HJNO Mar/Apr 2024

DIALOGUE what you're looking for and for how long, and we'll make that happen." And he did. I think the other thing that's so impor- tant outside of your organization is, again, partnerships. We partner with Ochsner because they are obviously in our market and across the state, making sure that we have shared plans and are working with and for one another to ensure that we are strong should we have to go through an emergency such as a hurricane, but also with the state. I have to give a big shoutout to Keith Peek, who leads Region 9 [of the Louisiana Emer- gency Response Network]. He does a fan- tastic job of engaging with the constituents in his region to make sure that we are com- municating what he has available in terms of resources, what he's identified as best practices, and we share all of those things so that should we have an emergency, we know who to call and how to access resources. Editor Are there unique public health issues in your area? Coffman Yes, there are a couple that come to mind when you bring that up, and when I mentioned Healthier Northshore, that really was the impetus behind organizing that team. Just so you know, Healthier Northshore is comprised of not only health systems across both St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, but not-for-profits as where I was imploded at that time. I didn't know this, but God was leading me to the state of Wisconsin, which is as rural as the state of Louisiana, has as many social determinants of health as the state of Louisiana, but somehow performs at a much higher rate with health outcomes. What it taught me was that if you can lock arms around social determinants of health, it's not competitive. Nobody wants it all. If you really work together, you can achieve a higher performance for the people that you serve in terms of health outcomes. So, around the table, you would have the health system I was in and then many of the big players that everybody knows the names of: Mayo Health System, Ascension Health, SSM, Marshfield Clinic. If you know the landscape in Wisconsin, it's pretty well decorated with major health systems. But that was a space where they really partnered together to make a difference. I see that happening here in the state of Louisiana, and I'm praying every day that we continue with that focus and drive to make a difference. I just came back from the Louisiana Hospital Association two-day winter symposium. Governor Jeff Landry and Secretary RalphAbraham, MD, for LDH was there. The undersecretary for LDHwas there. Everybody wants to look at this in a way that we are no longer working in silos but partnering together. You have to start small — one, two, or three things that we all agree are going to be important to address — and start chipping away at it. The major thing that I pray is going to happen, and you hear it a lot right now, is that the healthcare industry, LDH, and social services need to break down those silos and work on things together because the sooner we can bring down those barriers, the more successful we are going to be. We didn't get here overnight, so this is not going to be an easy way out. But I think if we can begin to make an incremental difference and peo- ple see that, you begin to change behav- ior. You give people hope. You allow eco- nomic development to truly prosper in a state instead of a lot of out migration. I do well as government and legislators, because we really felt like social determinants of health can't be addressed by one party. It's got to be the community rallying to make an impact. Healthier Northshore is who we lead with for that. We do a community health needs assessment every three years. This year is our year. We are doing it this time in part- nership with Ochsner, Slidell Memorial, Riverside in Franklinton, and Our Lady of Angels in Bogalusa. The UnitedWay is going to play a role so that we can all formulate our plans with the same initiatives in hopes of making a better impact. To directly answer your question, afford- able housing is an issue that we are trying to work on with partners to address. Public transportation is an issue in this area. And then, if I come to the clinical space, our No. 1 is lack of behavioral health services and access. Editor Why do you think Louisiana ranks last in healthcare rankings, and what can be done? Coffman I am inspired by the amount of bipartisanship that is occurring right now in the state of Louisiana. I left the state reluctantly, kicking and screaming, right after Hurricane Katrina because healthcare in the New Orleans market