HJNO Sep/Oct 2020

54 SEP / OCT 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS Hospital Rounds Nine Complete North Oaks Health System’s Dietetic Internship Program North Oaks Health System’s Dietetic Internship faculty and staff honored nine graduates for com- pleting the programMay 8. Due to COVID-19, the graduates gathered for a socially distanced lun- cheon at the E. Brent Dufreche Conference Cen- ter on June 10 instead of a traditional commence- ment ceremony.  Members of the class include, seated, from left, Amanda Hines of Mandeville; Emma Moore of Baton Rouge; Emma Pittman and Hannah Eblen of Metairie; (standing from left) Ashley Smith of Folsom; Zachary Williams of Chesterton, Indiana; Brittany Francisco of Denham Springs; and Court- ney Cornett of Albany. Not pictured is Heather Moran of Greenwell Springs. Standing at far right is Leslie Ballard, director of the North Oaks Dietetic Internship program. Two graduates received awards this year. Hines received the Mary Nelson Award that is given by program faculty in recognition of eagerness to learn, dedication to the profession, and high professional standards. Hines also was selected by her peers to receive the Dannye Young Tay- lor “Always Remembering Others” Award in rec- ognition of selfless assistance of others. Taylor is a longtime patient representative for North Oaks Health System. The award was created in her honor by her husband, Dr. Rodney Taylor. Pittman received the Carol Bertrand Award for Excellence. The award was created in memory of the late Bertrand, who was a registered dieti- tian, grassroots advocate for the dietetics profes- sion, and graduate of North Oaks’ second Dietetic Internship class. Faculty selected Pittman for her essay on the potential of registered dietitians tak- ing a role in public policy related to medical nutri- tion therapy. LCMCHealth, LSUHSC Partner to Offer Free COVID-19 Testing, Support to First Responders LCMC Health and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) is offering free testing for COVID-19 and antibody testing to Region 1 First Responders. This includes police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel from Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard Parishes. “Through this innovative partnership with LCMC and LSUHSC, we are proud to provide accessible testing to the first responder community who are on the front-lines of public health and safety, pro- viding vital, often life-saving services to our com- munity,” said Dr. John Heaton, LCMC Health pres- ident of clinical and system operations. The free testing takes place on the University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) campus in the newly constructed Outpatient Surgery Cen- ter. This service is offered Monday-Friday, with approximately 90-95 tests taken per day, and will continue for the foreseeable future. Laboratories at UMC and LSUHSC will process the results. “We are grateful for the opportunity, along with LCMC Health, to give back to our first respond- ers,” notes Larry Hollier, MD, chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans. “We feel privileged to help keep our partners on the front lines of this pan- demic safer and healthier by making testing avail- able and accessible. We appreciate all they have done, often at the risk of their own well-being.” Offering testing to the first responder commu- nity is another in a series of community testing efforts led by LCMC Health. Through a program launched April 21, the health system joined forces with LSUHSC, the New Orleans Health Depart- ment and Jefferson Parish, conducting more than 6,000 free tests at community, neighborhood- based walk-up sites. These services will be offered at no cost to the first responders in part through the donation of funds and testing equipment from Hyundai Auto that was obtained through the office of Congress- man Cedric Richmond. LakeviewRegional Receives Hospital of the Year Recognition for Respiratory Care Lakeview Regional Medical Center, a campus of Tulane Medical Center, was recently presented the 2019 Hospital of the Year Award for Respira- tory Care by the Louisiana Society for Respiratory Care. Lakeview Regional received the recogni- tion among its peers of hospitals with less than 200 beds for demonstrating and meeting criteria related to enhancing and promoting the profes- sion of respiratory care and having achieved suc- cessful outcomes within its facility and community. “Respiratory therapists around the world are playing a crucial role during the COVID-19 out- break, so it’s an especially uplifting honor to receive this award in respiratory care,” said John Blender, cardiopulmonary supervisor at Lakeview Regional. “This recognition acknowledges our team’s dedication to going above and beyond in providing patients with the best possible care.” Children’s Hospital NewOrleans Opens New Imaging Center Children’s Hospital New Orleans celebrated the opening of its new Imaging Center, serving patients from across Louisiana in a fully compre- hensive space equipped with the latest imaging technology, in a kid-friendly environment that