The following is an abridged version of five announcements found on BizNewOrleans.com.
LCMC Health Launches “Keeping You Well” Program
LCMC Health, the Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system serving the Gulf Coast region, has launched a “Keeping You Well” program to help individuals make healthier choices while grocery shopping.
Locally owned Langenstein’s market is the inaugural partner in the program. At Langenstein’s, Keeping You Well prepared foods are marked with stickers, while shelf talkers on the aisles indicate which foods are included under the program.
For more information about the Keeping You Well program, visit www.lcmchealth.org/.
EJGH Opens Interventional Bronchoscopy Suite
East Jefferson General Hospital has announced the opening of an interventional bronchoscopy suite to enhance minimally invasive detection and diagnosis of lung cancer.
East Jefferson General Hospital is proud to be among only a handful of sites across the country using a new combination of technologies.
“This brand-new bronchoscopy suite at EJ has the latest and greatest technology, allowing us to quickly biopsy nodules in even the most remote and delicate areas of the lungs, with minimal risk and discomfort to the patient,” said Dr. Ramsy Abdelghani, a Tulane board-certified interventional pulmonologist who practices at East Jefferson General Hospital.
Children’s Hospital Announces New Options for Treating Sickle Cell Disease
CHNO announced in March that it is the only hospital in Louisiana to serve as a designated treatment center for both Lyfgenia (BlueBird Bio) and Casgevy (Vertex), two gene therapies whose products were recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat sickle cell disease in patients 12 years and older.
Sickle cell disease affects the red blood cells primarily of people of African, Latin American and Mediterranean heritage. It poses a risk for serious lifelong medical complications and shortened life expectancy.
“This is an important step in the right direction in addressing health inequities that have been the reality for this underserved population,” said Lucio A. Fragoso, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital. “By being an early treatment center that is not available in neighboring states in the Southeast, our patients with the most severe presentations of sickle cell disease will now have access to the most advanced treatments right here at home. This is an amazing opportunity afforded to the children of Louisiana and the Gulf South region.”
Ochsner Opens New Clinic for Seniors
Ochsner Health has opened a new clinic at 7060 Veterans Memorial Boulevard to provide specialized health and wellness services for patients 65 and older.
Ochsner 65 Plus — Lafreniere offers healthcare, social support and wellness resources.
The clinic offers access to a multidisciplinary team approach, including access to a primary care physician, a licensed clinic social worker, clinical pharmacist, dietitian, health coach and fitness instructor. Social and wellness opportunities are also offered, including group fitness classes, cooking demonstrations, health coaching and card games.
Ochsner 65 Plus — Lafreniere is the fifth clinic of its type to open. It joins locations in Covington, Baton Rouge, Pensacola, Florida, and Ridgeland, South Carolina.
Louisiana Cancer Centers Join Network to Increase Access to Cancer Trials
In an effort to make cancer care and treatment more accessible, the Gulf South Clinical Trials Network announced on March 26 that it had joined a larger nationwide health innovation.
The GSCTN is now a “spoke” in the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub, one of three regional hubs that comprise a network known as ARPANET-H.
According to an LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center spokesperson, less than 10% of adult cancer patients participate in cancer clinical trials in the United States. Numbers are even lower for underserved patients in impoverished areas.
The primary goal of the Customer Experience Hub is to make vital health innovations accessible to everyone, with a focus on traditionally underrepresented populations. Integrating patient feedback throughout the research and development process with the goal of ensuring that innovations will be widely adopted to effectively meet patients’ needs is a main strategy of the hub.
