Issuu

SPECIAL SECTION: TR E N DS I N H EALTH CAR E 2019

APRIL 9 - 22, 2019 â€¢ BUSINESSREPORT.COM

$2.75

Office Lunges.

Another way to raise your We all deserve to feel good about our health. Studies show itâ€™s the little things that can make the biggest differences in our lives. Thatâ€™s why our care team is here to help you find new ways to become a partner in your own health. So you can raise your health esteem.

HealthEsteem.org

• AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2019. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

7 TIME Best of the

Best Award

Jon D. Perenack MD, DDS Facial Cosmetic Surgeon Williamson Cosmetic Center | Perenack Aesthetic Surgery

WINNER “Beauty, precision, and a predictability that is born out of doing something successfully time and time again, is important to me personally and professionally. Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge brings these same qualities every time I step into my G 63 SUV. I love this vehicle! They’ve got me covered - I’m a customer for life.”

4 open allocations now available for the G-Class at MBOBR.

10949 Airline Highway • Baton Rouge (225) 424-2277 • www.mbobr.com

Facebook.com/MBBatonRouge

Twitter.com/MBOBR

YouTube.com/MBofBatonRouge

Instagram.com/mb_BatonRouge

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

CONTENTS

Publisher: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr.

EDITORIAL

Editorial director: Penny Font Executive editor: JR Ball Managing editor: Steve Sanoski Editor: Stephanie Riegel Online news editor: Deanna B. Narveson Staff writers: Caitie Burkes, Holly Duchmann, Annie Ourso Landry Digital content editor: Mark Clements Contributing writers: Gabrielle Braud, Tom Cook, David Jacobs, April Capochino Myers, Maggie Heyn Richardson, Meredith Whitten Contributing photographers: Brian Baiamonte, Marie Constantin, Don Kadair, Tim Mueller, Collin Richie

ADVERTISING

Sales director: Kerrie Richmond Senior account executives: Marielle Land-Howard, Kelly Lewis Account executives: Mary Katherine Bernard, Stacy Kaklis, Lauren Jarreau Advertising coordinator: Brittany Nieto

CORPORATE MEDIA

Editor: Lisa Tramontana Content strategist: Allyson Guay Account executives: Lori Christiansen, Judith LaDousa, Angie LaPorte

CUSTOM PUBLISHING

Sales director: Erin Palmintier-Pou

MARKETING

Chief marketing officer: Elizabeth McCollister Hebert Marketing assistant: Katelyn Oglesby Events: Abby Hamilton Community liaison: Jeanne McCollister McNeil

ADMINISTRATION

COVER STORY - PAGE 20

ISTOCK ILLUSTRATION

Controller: Jessica F. Sharp Digital manager: James Hume Business associate: Kirsten Milano Business associate: Tiffany Durocher Office coordinator: Tara Lane Receptionist: Cathy Varnado Brown

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

PUBLISHER’S VIEW

NEWS

YOUR BUSINESS

6 ‘Unity’ is becoming harder to achieve

27 The Big Story

41 Company News

30 Unfulfilled in-fill promise Billed as an ‘urban village’ that would breath life into the Nicholson Corridor, the failed River District is a cautionary tale of what can happen with renaissance developments.

47 Moving Up

Audience development director: Benjamin Gallagher

49 Flashback: 1986

A publication of Louisiana Business Inc. Chairman: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr. President & CEO: Julio A. Melara Executive assistant: Millie Coon

STARTUP 8 Executive Spotlight: David Facey 11 Entrepreneur: Andrea Leyerle

32 ‘It’s not charity’ Hiring people with disabilities is helping companies with their bottom line.

14 How to stop wasting time—and money—on unproductive meetings

VIEWPOINT

16 Data Bank 17 Design: David E. Roberts Center for Economic Development

35 The Big Picture

18 Real Estate Ticker

37 Guest column: Lucas Spielfogel

50 Passion: Dr. Vince Cataldo

SPECIAL SECTION:

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE 2019 Following page 26

36 Random Thoughts

CONNECT WITH US:

businessreport.com

Production director: Melanie Samaha Art director: Hoa Vu Graphic designers: Gracie Fletcher, Melinda Gonzalez, Emily Witt

facebook.com/businessreport

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

twitter.com/brbizreport

instagram.com/brbizreport

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Subscriptions/Customer Service 9029 Jefferson Highway, Suite 300 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-421-8181 BusinessReport.com email: subscriptions@businessreport.com Volume 37 - Number 15 ©Copyright 2019 by Louisiana Business Incorporated. All rights reserved by LBI. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report (USPS 721-890 ISSN 0747-4652) is published biweekly by Louisiana Business Inc. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Business address: 9029 Jefferson Hwy., Ste. 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. Telephone (225) 928-1700. Periodicals postage is paid at Baton Rouge, La. Subscription rate is $59.00 for 25 issues, with 3 additional issues published annually in April, June and December. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, 9029 Jefferson Hwy. Ste. 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report cannot be responsible for the return of unsolicited material—manuscripts or photographs, with or without the inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. No information expressed here constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

PUBLISHER’S VIEW

‘Unity’ is becoming harder to achieve

ROLFE MCCOLLISTER JR. MY EDITORIAL VIEWS seldom coincide with the editorial opinions of The Advocate. Yet, we actually agree that Sen. Yvonne Colomb’s bill to rewrite the rules on who gets a vote on the city of St. George incorporation is misguided and should be defeated in the Legislature, which opened its regular session on April 8. Colomb’s bill—which, if approved, would require a parishwide vote to answer the St. George question—has the backing of Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, who regularly preaches her vision for unity. Of this I am certain: This bill, which uses the notion of “inclusion” as a sword to foil the St. George movement, does nothing to unify East Baton Rouge Parish. In fact, in only serves to further divide us. Quite simply, it is unfair to change the rules after the game has begun. I asked the mayor—who, it’s worth noting is also the president of our parish—if she stood by this bill, and if so, why neither she nor Colomb had felt the need to let us all vote on Central becoming a city too? Her reply: “One of the weaker arguments being made is that the City of St. George breakaway is comparable to the City of Central incorporation. This is not a reasonable comparison. The City of Central, at the time of its incorporation, was comprised of approximately 10,000 citizens. The proposed St. George is home to more than 80,000 residents, and equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in property and sales tax revenue being diverted from current services. The City of Central had a neutral budget effect on the 6

