HJNO Jan/Feb 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2021 31 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com for developing COVID-19 and both cancer and COVID-19 disproportionately affect minority and underserved populations, there is an urgent need to develop a new Louisiana Cancer-COVID-19 Registry to better understand the impact of the current pandemic on cancer patients in the Gulf South Region,” says NCORP principal investiga- tor Augusto Ochoa, MD, director of LSU Health New Orleans Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center. Healthcare providers are required to report both cancer and COVID-19 diagnoses because these diseases are of such public health impor- tance. LSU Health New Orleans School of Pub- lic Health’s Louisiana Tumor Registry will work to link its data on cancer incidence with the Louisi- ana Department of Health’s COVID-19 Registry. “The collaboration with Dr. DeAnn Gruber and her team at the Office of Public Health at the Lou- isiana Department of Health has been outstand- ing,” said Ochoa. Data from the new registry will be used to study the effect of COVID-19 on cancer health dispari- ties in Louisiana and more effectively participate in national clinical studies. The registry will help determine how COVID-19 impacts cancer health disparities in different populations and in rural vs. urban locations. “The Louisiana Tumor Registry is very enthu- siastic about participating in this effort because we believe the Louisiana Cancer-COVID-19 reg- istry will enhance research to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcome, and to identify corre- sponding health disparities for actions,” said Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, professor and director of the LSU Health New Orleans Louisiana Tumor Registry, a program in its School of Public Health. “It may also help to determine the location of corona- virus ‘hot spots.’ This project lines up with our vision to reduce suffering and death from can- cer in Louisiana.” “The LA Cancer-COVID-19 Registry will also better prepare us for a resurgence of COVID- 19 or other future pandemics by being able to deploy diagnostic, treatment, or epidemiologi- cal trials,” said Ochoa. The NCORP expanded last year and adopted a new name -- the Gulf South Clinical Trials Net- work. Partners now include LSU Health New Orleans Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, LSU Health New Orleans Louisiana Tumor Registry, LSU Health Shreveport Feist Weiller Cancer Cen- ter, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, and Och- sner Cancer Center. The NCORP provides cancer care and access to clinical trials with an empha- sis on minority and underserved cancer patients. Together they partner to oversee a network of 44 clinical sites that have significantly increased enrollment of cancer patients into clinical trials throughout the region. Approximately 50% of patients enrolled are African American. LSU Health New Orleans Louisiana Tumor Reg- istry, a program of its School of Public Health, is one of only 19 cancer registries in the country comprising the National Cancer Institute’s Sur- veillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, considered to be the most authorita- tive voice on cancer in the United States. It is regarded as one of the leading cancer registries in the nation. Local Organizations Receive Grants for Workforce Development, Farmers Market, COVID-19 Programs Louisiana Healthcare Connections announced that six community-based organizations have been awarded funding through the health plan’s COVID-19 Recovery Grants Program. The COVID- 19 Recovery Grants Program awards grants of up to $5,000 each to assist eligible organizations in implementing innovative solutions to address the social service and healthcare needs of those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations selected for funding awards include: • Center for Employment Opportunities, in New Orleans, for its workforce develop- ment program • Eternal Crisis Outreach, in Baton Rouge, for its “Louisiana Connections Through COVID- 19” program • It Takes a Village Baton Rouge, in Baton Rouge, for its Love Out Loud Sundays Farm- ers Market • The Rapides Exploratory Education (TREE), in Alexandria, for its camp and outreach scholarships • The Re//DEFINED Project, in Alexandria, for its ReDEFINED Exchange program • St. Mary Parish School Board and B. Edward Boudreaux Middle School, in Baldwin, for COVID19 school preparedness The COVID-19 Recovery Grants Program con- tinues to accept funding proposals from non- profit, Louisiana-based organizations that serve the Medicaid population. Grant proposals are reviewed weekly. Proposals may be approved, declined, or held for consideration for later funding. Organizations with approved propos- als will receive grant funds within 30 days. Addi- tional information about COVID-19 Recov- ery Grants Program as well as the formal RFP are available online at www.LouisianaHealth Connect.com/grants.Questionsmaybedirectedto CommunityGrants@LouisianaHealthConnect. com. LSU/HSC Study Finds Earlier Diagnoses of Breast Cancer Following Medicaid Expansion More women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner and better access to care and treatment since Medicaid was expanded in Louisiana in 2016, a forthcoming Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center study found. The study is set for publication in an upcom- ing issue of Cancer, the interdisciplinary journal of the American Cancer Society. The lead author is Quyen Chu, MD, a professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at LSU Health Shreveport. Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Courtney Phillips, MD, said the study is a good reminder of the importance of staying up to date on routine screenings, especially after many res- idents understandably put off care during the early days of the pandemic. Because of Medicaid expansion, more than 91,000 women in Louisiana have received screen- ing or diagnostic breast imaging, many for the first time. More than 1,100 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer as a result of those screenings. The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center study found that Medicaid expansion has led to a: • 27% increase in early-stage diagnosis of breast cancer;