HJNO Jan/Feb 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2023 63 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalNO.com a certified level eight out of 10 in two categories — acute and ambulatory care. Some of the inno- vations that Terrebonne General was recognized for include offering EPIC, the top-rated medical record system, and providing MyChart, a patient portal system that offers instant access to medical records, as well as the Terrebonne Connect Bar, which pairs patients with technology. Trauma, Grief Center at Children’s Hospital NO Partners with NO Juvenile Justice Intervention Center The Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center at Chil- dren’s Hospital New Orleans was recently awarded a $100,000 grief reach grant from the New York Life Foundation to support culturally appropriate trauma and grief-informed care to youth within the TAG Center and the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (JJIC). This partnership will allow the TAG Center to provide a new way to support at-risk youth in the JJIC, with a particular focus on grief within the context of violent death. Many youth in the juvenile justice system are unable to address the underlying grief that causes their delinquent behaviors because they have nowhere to turn. Many of them — particu- larly youth of color — have reported higher rates of traumatic bereavement, with more than 75% experiencing two or more violent deaths of loved ones before the age of five. Despite this preva- lence, the lack of identifying the role of grief in juvenile delinquency is what often leads to inef- fective mental health support. Through this funding, the TAG Center will explicitly address the intersection of racial trauma and violent loss among youth of color that are seen at the TAG Center. This collaboration will help the TAG Center advance its work with the JJIC to provide an evidence-based intervention, Trauma and Grief Component Therapy (TGCT), which was co-developed by Julie Kaplow, MD. “For many youth, access to mental health care is a significant barrier in New Orleans. Almost no juvenile justice centers across the country offer interventions that directly address grief, despite the very high rates of bereavement among youth in those settings,” said Kaplow, executive direc- tor of the TAG Center at Children’s Hospital NO. “We are grateful to accept this generous grant from the New York Life Foundation to support our partnership with the JJIC and to create a mean- ingful impact for youth in our juvenile justice sys- tem, the vast majority of whom have experienced multiple traumas and losses due to gun violence over the course of their young lives.” The TAG Center’s primary intervention is TGCT, an evidence-based, assessment-driven treatment for youth whose histories of trauma and traumatic loss place them at high risk for severe and persist- ing distress, functional impairment, and develop- mental disruption. Originally designed for use in group settings, TGCT is unique in that it directly addresses trauma, grief, and the interplay of the two. TGCT has been implemented among diverse populations in schools, mental health settings, and juvenile justice sites across the U.S. and has proven effective in reducing PTSD, depression, maladaptive grief, and violent behavior, while enhancing positive youth development and behaviors. Over the course of this initiative, the grant fund- ing will help TAG Center clinicians provide TGCT to an additional 96 youth within the TAG Cen- ter and 240 youth within the JJIC. In addition to measuring symptom reduction, youth will be pro- vided with a brief survey to assess their satisfac- tion with the treatment, which treatment elements were most helpful, and which aspects they would change in the future. To learn more about the TAG Center at Chil- dren’s Hospital New Orleans, visit the website behavioralhealth.chnola.org . Ochsner Health, Chevron Expand Smoking Cessation Program Chevron and Ochsner Health have expanded their Lung Cancer Awareness, Education and Pre- vention Program with a $50,000 donation from Chevron. According to the U.S. Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention, smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable deaths. Loui- siana has one of the highest smoking rates in the United States. Chevron’s funding is also supporting the follow- ing program initiatives: • Encouraging early testing and diagnostics such as low-dose CT scans and lung can- cer screening tests to significantly increase the chances of survival from lung cancer in certain high-risk populations. • Visits to high schools to educate students about the dangers of vaping and smoking and to provide smoking cessation resources. • Education on how to identify stressors and triggers leading to smoking habits. • Smoking cessation tools to identify and uti- lize health mechanisms for managing stress. To learn more about the program or to schedule an appointment, visit Ochsner.org/quit. St. Tammany Health System Breaks Ground on $75 Million Ambulatory Surgical Center The St. Tammany Health System Board of Com- missioners and executive team broke ground on a $75 million same-day surgical center adjacent to the existing Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion at 16300 Highway 1085 (Bootlegger Road) south of Covington. The building, which will boast 12 surgical suites and an array of support services, is expected to be complete and ready for patients by late summer 2024. In addition to its 12 surgery suites, the new facility will host supporting depart- ments and services including pre-operative and post-operative care, overnight stay beds, surgi- cal sterilization, imaging, lab, pharmacy, rehabil- itation, food service, environmental, and other services. Terrebonne General Health SystemNames Robert Meilan, RRT, Director of Cardio-Respiratory Care Terrebonne General Health System has named Robert Meilan, RRT, as the director of Robert Meilan, RRT