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

(city-parish), and their incorporation had no significant financial impact on the remaining residents. By comparison, the proposed St. George breakaway would create a budget deficit to the tune of nearly $50 million, not to mention other issues such as pension and legacy costs, which would need to be negotiated. “This issue is about fundamental fairness. There is nothing wrong with identifying a problem and utilizing legislative resources available to fix it, regardless of the timing. If we adopt the position that it’s too late to make a change, where would we be as a society? It is never too late to fix an inequity, and that is why I support Senator Colomb’s bill and the democratic process that allows us to protect the residents who would undoubtedly be affected by this breakaway.” On the other hand, Colomb told The Advocate that the “backers of making unincorporated St. George a city are ‘secessionists’ and allowing the entire parish to decide the issue is a fair approach.” She goes on to claim, “It’s merely democracy.” So, again, perhaps she and the mayor can get on the same page and explain why democracy wasn’t important when Central “seceded?” No one is fooled. You can see from the mayor’s reply this isn’t about democracy … it’s about money. Which is exactly the same reason why Broome, then a state legislator, and Colomb teamed with Rep. Pat Smith years ago to defeat state Sen. Bodi White’s bill that would have allowed voters parishwide the chance to participate in democracy by voting on the creation of an independent school district. They wouldn’t let everyone vote then because protecting EBR school money, unions, and adult teachers and administrators, was more important than democracy. Now, however, they suddenly want to give us all the right to vote? What a load of hypocrisy. IS THE BOARD STACKED? Far too often, the disciplinary decisions of the Baton Rouge Police chief are overturned by the

Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board. Is the board stacked for the union? Why do police and fire get their own board for review—and get to put a representative on that board? This seems like a conflict of interest. This old system has run its course. I don’t see it as fair—but fixed. I suggest the mayor and others take a close examination of this board’s history and its votes, and then move to update the system so it works for the citizens, not the unions. WHAT PLANET IS THIS? Sometimes I have to stop and wonder, “What is going on?” I recently saw Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, do an interview with James Comey, the former FBI director. Here is what she asked him regarding “hate speech”: “Of course, ‘Lock her up’ was a feature of the 2016 Trump campaign. Do you, in retrospect, wish that people like yourself, the head of FBI—I mean the people in charge of law and order—had shut down that language? That it was dangerous potentially. That it could have created violence. That it’s kind of hate speech. Should that have been allowed?” Comey, responded appropriately to his liberal host saying, “That’s not a role for government to play. The beauty of this country is that people can say what they want. …” So, let me say, Amanpour is crazy and CNN drives me nuts. NEW ORLEANS COA TAX GETS BEAT A whopping 71% of voters rejected a new tax for the New Orleans Council on Aging, with the opposition led by its mayor, LaToya Cantrell. Good for her. The mayor, according to The Times-Picayune, said infrastructure is currently a higher priority for New Orleans, adding that more accountability and transparency are needed for agencies that use city money without City Hall oversight. Prior to the election, Cantrell said, “I do not believe we can millage our way out of the existing conditions in the city.”

Contrast that to the EBR CoA, which broke campaign and ethics laws while conducting its campaign to unfairly win a dedicated tax. In New Orleans, the mayor used her PAC to spend money for mailers arguing against that tax. A bold move. The Times-Picayune also noted, “The nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research also opposed the tax, saying the proposal gave no assurance to citizens that the tax money would be used properly.” Same case here. In another irony when compared to Baton Rouge, Harold Rodgers III, CoA executive director in New Orleans, told The TimesPicayune that “the Council on Aging’s history of clean audits that are available for public view as evidence that it has handled city money properly.” They had clean audits and lost; Baton Rouge’s CoA has had troubled audits—and numerous other problems—and won. How could Baton Rouge be so dumb? STILL WAITING ON JUSTICE • District Judge Mike Erwin has announced his retirement and has left the bench—only to move over to his stool at George’s to hold court. But the Supreme Court should not stop its investigation of him and his actions at Sammy’s. That victim deserves justice and we deserve the truth. • I hope the FBI will bring charges against Jussie Smollett and take over the miscarriage of justice by the Cook County, Illinois, prosecutor who just let him walk. Compounding this disgrace is that Smollett continues to lie, claiming innocence despite all the evidence and outcry from the Chicago police chief and mayor. Unbelievable. • EBR School Board member Connie Bernard got another charge of simple battery added to her case from last summer where she walked into a party at a Lakeside home and used profanity during an altercation with local teens. As I said before, Bernard should resign because she can no longer lead effectively—and she has set a poor example for children and teens.

GET TO YOUR EVENT IN STYLE & ON TIME! At Synergy Transportation, our goal is to provide professional and affordable transportation services across the local Baton Rouge and surrounding areas. Our fully managed, trustworthy service allows you to spend more time on what’s important to you. Just leave the rest to us. We know these roads inside and out insuring you can sit back, relax, and rely on us to get you where you need to go.

AIRPORT/HOTEL TRANSFERS

WEDDINGS

PERSONAL DRIVER

SCOUTING TOURS

DINNERS

COPORATE EVENTS

SPORTING EVENTS

FUNERALS

The Mercedes GLE-Class seats up to 4 adults.

The Mercedes Sprinter seats up to 11 adults.

