HJNO Nov/Dec 2020

34 NOV / DEC 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs each day, and we are honored to receive it on their behalf.” The Nightingale Award recognizes the com- pany’s investment in the professional growth of nurses through internal and external learning opportunities, innovation awards, and workplace recognition programs. “As nurses, we are on the frontlines of health- care delivery, and regardless of where the care is delivered, the goal is always the same: to help someone achieve better health,” said Sommer Williams, BSN, RN, CCM, manager of medical management. “Louisiana Healthcare Connec- tions shares its nurses’ passion for helping oth- ers, appreciates our experience and knowledge, and demonstrates a commitment to our profes- sional advancement. I am proud to be among its many nurses.” The Louisiana Nurses Foundation established the Nightingale Awards to recognize registered nurses and healthcare institutions across the state for demonstrating leadership, clinical excellence, and quality service in the nursing profession. Louisiana Department of Health Announces InterimAssistant Secretary of Public Health The Louisiana Department of Health announced Joseph Kanter, MD, is the interim assistant secre- tary of the Office of Public Health. Kanter currently serves as the assistant state health officer and region one medical director of the Department’s Office of Public Health. In these roles, Kanter has served as principal deputy to the state health officer and lead public health official for the Greater New Orleans area for the last two years, coordinating regional clinical ser- vices, emergency preparedness, infectious dis- ease control, and strategic health initiatives. In his former role as the director of the New Orleans Department of Health, Kanter led the city’s comprehensive opioid mitigation strat- egy which included issuing a first-in-the-state standing order for naloxone, equipping the New Orleans Police Department with the rever- sal medication, increasing availability of medica- tion-assisted treatment, promoting harm reduc- tion services, and initiating a city-wide effort to reduce the stigma of addictive disorders. Kanter is a board-certified emergency medicine physician, former medical director of the Health Care for the Homeless clinic in New Orleans, and assistant professor of medicine at both LSU Health Sciences Center and Tulane School of Medicine. Louisiana Public Health Institute, University of California San Francisco Receive Nearly $5 Million for COVID-19 Research, Analysis The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) launched a patient-driven study to analyze how COVID-19-related policies affect individuals and the spread of the disease. The study is made pos- sible through a funding award of $4,979,798 from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Insti- tute (PCORI). The two-year collaborative project consists of two data collection efforts. The first occurs through the COVID-19 Citizen Science mobile app-based study developed by Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH, Jeff Olgin, MD, and Gregory Marcus, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco. The mobile app delivers short daily and weekly surveys to gain insight into respondents’ physi- cal and mental health, behaviors, and experience with local policies related to slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The second project also analyzes electronic health records and insurance claims data from those who consent. It pulls data from the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) and other health networks with robust electronic health record systems to ensure a diverse patient population. Those interested in participating in the COVID- 19 Citizen Science Study can do so by visiting https://eureka.app.link/covid19 (if prompted, enter the study key: covid) or by texting “COVID” to 41411. Thibodaux Regional Welcomes Catherine McGee, MD, to Medical Staff Thibodaux Regional Health System announced the addition of Catherine McGee, MD, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, to the active medi- cal staff. McGee is available to care for patients at Thibodaux Regional Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, located at 604 North Acadia Road, Suite 410, in Thibodaux. McGee earned a medical degree from Louisi- ana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, where she also completed a res- idency in general surgery. McGee completed a plastic and reconstructive surgery fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., where she trained in all aspects of cosmetic and recon- structive surgery of the face and body. McGee then completed an additional fellowship in micro- surgery at University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kan. McGee is board-eligible by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and board-certified by the American Board of Surgery. She specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery as well non- surgical rejuvenation. n Joseph Kanter, MD Catherine McGee, MD