HJNO Nov/Dec 2021

58 NOV / DEC 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS Hospital Rounds STQNAnnounces 2021 Third Quarter Medical Director’s Award St. Tammany Quality Network presented its 2021 third-quarter Medical Director’s Award to Gabri- elle Givens, MD, for achieving outstanding patient results for chronic disease management. “Dr. Givens has achieved remarkable success in improving her patients’ health,” said Michael K. Hill, MD, STHS vice president for quality and uti- lization management. “Our goal at St. Tammany Health System is to improve hypertension, diabe- tes, and cholesterol control. Dr. Givens and all our STQN adult primary care physicians have done a remarkable job attaining these goals despite some significant challenges. We are so fortunate to have her in our community.” Givens is a board-certified family medicine phy- sician with the STPN Mandeville clinic. A native of Franklinton, Givens completed a residency at LSU Rural Family Residency Program in Bogalusa. Xavier Graduate Awarded Ochsner HealthMedical School Scholarship The third annual Ochsner Health Medical School Scholarship for LSU Health Shreveport – School of Medicine was awarded to Xavier Uni- versity of Louisiana graduate Colbren Thomas. The scholarship award covers the cost of tuition for Thomas to attend LSU Health Shreveport – School of Medicine. “Now is the time to invest in the next gener- ation of healthcare leaders. Ochsner Health is proud to team up with Xavier University and LSU Health Shreveport to pave the way for Colbren Thomas and other aspiring physicians to have the opportunity to study here at home in Louisiana. It is our hope that they will choose to stay and serve local communities after graduation, doing their part to contribute to making Louisiana a health- ier state — both for the current generation and those to come,” said Leonardo Seoane, MD, chief academic officer, Ochsner Health and associate vice chancellor of academic affairs, LSU Health Shreveport. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Xavier University. Outside of the classroom, he was engaged in campus leadership activities, volunteering, shadowing and conducting scien- tific research. Notably, Thomas participated in the Harvard Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) Program — a national program designed to encourage students to pursue careers in biomedical and behavioral research. Addition- ally, Thomas worked with the University of Pitts- burgh’s SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alli- ance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program— a two-semester, discovery-based undergraduate research course, which progresses through a variety of microbiol- ogy techniques. Ochsner Health Announces NewCEO for Northshore, Mississippi Gulf Coast Region Ochsner Health has named Corwin Harper as chief executive officer (CEO), Northshore and Mis- sissippi Gulf Coast Region. Corwin comes to Och- sner Health from Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. He has gained positions of increasing responsibility in healthcare in the Kaiser Perman- ente system for over 25 years beginning in 1996, including physician practice management, hos- pital operations, health plan management and diversity and inclusion. He was CEO of three dif- ferent markets in Kaiser Permanente for more than 16 years and served as CEO of their Central Valley Region for the past four years. Corwin will begin his leadership role on the Northshore and Gulf Coast effective Oct. 18, 2021. Ochsner Health Northshore and Mississippi Gulf Coast Region is comprised of two full-ser- vice hospitals, four strategic health system part- nerships, 525 providers, more than 40 clinics and 2,500 employees. Terrebonne General Health SystemWelcomes Emergency Medicine Physicians Terrebonne General Health System welcomes two new emergency medicine physicians, Jus- tin Okons, MD, and H. Martin Plauché, MD, to its esteemed medical staff. Okons received a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Doctor of Medicine from Drexel University Col- lege of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed a four-year emergency medicine resi- dency at Louisiana State University New Orleans, a Level 1 Trauma Center. Most recently, Okons treated patients at Rapid Urgent Care in Amite, Bogalusa, Hood Memorial Hospital in Amite, Louisiana, and St. Martin Hos- pital in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. He has a back- ground in disaster training, including serving on a COVID-19 response team as well as attending mass casualty incidents. Plauché attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for a Bachelor of Science in Bio- medical Engineering and graduated with distinc- tion. He earned a Doctor of Medicine at Louisi- ana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed a four-year emergency medicine residency at LSU Spirit of Charity Emer- gency Medicine in New Orleans. During his res- idency, Plauché served as the chief resident, where he managed resident scheduling, disas- ter response, student education and recruitment. “We are honored to have Dr. Okons and Dr. Plauche’ join our highly skilled Emergency Medi- cine physician team,” said Phyllis Peoples, pres- ident and CEO. “Their experience and achieve- ments will bring continued expertise to our organization.” Terrebonne General’s Level 3 Emergency Department serves about 50,000 patients every year. Fitch Upgrades STHS Credit Rating to AA- fromA+ Fitch Ratings has upgraded St. Tammany Health System’s issuer default rating, bumping it to AA- from A+. Fitch also upgraded the long-term rat- ing on the series 2018A and 2018B bonds issued by St. Tammany to AA- from A+. Colbren Thomas