SYNERGY TRANSPORTATION

225-921-6859

synergytransportation@mail.com

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

STARTUP THEHeadliners Engineering A Deal CARY GOSS, owner of Baton Rouge-based Industrial Fabrics Inc., is set to buy local engineering firm GEC Inc., known for its expertise in state transportation infrastructure. An attorney for Goss confirms the businessman has singed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire the 33-year-old firm, and that a month-long due diligence process is underway. GEC officials notified employees on April 3 of the pending sale, which is expected to close in early May. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Few, if any, changes are expected to follow the sale, according to Goss’ attorney Kevin Landreneau, who says Goss plans to retain all GEC employees. The sellers are GEC’s longtime owners Verdi Adams and George Fischer, who founded the firm in 1986.

EXECUTIVE S POTLIG HT

DAVID FACEY CEO AND PRESIDENT, SELLSWIPE INC.

“It’s the wild, wild west for me right now. It’s not uncommon for me to work until 4 or 5 in the morning.” IN THE NEWS

After more than three years of development, the SellSwipe app—which allows consumers to find, follow and interact with locally owned retailers— launched in August 2018. The launch came less than a year after Facey’s pitch for the app won the PitchBR competition during the 2017 Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week.

NOT ON THE RESUME

• His greatest challenge in bringing his app to fruition was securing funding. “The odds are extremely stacked against you when it comes to raising money as a minority-owned tech startup.” • The self-described “workaholic” doesn’t really have the luxury of a morning routine. “It’s not uncommon for me to work until 4 or 5 in the morning. I’ve realized how important sleep is as I’ve aged, so I try to let my body operate in terms of when it wants to get up.”

There’s been a flurry of announcements about business openings, closings and relocations in recent weeks. Among them: • Copeland’s of New Orleans has moved from its Essen Lane location and the adjoining Batch 13 will expand into the vacated space. Copeland’s, meanwhile, has merged with Cheesecake Bistro, offering a limited menu as “Copeland’s Classics.” • Hobby Lobby is relocating its O’Neal Lane store to Denham Springs, near Juban Crossing. It’s not known when exactly the Baton Rouge location will close, but the new store is expected to open in September. • Rouj Creole, a Creole-inspired concept from the owners of the City Pork and City Slice restaurants, is planning to open in Perkins Rowe in mid-May in the space formerly home to Applebee’s, next to Orvis. • Dat Dog is no longer planning to open its first Baton Rouge location at Arlington Marketplace, near LSU. The space will instead be leased to Five Guys. The New Orleans-based Dat Dog franchisees, who formerly said they planned to open three Baton Rouge locations, say they no longer have plans of entering the local market.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

• He’s currently working to scale up SellSwipe by refining the app and leveraging partnerships. “Ultimately, we want SellSwipe to be the first place you go when looking for products and local retailers around you.” • His advice to those aspiring to win a pitch competition: “Think big picture and work in reverse. When you’re pitching and the audience is part of it, you have to appeal to their imagination. Have a vision that’s so big that it makes people question your sanity and pair it with a plan of execution that makes them question if you’re really as crazy as you sound.”

Read the full Q&A at businessreport.com.

DON KA DAIR

Coming and going

• As a downtown resident, his go-to spots for a business lunch are Downtown Seafood and Stroube’s. “With Downtown Seafood, you can’t miss with either the shrimp or oyster po-boy. With Stroube’s, it’s less about the food and more about the environment.”

I N BRIEF

CUT!

PICTURE THIS: For every dollar Louisiana taxpayers spend on controversial tax credit programs for the entertainment industry, state and local governments only get back 36 cents in tax revenue. The figure comes from a report released at the recent Louisiana Entertainment Summit. Though lawmakers have made changes to the film tax credit to rein in spending, it still allows for producers to be reimbursed up to 40% of the cost of in-state productions. In 2015, the amount of credits that could be claimed was capped $180 million, and in 2017 that figure was further reduced to $150 million. Here’s a look at some of the figures from the report, which was conducted by New York-based Camoin Associates and commissioned by Louisiana Economic Development:

$1.5 BILLION

has been issued in film tax credits by Louisiana since the program was launched in 2012.

$2.20

was earned locally from every dollar of the $150 million spent on tax credits last year in Louisiana.

$122 MILLION

was the net cost to the state budget to attract the 17 projects in production.

HOSPITALS Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center 5000 Hennessy Blvd., Baton Rouge 70808

2017 net patient revenue:

$944.06 million

SPECIALITY HOSPITALS Surgical Special Center of Baton Rouge 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70810

2017 net patient revenue:

$46.35 million

$446 MILLION

in spending within Louisiana by the film industry was certified last year, an increase of $104.7 million over spending the year previous.

film projects are currently in production in Louisiana. They’re expected to generate some $300 million in spending in Louisiana.

$150 MILLION

in Louisiana resident payroll earnings were certfied last year from the film industry.

AFTER-HOURS AND URGENT CLINICS Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic (BROC) 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70810 Local staff providers:

OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY PROVIDERS Baton Rouge General 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809

Local licensed professionals:

For the full lists, see pages A32, A33, A34 and A35 in the special 2019 Trends in Health Care section.

CORRECTIONS A story in the Feb. 12 issue (“Who is Gary Beard?“) incorrectly stated Beard incurred “some $1.8 million in campaign debt” during his unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor. Campaign finance records show Beard loaned his campaign $50,000 while raising a little more than $41,000. Also, a story in the March 12 issue (“LSU’s unprecedented quest”) included statistics from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock rather than numbers from the main University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Business Report regrets the errors.

