HJNO Jul/Aug 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JUL / AUG 2020 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com thousands of healthcare professionals to partic- ipate, including nurses, therapists, physicians, emergency responders, food service workers, environmental services workers, interpreters, and transporters – anyone who works in a setting where people receive health care. “The response of our region’s and nation’s front- line workers – especially those in healthcare – to the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of heroic,” said Dr. Brandon Mauldin, Tulane Health System’s chief medical officer. “We all want to do everything we can to continue to support these individuals and understand how this situa- tion has and is affecting them.” The goals of the registry are to engage health- care workers in a research community, understand their experiences and interests through ongoing surveys, and track critical health outcomes associ- ated with caring for patients with COVID-19, such as stress and burnout. The HERO Registry will help speed clinical studies that address unmet needs for healthcare workers, such as an upcoming study of hydroxychloroquine. HERO-HCQ is a random- ized clinical trial of approximately 15,000 HERO Registry participants that will evaluate whether hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil®) is better than placebo in preventing COVID-19 infection. It will be conducted through clinical research sites in PCORnet, including Ochsner and University Medical Center. “Ochsner recognizes that providing support to our healthcare workers on the frontlines is a vital need – both for our community and our industry as a whole. We are proud to team up with Tulane Health System and University Medical Center, as well as healthcare systems across the nation to connect healthcare workers with the national HERO registry. We are confident that the findings will pave the way for additional support for health- care workers during the COVID-19 response and for years to come,” said Julie Castex, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, principal investigator for the HERO- HCQ Trial site at Ochsner). There is no cost to enroll in the HERO Registry and registration takes only a few minutes. Health- care workers can participate as much or as little as they like in surveys and other opportunities. The registry will follow a protocol developed by the DCRI and data guidelines to keep healthcare worker information secure. • Ochsner Medical Center – Hancock • Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans • Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner • Ochsner Medical Center – Northshore • Ochsner St. Mary • Leonard A. Chabert Medical Center (Och- sner Partner) • Lafayette General Medical Center (Ochsner Partner) • St. Tammany Health System (Ochsner Partner) • Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport – Monroe Medical Center (Ochsner partner, formerly University Health Conway) The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to healthcare quality and safety. The Safety Grade is a letter assigned to all general hospitals across the coun- try and updated every six months, assessing how well hospitals prevent medical errors and other harms to patients. NewOrleans Hospitals to Participate in National COVID-19 Study Three New Orleans hospitals will participate in a national study focused on the impact COVID-19 is having on healthcare workers. Ochsner Medi- cal Center, Tulane Health System, and University Medical Center will all encourage local healthcare workers to join the Healthcare Worker Exposure Response & Outcomes (HERO) Registry, which is gathering personal accounts of clinical and life experiences from healthcare workers across the country with the goal of understanding the per- spectives and problems faced by those on the COVID-19 pandemic front lines. The registry will unite America’s healthcare workers into a community to facilitate rapid-cycle research, including an upcoming large study of hydroxychloroquine’s effectiveness in preventing coronavirus infections in healthcare workers. The HERO research program leverages PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, and is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). REACHnet, a program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute and funded by PCORI, is acting as the coordinat- ing center for the three New Orleans sites. The HERO Registry is asking hundreds of Ochsner Health Facilities Recognized with an A by Leapfrog in Spring 2020 Patient Safety Grades Eleven Ochsner Health facilities, including five partner facilities, earned an A Spring 2020 Hos- pital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a designation that recognizes efforts in protect- ing patients from harm and meeting the high- est safety standards in the United States. Och- sner hospitals and partner facilities earning this honor include: • Ochsner Baptist – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center • Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge