HJNO Nov/Dec 2021

64 NOV / DEC 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS Hospital Rounds and recover.” Chabert’s Emergency Department never closed throughout the storm, and outpatient services have gradually returned as facility damage was repaired. Chabert’s team of providers, nurses and staff continued caring for patients at nearby facil- ities and supported the communities hardest hit by Ida by bringing mobile urgent care, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. St. Tammany Health System Announces Development Plan for Surgery Center The STHS Board of Commissioners approved plans at its September meeting to develop a new $75 million surgical center adjacent to the exist- ing Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion at 16300 Highway 1085, south of Covington. The project will begin with preliminary property work this fall and final construction completion in summer 2023. “A comprehensive surgical center adjacent to the Cordes Pavilion has been a strategic goal for us for a long time, as technology brings more sur- gery to the one-day arena,” STHS President/CEO Joan Coffman explained. “As the COVID-19 pan- demic changes how we deliver care, we are taking bold steps to develop environments that support our patients’ needs and deliver the world-class care they know and trust.” “While day procedures can be performed at main campus, it’s more convenient to patients and more efficient for operations to move those types of procedures to a surgery center and main- tain the main campus operating rooms for highly advanced surgeries we and our partner Ochsner are performing close to home on the Northshore today,” Coffman added. Developers will build a new building adjacent to the Cordes Pavilion to host 12 surgery suites, supporting departments and services including pre-operative and postoperative care, overnight stay beds, surgical sterilization, imaging, lab, phar- macy, rehabilitation, food service, environmental and other services. Ochsner Health Recognized by AmericanMedical Association as a Health System that Cares for Caregivers Ochsner Health announced that the American Medical Association (AMA) has recognized the system as one of 44 healthcare organizations in the 2021 Joy in Medicine Health System Recog- nition Program. This distinction is given to health systems that have demonstrated commitment to preserving the well-being of their healthcare team members by engaging in proven efforts to com- bat work-related stress and burnout. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put a spot- light on the importance of healthcare systems supporting team members. A national study examining the experiences of physicians and other healthcare workers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic found that 38% of staff self- reported experiencing anxiety or depression, while 43% had burnout. “The past 19 months have been especially chal- lenging for those of us who work in healthcare, and it’s never been clearer just how important it is to take care of our team,” said Nigel Girgrah, MD, chief wellness officer, Ochsner Health. “Having an established Office of Professional Well-Being enabled us to quickly assess evolving needs and respond with expanded offerings in addition to ongoing access to counseling, mindfulness edu- cation, and decompression zones to help com- bat burnout.” Shockwave Treatment Offered to North Oaks Patients with Severe Heart Disease A minimally invasive treatment for calcified cor- onary artery disease called Shockwave Intravascu- lar Lithotripsy (IVL) was recently approved by the FDA for use in the United States. As individuals with coronary artery disease age and their disease progresses, plaque in their arter- ies evolves into calcium deposits. This can nar- row or block the arteries. Physicians often use stents to open narrowed or blocked arteries to restore blood flow. Of the approximately 1 mil- lion patients that undergo stent procedures each year, 30% have problematic calcium that increases their risk for serious complications. This is because the bone-like calcium deposits make the artery rigid and more difficult or impossible to reopen with conventional treatments alone. Such treat- ments include balloons deployed by a catheter and inflated under high pressure to break up the calcium and atherectomy, which requires drilling through the calcium before the stent can be placed. The North Oaks team now uses shockwave tech- nology to deploy a catheter into the artery and inflate a balloon to a low pressure. Next, Shock- wave IVL is used to deliver sonic pressure waves that gently crack the calcium deposits in the artery wall. After the calcifications are broken up, the bal- loon is expanded to prepare the artery for stent- ing to restore blood flow. Thibodaux Regional Welcomes Eric Swenson, MD, to theMedical Staff Thibodaux Regional Health System announced the addition of Eric Swenson, MD, podiatrist/ foot and ankle surgeon, to the active medical staff. Swenson is available to care for patients at Thibodaux Regional Podiatry Clinic, located at 726 North Acadia Road, Suite 1700, in Thibodaux. Swenson received a Doctor of Podiatric Med- icine from Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine in Miami Shores, Florida. He completed a residency in foot and ankle surgery at Mount Auburn Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teach- ing hospital, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Swenson specializes in all foot and ankle condi- tions, from sports injuries and general foot pain to complex reconstructive and limb salvage surgery. He is a member of the American Podiatric Medi- cal Association, the American Academy of Podi- atric Sports Medicine and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgery. n Eric Swenson, MD