MAINTENANCE | CONSTRUCTION

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless revision requests are received within 24 hours. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

Present:

Official

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 3-7PM

after party

City Hall Plaza FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFO:

wineontheriverbr.com

Sample

over 250

WINES Media Partners: 10

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

$50 TICKET

Includes Sampling Of Wines + Commemorative Tasting Glass

$100 VIP TICKET Full Bar, Food, and Lounge Area

Official Sponsors:

EVENT BENEFITING:

STARTUP

ENTREPRENEUR

Andrea Leyerle Owner, Andi Lynn’s Pure & Custom Formulary

WHAT THEY DO

Organic herbal products

ADDRESS

9949B Florida Boulevard, Walker

NEXT GOALS

Double company revenue this year

JUST A SPOONFUL NINE YEARS AGO, Andrea Leyerle was a stayat-home mother of three young children who was interested in living a more self-sufficient lifestyle. So she taught herself how to grow and preserve her own foods, and began cooking from scratch. When her entire family came down with the flu in the winter of 2010, she turned to “Doctor Google” for natural remedies, which led her to discover elderberry syrup. Made from the dark purple berry produced by the European elder tree, the syrup is widely used to help with everything from the common cold to cancer. “I was sick as a dog and then I was 100 percent better. I was so impressed, I was convinced I never wanted to be without it in the house. It was going to live in the cupboard next to the Band-Aids.” By the following spring, Leyerle was cooking up elderberry syrup in her kitchen and selling it at the Livingston Parish Farmer’s Market, where she quickly attracted loyal customers.

FROM MARKET TO SHELVES LEYERLE ADMITS SHE never really aspired to launch her own business; she just wanted to help people feel better. But eventually the demand at the farmer’s market became so great that she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to scale up. “It got to the point where distributors from Baton Rouge would bring ice chests.” In 2013, the first local health food store began stocking Andi Lynn’s Elderberries products. As word spread, more stores began carrying her product and she also began wholesaling. By 2016, wholesaling accounted for 95% of sales, and the following year she rebranded the company as Andi Lynn’s Pure & Custom Formulary, selling over 20 herbal remedies online and in over 150 retail shops across eight Southern states.

“When I started this business I didn’t understand everything that went into it. But I had some great mentors to guide me, and through the years I learned by asking a lot of questions and just doing what needed to be done. Entrepreneurship has been the biggest blessing of my life.”

BRICKS AND BEYOND A PARTICULAR BRUTAL flu season last year put elderberry in the national spotlight and further propelled the growth of Leyerle’s business. “We grew really fast last year after everyone figured out what elderberry was.” Aided by the Nexus LA program at the Louisiana Technology Park, which helped Leyerle solidify her company’s goals and growth plan, revenue reached $518,000 last year. Intent on breaking the $1 million mark this year, Leyerle is hiring territory managers to bring her products to new markets and corporate buyers. In January, she held a grand opening for a brick-and-mortar location in Walker. Starting this spring, the company will outsource the manufacturing of products as it works to further scale up operations. “Our goal is to go from a regional to a national brand.” —Holly Duchmann • Photography by Brian Baiamonte

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

ALL FIBER. INTERNET+phone

BUSINESS

EMPOWERED. Empowering your business to do MORE. It takes a lot to run a business...and more importantly, you need resources that will empower you to succeed. With EATELâ€™s reliable, all-fiber network, you can run your business with MORE efficiency and less hassle so you can focus on what matters most -- your customers. No matter what size, industry or challenge you face, our team is ready to partner with yours.

METRO ethernet MANAGED wi-fi

MANAGED

cybersecurity HOSTED phone

EATELBusiness.com (225) 621-4100 12

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

SPONSORED BY:

Grow your workforce—Remotely

f you find your company hiring more freelancers and remote workers, you are not alone. A recent Gallup poll shows that 43% of employees work remotely at least part of the time, and this percentage has increased yearly since 2012. The main challenge with a remote workforce is maintaining a presence for distant offices. While there are many new communications tools for functions like conferencing, voice, and messaging, many

businesses choose to adopt new tools one-byone rather than holistically. This is where hosted unified communications, or HUC, comes into play. EATEL Business makes it easy to set up your virtual worker force and ramp up operations quickly using freelance resources. EATEL’s unified communications integrate multiple technologies and various devices—taking the remote out of remote office.

Hosted communication saves money Capital expenditures New phone systems often entail procurement of hardware and software. Under a hosted phone model, capital expenses are offset as operating expenses, and there are less upfront fees for equipment.

Trunking Under an IP based phone system, trunks are consolidated, and calls are centralized.

Maintenance Software-based systems streamline system management, or remove it altogether, as is the case in with Hosted UC.

Long-distance charges Under a UC model, a company can use its own WAN network when employees call each other on the network.

EATEL Business’s hosted business solutions include completely managed UC functionality as a monthly service package. All the hardware is included with no upfront costs, the PBX resides in the cloud, and EATEL technicians fully support the system. Visit eatelbusiness.com to find a custom solution for your business needs.

EATEL’s Hosted Business Phone helps your business EATEL has affordable solutions for small businesses. Customizable packages are available to suit any business needs, and include the following features: • Call Access—answer business calls on any device • Unlimited long distance • Scalable—increase lines and seats as your business grows • Easy installation and zero-touch management • Technology-Mediated Communication like fax, voicemail, call manager, and more

STARTUP ADVICE

ISTOCK

TOO MANY MEETINGS. A recent survey of more than 3,000 U.S. employees by Salary.com found 47% of them cited excessive—and ultimately unproductive—meetings as the top time waster in their offices. And it’s not just annoying, it’s also very costly. American employees collectively attend some 55 million meetings a day and it’s estimated that the annual cost of them— when weighted with the average salary data of attendees—is a staggering $1.4 trillion. It doesn’t have to be this way, says University of North Carolina professor and business consultant Steven Rogelberg, whose new book “The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance” synthesizes the latest research from management and behavioral science into a how-to guide that offers sound advice on simple changes meeting leaders can implement. Here are his top tips, as outlined in a recent column in the Harvard Business Review:

How to stop wasting time—and money— on unproductive meetings

Helping Your Practice Grow One Visit At A Time. Louisiana’s Top Business Credit Union

888.769.8841

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

CampusFederal.org

Better meeting leadership requires better self-observation. “Take a few minutes after each meeting you run to reflect. Think about attendee behavior, conversational dynamics and the content that was covered,” writes Rogelberg. “Ask yourself: Were people distracted? Conducting side conversations? Consider who did most of the talking. Was it you, or one or two other people? Did the discussion stray to irrelevant topics? Were all the opinions and ideas that were expressed fairly similar? If you answer yes to some or all of these questions, there’s a problem.”

