HJNO Mar/Apr 2023

34 MAR / APR 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs will have a positive impact on the lives of women in our community and the families that depend on them,” said Coretta LaGarde, executive direc- tor, American Heart Association in Greater New Orleans. A new addition to Go Red for Women this year is the Women of Impact initiative. Women are nominated by their peers to participate. The nominees will recruit champions from their networks to form a fundraising team and have a direct impact on women’s health and the Go Red for Women vision of creating a passionate community dedicated to addressing health issues unique to women. The nominee whose team makes the largest impact in each market will be named the local Woman of Impact Award Winner. This year’s Go Red for Women movement and its local achievements will have been celebrated on March 3 at the 2023 New Orleans Go Red for Women Luncheon, locally sponsored by Entergy, United Healthcare, LCMC Health, and LAMMICO. For more information or to inquire about tick- ets to the New Orleans Go Red for Women lun- cheon, visit NewOrleansGoRed .heart.org or email AHANewOrleans@heart.org . West JeffersonMedical Center Opens Centro Hispano de Salud West Jefferson Medical Center, part of the LCMC Health system, announced the grand opening of its Centro Hispano de Salud, a His- panic-first clinic located at 1111 Medical Center, Suite S640 in Marrero. The clinic is the first of its kind in the area and its mission is to deliver health, care, and education beyond extraordinary to the growing and historically underserved Hispanic/ Latino community. The clinic, led by Magaly Sotres, MD, and Jose Cusco, MD, aims to empower Spanish-speaking patients by putting them back in charge of their own health. Through this initiative, West Jeffer- son Medical Center is focused on removing tra- ditional language barriers and social factors that have historically interfered with access to timely, high-quality healthcare to the Hispanic commu- nity. Some of these patient factors include: • Communication with healthcare providers in a non-dominant language. • Navigation of the complex healthcare system. • Misinterpretation of providers' guidance. More than 28% of Hispanics recognize that they are not proficient in English and, as such, the clinic intends to provide consistent health- care with bilingual staff who are sensitive to the patients’ cultural backgrounds. This approach has shown to improve health outcomes because it allows patients to understand their situations bet- ter, which, in turn, increases the likelihood that patients will follow health recommendations. The clinic will emphasize prevention and well-being through chronic disease management, screen- ing programs, vaccinations, and the participation of various health professionals such as nutrition- ists, pharmacists, and social workers. The clinic, completely staffed by Spanish-speaking doc- tors, nurses, and support staff, plans to develop a holistic approach based on the growing, spe- cific needs of the Hispanic population. “This initiative fulfills a dream that I’ve had for a long time. I was determined to do my part to improve the quality of life for the Hispanic/Latino people in this area,” said Juan J. Gershanik, MD, the visionary and leading advocate of the Cen- tro Hispano de Salud. “I became more and more aware of the inequities in the Hispanic community and how these inequities, namely in healthcare — a subject very dear to me and my profession, affected the community’s well-being.” DCHC Surpasses Administering More than 40K COVID-19 Vaccinations DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC) recently surpassed administering more than 40,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to people in the greater New Orleans community. This effort included DCHC partnering with various entities such as schools, universities, businesses, and other community organizations. Despite the COVID-19 virus no longer garner- ing the lion’s share of the general public’s atten- tion, people are still being hospitalized and dying from the virus. It is estimated that more than 5,000 people in the United States are admitted to a hospital daily. Additionally, more than 400 deaths are occurring daily from COVID-19. The COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster, which is readily available at DCHC’s pharmacies, pro- tects against the original COVID-19 strain and West Jefferson Medical Center, part of the LCMC Health system, announced the grand opening of its Centro Hispano de Salud, a Hispanic-first clinic.