HJNO Sep/Oct 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  SEP / OCT 2022 59 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com industry thought leaders and champions. Efforts will focus on improving access to medications through greater transparency across market par- ticipants, leading to improved quality manufac- turing of medications and production of addi- tional supply. Tulane Health SystemLaunches Minimally Invasive Robotic- Assisted Lung Biopsy Procedures Tulane Health System launched a new proce- dure to aid in the detection of lung cancer using a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform in con- junction with real-time cone beam CT imaging. Together, these technologies are used to biopsy suspicious lung nodules through a minimally inva- sive procedure with incredible precision - even in hard-to-reach areas of the lung. The procedures enable physicians to quickly determine if a nod- ule is cancerous so the patient can begin life-sav- ing treatment. The robotic-assisted bronchoscopy technology features an ultra-thin, maneuverable catheter that allows navigation into the lung and enables the precision needed for the diagnostic biopsy. The cone beam CT system offers real-time images dur- ing the bronchoscopy, so physicians know exactly where the instruments are relative to the targeted lung nodule. “The lungs are a complex and delicate struc- ture, which historically made it difficult to safely biopsy small nodules, particularly in the periph- eral lung,” says Ramsy Abdelghani, MD, a board- certified interventional pulmonologist at Tulane Health System trained to use the robotic system. “Now, with the combined use of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy and real-time CT imaging, we have improved accuracy and speed with which we can diagnose and implement treatment for lung can- cer patients.” The leading-edge procedure compliments Tulane Health System’s Lung Nodule Program. Lung nodules can be found incidentally on CT scans of the heart and abdomen. Tulane’s pro- gram uses innovative technology to detect sus- picious lung nodules by analyzing CT exams per- formed as part of non-lung-related patient care plans for the presence of incidental lung nodules, which could represent a malignancy. Nurse nav- igators then reach out personally to patients to ensure follow-up care and treatment. Additionally, as part of the multidisciplinary plat- form focused on early-stage cancer detection, Tulane Health System offers a low-dose CT lung screening program for proactive identification and treatment of at-risk patients. Ochsner Medical Center Awarded Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Certification from The Joint Commission Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check Mark for Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Certification. Launched in 2003, this designation is reserved for Joint Commission-accredited acute care hos- pitals and awarded for a two-year period. The Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Certification is the most demanding stroke certification and is designed for hospitals that have specific abili- ties to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases. Ochsner Medical Center has been an advanced comprehensive stroke center for the past nine years. Ochsner underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review in April 2022. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards including program management and delivering and facilitating surgical and clinical care of stroke patients. Joint Commission standards are devel- oped in consultation with healthcare experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews. STHS Receives Outstanding Patient Experience Award St. Tammany Health System has once more received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades. The recognition places the health system in the top 5% of U.S. hospitals for patient experience. This 2022 award also marks the 14th consecu- tive year the health system has earned the honor, dating to 2009. “We’re enormously grateful, of course, for all the awards we earn, but we’ve long been a patient-first organization, so being recognized for Outstanding Patient Experience for 14 years and counting is a particular point of pride for us,” St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said. “We owe it all to the dedica- tion and skill of our staff and of the world-class healthcare they deliver every day to our North- shore neighbors.” For its annual analysis, Healthgrades – which operates a national healthcare rating and com- parison database – evaluated 3,173 hospitals that submitted at least 75 patient experience sur- veys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, covering admissions from July 2020 to March 2021. Of those hospitals evaluated, 399 hospi- tals including St. Tammany Health System out- performed their peers based on their patients’ responses, earning them the Outstanding Patient Experience award. “We applaud all recipients of the Healthgrades 2022 Outstanding Patient Experience Award for putting patient experience at the front and cen- ter within their organizations,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer and head of data Sci- ence, Healthgrades. “We commend these hospi- tals for their ongoing commitment in prioritizing an exceptional patient experience, while ensuring the health and safety of their patients.” Claudia Henschke, MD, PhD, Receives Alton Ochsner Award Ochsner Health has announced that the recip- ient of the 37th Annual Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Disease is Claudia Hen- schke, PhD, MD, director, Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program (ELCAP), professor of radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. The award is named after Alton Ochsner, MD, who co-founded Ochsner Health in New Orleans and published the first paper linking smoking and health in 1939. It recognizes scientists who have made major contributions to the relation- ship between smoking and disease and who have advanced the development of major prevention and treatment modalities. “It is an honor to receive this award for my work in lung cancer screening,” said Henschke. “The ability to be able to detect early lung cancer by