Check in periodically with people who attend your meetings to get their feedback. “You can do this face-to-face, making sure to emphasize that you truly want candid feedback, or you can use technology to gauge participants’ attitudes. Once you’ve reflected on your own and solicited feedback from others, identify your key strengths and weaknesses and create a plan for improvement. In my consulting, I’ve found it useful to focus on two areas: preparation and facilitation.”

Be an courteous and effective facilitator. “Facilitation starts the moment attendees walk into the room. Because people often experience meetings as interruptions—taking them away from their ‘real work’—the leader’s first task is to promote a sense of presence among attendees. There are several ways to do this: By greeting people at the door, expressing gratitude for their time, offering snacks, playing music and asking folks to turn off their phones and laptops. As the conversation gets started, try to adopt a stewardship mindset, asking questions, engaging others, modeling active listening, drawing out concerns and managing conflicts.”

VE TE YS TE S

Only invite employees who truly need to attend. “Once you know why you’re meeting, decide who needs to be there to help you. Too many attendees can lead to a cacophony of voices or social loafing, not to mention logistical challenges. That said, you don’t want to pare the invite list down so much that necessary people aren’t there or others end up feeling slighted. To find the right balance, think carefully about key decision makers, influencers and stakeholders. You might also consider a timed agenda, in which attendees join only the portions of the meeting pertinent to them.”

Don’t get into monotonous routines when it comes to time and place. “It’s human nature to stick to the same room, same hour and same general setup. But those routines can cause people to glaze over. Instead, find ways to introduce variety: Move to a different venue, meet in the morning instead of the afternoon, experiment with nontraditional time blocks or change the seating arrangements so that everyone is next to and across from different colleagues.”

COU R

Come prepared with an agenda and a plan. “People routinely ignore this best practice when it comes to meetings. Especially with regularly scheduled ones, it’s easy to simply show up and default to the usual way of doing things. But when you’re a steward of others’ time, you owe it to them to make some modest upfront investment. If you don’t have a clear mission or a list of agenda items, you should probably cancel.”

“Meetings done right promote inclusion, engagement, innovation, teamwork, and collective success. They can become welcome events, rather than dreaded time sucks.” —Steven Rogelberg, University of North Carolina professor, business consultant and author

Our Growth Depends On Growing Louisiana’s Work Force. That’s why for the past 30 years, we’ve recognized the success of our customers as our greatest accomplishment. We help nurture growing businesses with added value like free business development seminars designed to protect and strengthen their work force and B2B networking events. This may be our 30th anniversary, but to us, it’s our members’ milestone.

lciwc.com :: 985-612-1230

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

STARTUP

INTELLIGENCE

DATA BANK The latest indicators of how the Capital Region

$3,862

Louisiana’s state debt per capita in fiscal year 2017, which places it No. 17 nationally when measuring which states have the highest debt per capita. Louisiana’s amount is slightly higher than the U.S. average of $3,543.

and Louisiana economies are performing.

February unemployment rate in the nine-parish Baton Rouge metro area, up from 3.9% during the same month last year. For comparison, the Louisiana rate in February was 4.4%, unchanged, while the U.S. rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 4.1%.

-18.7%

$192,868,665

Decline in collective revenues at Baton Rouge’s three riverboat casinos in February, marking the 18th straight month of year-over-year revenue decreases at the boats. The casinos raked in roughly $19.2 million during the month, down from approximately $23.6 million in February 2018.

Total sales tax collections in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2018, a decline 1.4%—or about $2.7 million—from 2017 collections. January collections of roughly $15.3 million were 2.7% higher than January 2018 collections.

Number of economic development projects closed by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber in 2018, accounting for more than 1,000 new jobs, $1.6 in capital investment and $55 million in payroll.

SOURCES: Louisiana Workforce Commission, Tax Foundation, Baton Rouge Finance Department, Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Baton Rouge Area Chamber

I take care of our seniors.

We need to make sure we’re doing our part to care for them. I help them find the right plan that fits their needs. And that’s what we’re here to do. Ann Booth Medicare Marketing Manager

01MK6984 03/19 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and is incorporated as Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Company.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

STARTUP

REAL ESTATE

DESIGN

DAVID E. ROBERTS CENTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 564 Laurel Street

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM MUELLER

Owner: Baton Rouge Area Chamber Architect: WHLC Architecture Contractor: Milton J. Womack Cost: $3.5 million Completed: August 2018 Use: Headquarters of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and a resource for the regional business community.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION: “The new Roberts Center finally aligns BRAC’s forward thinking body of work with its physical space. We are thrilled to have a vibrant, modern downtown hub not only for our staff, investors and local business community, but also as a powerful statement to host businesses considering bringing new projects to the region.” —Adam Knapp, president and CEO, BRAC

1. The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has transformed their office at Laurel and Sixth streets—where the organization has been headquartered for more than 50 years—into a modern business center. The renovation expanded the building, which had not been updated since the mid-1980s, by some 2,000 square feet to roughly 10,800 square feet. 2. The office lobby opens with the Manship Family Digital Display, which broadcasts graphics showing regional economic advantages and resources. Composed of a steel structure, stainless steel railing, terrazzo steps and a walnut landing, the staircase design pulls together themes of exposed structural components throughout the space. 3. The Wambold Companies Boardroom holds 107 people and can be rented for conferences and company training. 4. Staff offices surround the bullpen area, a communal space for collaboration and staff meetings. Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad proof #3

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

STARTUP

REAL ESTATE

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AWARD of the Istrouma Area Council, Boy Scouts of America

We are proud to recognize Eric Lane with this prestigious award as someone who exemplifies the values and community leadership skills we strive to develop within our Scouts. Eric has a reputation for treating people fairly and with respect. He continually shows his dedication to the community by supporting non-profits in the area. Thank you, Eric!

