID-19 virus testing at nine of its 10 health centers (excludes Higgins site) located in metro New Orleans. DCHC’s increased test- ing capacity comes as a result of collaborating with both Louisiana Healthcare Connections and Quest Diagnostics to test both symptom- atic and asymptomatic individuals in underserved communities. Tests available at DCHC include both the COVID-19 PCR Test (to confirm current COVID- 19 infection) and the COVID-19 IgG Serology Test (to confirm previous COVID-19 infection). Walk- ins are welcome; however, making an appoint- ment is encouraged. Please call (504) 207-3060 or visit www.DePaulCommunityHealthCenters.org . “We thank both Louisiana Healthcare Connec- tions and Quest for helping DCHC to enhance our COVID-19 virus testing offerings,” said Michael G. Griffin, DCHC’s president/CEO. While this pandemic impacts everyone, per- sons in underserved communities are being adversely affected in greater numbers. We believe that everyone, regardless of their abil- ity to pay, should have access to compassionate, high-quality health care. Providing this care dur- ing the current global pandemic is vitally impor- tant in the worldwide quest to curb the infection rate of this virus.” LSUHealth NewOrleans Resident Physicians Donate Basketballs, Goals to NOLA Youth During COVID-19 Pandemic Two LSU Health New Orleans School of Med- icine residents, along with a medical student at Brown University, founded the Drive and Dish Foundation—a non-profit raising funds to buy and deliver basketballs and goals to New Orleans youth to encourage safe recreation and play dur- ing COVID-19. “Growing up, playing sports was more than a hobby; it was an opportunity to mentally decom- press and to escape my reality,” says Michael Okoronkwo, MD, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine Class of 2019 and Drive and Dish founder. “This brought me closer to personal peace and purpose. As COVID-19 has impacted all of us, I couldn’t help but think of the New Orleans area youth who didn’t have access to these benefits of sports activity because of COVID-19. This was my inspiration for creating Drive and Dish.” In the safety of their own driveways or back- yards, New Orleans youth can remain physically and mentally well with the donated equipment. “As lifelong New Orleans residents, former ath- letes, and physicians, we understand the impact that sport has on both physical and mental health,” says Keyana F. Varnado, MD, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine Class of 2019 and Drive and Dish founder. “As LSU Health New Orleans medical students serving as leaders of LSU Tiger Cubs and LSU Student National Med- ical Association (SNMA) via the school’s Office of Diversity and Community Engagement, we learned firsthand that community engagement and medicine go hand in hand. We are grateful for the leadership, resilience, and innovation we have seen throughout the global crisis of COVID- 19, and we are using Drive and Dish to further support our NOLA community and one of its most important populations.” Why call it Drive and Dish? “Drive and Dish are popular terms in basketball lingo and necessary actions to score/make a goal,” explained Var- nado, who is now a resident in LSU Health New Orleans’ Surgery Residency Program. “For us, each time we have the opportunity to deliver a goal to a kid or family, we score! In the setting of COVID-19 we are ‘driving’ and ‘dishing’ out goals to youth and families around New Orleans because it’s not safe to host mass pickups. These two elements gave us the inspiration to name our campaign Drive and Dish!” The young doctors in training delivered seven goals during their first week of fundraising. One of them was to a family who recently had their basketball goal stolen, and couldn’t afford another one. “The kids have been excited, and the parents/ caregivers have expressed how grateful they are,” Varnado said. “Yesterday, I called a family to alert them that they would receive a goal, and you could just hear the change in their voices. Some of these families wanted basketball goals even before COVID-19, but their value is certainly even greater now that our access to safe recre- ational spaces is limited.” Louisiana Healthcare Connections Provides Funding to Food Banks Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased rates of food insecurity among families and individuals across the state, Louisiana Healthcare Connections has awarded $90,000 to Feeding Louisiana to support the statewide food bank network. Food insecurity, defined by the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle, has long been an issue for Louisiana. In the 2019 America’s Health Rankings, Louisiana, at 21.7 percent, scored the highest rate in the nation of adults ages 60 and older who faced the threat of hunger in the previous 12 months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana, food insecurity has become an even more press- ing issue, leading to increased demand on the state’s network of food banks, according to Feed- ing Louisiana, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing relief to hunger and food insecurity in Louisiana. Feeding Louisiana is the advocate for the state’s five regional food banks in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Alexandria, Shreveport, and Mon- roe. Together with their food pantry, shelter, and meal program partners, these food banks coor- dinate food distribution to thousands of families and individuals statewide. “Feeding Louisiana and its members are deeply grateful to Louisiana Healthcare Connections for its donation to support the state’s food banks in responding to increased food insecurity due to the spread of COVID-19,” said Korey Patty, exec- utive director. “This donation will help Louisiana food banks to distribute more than 300,000 meals to individuals and families in need across all 64 parishes of the state.” “The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have extended beyond medical care to negatively affect access to food, housing, employment, and more,” said Jamie Schlottman, CEO of Louisi- ana Healthcare Connections. “These social deter- minants of health have a tremendous impact on overall health, especially among vulnerable