SNAPPING A SIX month streak of year-over-year declines, home sales in the Capital Region were up 6.1% in February, compared to February 2018. However, the latest figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors show the slow creep to a buyer’s market continues on several fronts: Average days on market shot up 13% to 78 days; inventory climbed 11.3% to 4,168 homes on the market; and the months supply of inventory—or how long it would take to sell every home on the market at the current sales pace—rose nearly 12% to 4.7 months. Realtors typically view any reading above 6 months to be reflective of a buyer’s market. Two months into the new year, total sales in the region are down 1.3% compared to last year.

Recipient of the 2019

WARMING UP

ERIC LANE!

Celebrating

REAL ESTATE TICKER

JOIN US FOR DINNER AND THE AWARD PRESENTATION: Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Drusilla Place 3482 Drusilla Lane | Baton Rouge, LA 70809 REGISTER ONLINE OR AT THE SCOUT OFFICE Open Seating - $40 per person Sponsor Reserved Table (for 10) - $500

Istrouma Area Council, BSA 9644 Brookline Avenue Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Issue Date: 4-9-19 3-12-19AdAdproof proof#1 #1 • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval (225) or minor 926-2697 revisions. • info@iacbsa.org • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions www.iacbsa.org are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE

TRIP OF THE WEEK Presented by

TUESDAYS ON

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

ISTOCK

(Prior to the 2019 Annual Sporting Clays Classic on Friday, May 3rd.)

ON COURSE

THE BLUFFS ON Thompson Creek Golf Course is under new ownership following the recent sale of the 18-hole course and facilities in St. Francisville for $3.15 million. The Bluffs Community LLC, a neighborhood-based group that plans on running the property as a non-for-profit, bought the property from The Bluffs Renaissance LLC, a company held by attorney Jerry Dodson and the successors to his longtime partner, Kenneth Carter, who died last August. “By putting The Bluffs in the hands of its neighbors, we have realized Ken’s vision of creating a true golfing community,” Dodson says in a prepared statement. As part of the course’s transition, Eddie Anderson has been named the new general manager, and Jeff Strong, a Professional Golfers’ Association professional and president of Strong Sports Management Inc., will serve on a consulting basis to support daily operations of the course as well as help develop and implement a long-term vision for the facility. Heirloom Cuisine has also been contracted to manage food, beverage and event services.

COURTESY LIVINGSTON PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS

NEW SCHOOL

TERI FONTENOT for serving our community as President & CEO of Woman’s Hospital for more than two decades.

COURTESY INVESTAR

LIVINGSTON PARISH PUBLIC Schools continues to rise from the August 2016 flood. Officials have released a rendering of the new Denham Springs Elementary, which was one of three schools in the system substantially damaged by flooding. The new 80,000-square-foot campus will be the parish’s first two-story elementary school when it’s completed in time for the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. It will be built at 306 N. Range Ave., was designed by Ziler Architects of Lafayette and is expected to cost $14.5 million, with the construction contract to be bid out by July. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already approved funding to demolish and rebuild all but one building on the new campus, with the multipurpose building to be restored.

Thank you

NORTHERN STARS

THREE NEW HOMES are going up in Gracie Subdivision at the corner of Gayosa Street and North 18th Street under a new initiative by Investar Bank. With an aim of increasing homeownership in the historically underserved area, the bank bought the land on which the homes are being built last year. It has since worked with city-parish officials to offer affordable housing grants and provide access to new mortgage products for potential homeowners, who can contact Investar Community Development Officer Rosalind Jones at 225-300-8597 for more information. “Our goal was to reinvent the way a bank could drive economic development in the community,” says Investar President and CEO John D’Angelo in a prepared statement. Each house will measure 1,766 square feet and will feature an open floor plan, 10-foot ceilings, a covered two-car carport and a fenced-in backyard. Construction on the first two homes should be complete this summer.

Teri, all of us at BXS Insurance congratulate you on your upcoming retirement.

CARNIVAL CLUB

OT O

ROUGHLY 15 MONTHS after the Sam’s Club at Cortana Mall abruptly closed, the 134,000-square-foot building has been sold for $5.6 million. Baton Rouge-based Bead Sale LLC, whose officer is Brandon Maddox, bought the building from Sam’s Real Estate A Business Trust. Bead Sale LLC imports plastic ST beads, carnival throws, party supplies and decorations, and operates two sister online retail businesses—CraftOutlet.com and MardiGrasOutlet.com. While the deal stipulates the building cannot be used as a discount store, there’s a noted exception in the sales documents for “any operation of a warehouse or an e-commerce fulfillment center of party, bead, Mardi Gras and/or craft supplies.” Craft Outlet and Mardi Gras Outlet are currently located at the corner of Airline Highway and Choctaw Road.

bxsi.com Baton Rouge | (225) 336-3200 Gonzales | (225) 647-5767 1. BXS Insurance is a wholly owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth Bank. 2. Insurance products are • Not a deposit • Not FDIC insured • Not insured by any federal government agency • Not guaranteed by the bank • May go down in value. 3. BXS Insurance is an insurance agent and not an insurance carrier. 4. Always read your policy for coverage terms and conditions

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

COVERSTORY

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

GORDY RUSH HAS an image to keep up. As a businessman and media personality reporting from the LSU football sidelines, he’s accustomed to having his face plastered across television screens and local advertisements. And in his personal life, Rush—vice president and general manager of Guaranty Media—has a young, active family keeping him on his toes. “I laugh about it, but my wife is 11 years younger than me,” he says. “I’m 50. I have young kids.” So when Rush noticed his hair beginning to thin a few years ago, he wasn’t quite ready to let age take its natural course. He visited Williamson Cosmetic Center, where Dr. Jon Perenack performed hair restoration surgery, and from there Rush was introduced to the fascinating world of aesthetic medicine. He’s begun to dabble in other procedures as well, from Botox to CoolSculpting. “I was blown away at how simple it is,” Rush says. “This stuff really works.” And he has no reservations talking about it. In fact, he’s done some advertising for Williamson touting the procedures he’s had. “What’s amazed me is how many men have come up to me about it,” Rush says. “There are a lot more males doing this than people realize.” They just might not be as willing to talk about it. But the fact that men, and far more women, are now pursuing aesthetic medicine speaks to the growing customer base and acceptance of an industry no longer narrowed to wealthy, older women. Now it’s college students seeking fuller lips, men

eager to smooth deep wrinkles, sales and real estate professionals wanting to look younger than their competitors—you name it. It’s as if, after years in the shadows, the industry has suddenly gone mainstream. There are a few reasons for that: 1) Advancements in minimally invasive procedures that are so quick and easy no one has to know—think “lunchtime Botox,” and 2) the age of the Instagram selfie and Snapchat filter, creating something of an image-obsessed culture. Consumers aren’t driving this trend alone, though. Medical providers are also drawn in by the fact that most aesthetic procedures are not covered by insurance, which means quick payouts. It’s why Botox has become so widely available, from dentist offices to family medicine clinics. Problem is, not all providers are equal—some even lack proper training. “Baton Rouge is a hot market for aesthetic medicine,” says Dr. Ann Zedlitz, who founded Z Aesthetic Dermatology in 2011 and has since seen the industry take off. “I see a lot of physicians getting into the market and non-physicians, unfortunately. I believe they saw dollar signs.” Then there’s the Botox parties, Groupon deals and relentless marketing efforts, ratcheting up demand but also leveling the playing field among providers, says local plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Stephens, which is not necessarily a good thing. “You can be the world’s greatest plastic surgeon—it doesn’t matter,” Stephens says. “Are you the best marketer?” For better or worse, aesthetic medicine Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

COVERSTORY

DON KADAIR

has been commoditized, experts say, and consumers are willing to do whatever they have to, even taking out loans, to get it. It’s become no different than routine hair appointments, just more expensive. “It’s like a car note,” says Joan Smith, a nurse practitioner who co-founded Skincare Aesthetics with Stephens and Dr. Jim Wade. “People are budgeting for this kind of thing. More this year than ever, people came to me in January and said, ‘I want a year plan.’”

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

KYLIE JENNER EFFECT Compared to the rest of the medical world, aesthetic medicine is still relatively new. It’s technically not a medical specialty, as the American Board of Medical Specialties does not offer board certification in aesthetic medicine, though there are other organizations representing the growing field. Plastic surgery has long been a recognized practice, but minimally invasive treatments like Botox—among the most common—for cosmetic reasons didn’t come around until the late 20th century. Early on, patients had to go to plastic surgeons for injections. In the early 2000s, though, Botox gained FDA approval for cosmetic procedures and pharmaceutical company Allergan, the maker of Botox, began training providers, says Williamson Cosmetic Center Director Shelly Esnard. That’s when the field grew to include other medical professionals, nurses and physician assistants. “Once it gained FDA approval and consumer advertising began, the demand was there, but that drove it,” Esnard says. “Growth came from access.” Esnard, a physician assistant who has been performing facial cosmetic procedures for nearly 20 years, says when she first started out, patients were mostly women in their 40s and 50s. Over time, though, she’s seen the demographic widen to include men and younger women. What’s more, interest in physical fitness and appearance has

Just because someone is a doctor doesn’t mean they’re ethical or trained in aesthetic medicine.

COLLIN RICHIE

been on the rise, driving industry growth, says Dr. Jon Perenack. He says he sees women today in their 60s and 70s in fantastic shape, which was not necessarily the case 20 years ago. “These aren’t your grandmother’s grandmothers,” he says. Younger women, meanwhile, are also influenced to enhance their looks—typically with minor procedures like lip filler or Botox—by the pervasiveness of social media, photo filters and, of course, celebrity culture. “It’s hard to ignore the Kylie Jenner effect,” Perenack says. “We see a lot more people in their 20s.” More men are coming in as well. They’re just more discreet about it. Because procedures have become increasingly easy, with little to no downtime, it’s more socially acceptable among men today—or just easier to hide—according to providers. “I see the men who come in once a year and get everything done,” Zedlitz says. “They come in the back door and leave out the back door.” Pressures of their work environments is one of the most common reasons men come in, says Zedlitz and other providers, especially men in industries like sales and real estate. “For me, most of my men, it’s if they’re changing a job,” Smith says. “It’s like, ‘I’m going to be competing with young guys so I need to look younger.’ I get a lot of that.” Hair restoration procedures, like Rush’s, have been incredibly popular among men in recent years. Perenack estimates Williamson’s hair business has tripled over the last five years. Other common procedures among men include eyelid surgery and minor injectables like Botox and filler. Baton Rouge attorney Bryan Fisher, for instance, is in his mid50s and has had Botox injections courtesy of his wife, oculofacial plastic surgeon Dr. Jane Olson. Though he never considered Botox before marrying Olson 12 years ago, Fisher says he’s happy she recommended it to him as a way to reduce wrinkles. “She said I can get rid of those with a little injection, and she did,” he says. “It was pretty amazing.”

NEARLY ONCE A WEEK, Dr. Ann Zedlitz sees patients come in who have spent thousands on cosmetic procedures elsewhere and are unhappy with the results. Sometimes, it’s a minor mistake or a botched job that needs correcting. Other times, it’s a horror story. Zedlitz recalls one woman who came to her after laser hair removal at another clinic left her with a hole in her face. Another had filler from outside the U.S. injected in her forehead that fell to her eyelids—and was permanent. Zedlitz, a dermatologist, had to send her to a plastic surgeon to have it removed. Consumers often assume just because someone has “MD” behind their name they’re ethical and trained aesthetic medicine providers, Zedlitz says. But that’s not always the case, especially in this industry, where any and all doctors are offering Botox and other cosmetic treatments, sometimes with little experience. “Buyer beware,” Zedlitz says. “Whose hand is on the needle? Where did they do their training? Where do they get their products?” Other longtime providers—who have seen the industry in Baton Rouge grow from a handful of clinics to one on every street corner—voice similar concerns about untrained providers and questionable trends like Botox parties and Groupon deals. “It’s amazing how many times we have to correct mistakes,” says Joan Smith, a nurse practitioner and co-founder of Skincare Aesthetics. There’s little oversight over aesthetic medicine and who should practice it because it’s not technically a medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which requires training by an accredited residency program. There’s no such thing for aesthetic medicine, though some other forms of training programs exist. While it’s legal for any physician to perform these procedures, four types of physicians are considered

core specialists in aesthetic medicine: plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, dermatologists and oculoplastic surgeons, according Dr. Jane Olson, an oculofacial plastic surgeon who practices in Baton Rouge and Connecticut and is an associate clinical professor at Yale University. That doesn’t mean other doctors, nurses and physician assistants can’t be trained to perform minimally invasive procedures. Smith, who partnered with two local plastic surgeons—Dr. Anthony Stephens and Dr. Jim Wade—to open her clinic, has been in the field for 15 years and, says Stephens, is more skilled at it than most physicians. But some are opening clinics after taking no more than a weekend course in aesthetics. What’s worse, others are injecting patients without a license or physician supervision, which is illegal, experts say. Other issues include Botox parties at personal homes or more invasive procedures performed by unqualified doctors. “This is medical care we’re delivering,” Olson says. “You’re not going to go have bladder surgery with an ophthalmologist, and you’re not going to have it in his living room.” Such issues will not be reined in unless consumers report it, Olson says. Louisiana physicians under the core specialties have made some headway in terms of patient safety by lobbying for truth in advertising legislation, which passed in 2011, to stop providers from falsely claiming board certification. But Stephens says there’s no teeth to the law. “It’s the wild, wild west,” Stephens says. “The dollar and marketing have gotten in the way of truth in advertising. …There’s a legality about all this. Although you see it on every street corner, and you see Botox parties and all this, that’s not necessarily legal.” —Annie Ourso Landry

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

COLLIN RICHIE

COVERSTORY

AS AESTHETIC medicine goes mainstream, the widening customer base seeking out everything from Botox to tummy tucks are finding creative ways to finance their new habit—sometimes, providers say, in an effort to hide it from their significant other. Of course, straight cash is the simplest form of payment, but not every customer has the bank balance to afford it. Never fear, however, finance options are available. One method of payment—though financial experts advise against it—is patients using multiple credit cards to cover costly procedures, which, it turns out, happens more than one might expect. “We’ve had up to seven credit cards for one person,” says Joan Smith, of Skincare Aesthetics. A more popular—and encouraged—form of financing is CareCredit, a specialty credit card allowing users to finance medical procedures not covered by insurance, like aethestics. Providers at SkinCare Aesthetics and Williamson Cosmetic say 10% to 20% of their patients pay using this method. CareCredit cards can be used for full payment or bridge payments and are primarily used for veterinary medicine, cosmetic services, dentistry and hearing and vision needs. —Annie Ourso Landry

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Now Fisher gets what he calls “recreational Botox” every nine months or so, a routine which is no longer unheard of among men his age. “I know other men do it,” Fisher says. “A lot of friends kind of do what I do.” MANAGING EXPECTATIONS With any rapidly growing trend, there are bound to be pitfalls along the way, and aesthetic medicine is no exception. As mentioned, one of the major challenges in Baton Rouge is the overcrowded market and lax regulation, leaving consumers vulnerable to unqualified providers who cut corners or use subpar products. “People have no clue what Botox and fillers really do. It is a medical procedure,” Stephens says. “We dumb it down and think it’s just a needle, but there can be really adverse consequences—infection, blindness, you name it. It can be dangerous

in the wrong hands.” It also leads to a lot of unhappy patients, who might look overdone or asymmetrical. Experienced providers say the goal should be subtle improvements so patients still look like themselves, but better. “There’s an art to it,” says Sarah Balladares, a physician assistant at Skincare Aesthetics. “If you don’t have the artistry behind it, you won’t get a good result. It will look like something’s off.” Consumers should also be wary of discounted products, Groupon deals and Botox parties outside of a clinical setting, experts say. A good rule to go by, according to Dr. Olson, is good Botox is never cheap and cheap Botox is never good. Aesthetic medicine requires high upfront costs to get started, which is also why consumers should be suspicious of low prices. The machines alone, like the one for CoolSculpting, can cost up to $100,000 or more.

COLLIN RICHIE

Zedlitz calls them her “little houses.” In all, she estimates she has over $1 million worth of machines in her office. The products are pricey as well. Botox, depending on how much is used, costs on average between $250 to $500. Anything below that may be watered down Botox, Stephens says. Another issue, with the amount of misinformation and unrealistic expectations promoted via social media, is that sometimes the patients themselves don’t know what’s best for them. Zedlitz recalls patients she’s had to turn down because they wanted abnormally large lips or other overdone enhancements. “There’s not enough money to buy my name because that’s my name on your face,” Zedlitz says. “In aesthetic medicine, you want your own beauty to show. You don’t want to look like a pair of lips walking down the street.” So managing patient expectations is another battle providers routinely fight. Experts say they often have patients complain of problems no one else can see or ask for procedures they don’t need or cannot afford. The younger generation, says Balladares, who is 29, often wants to look like distorted Instagram-filtered photos. Then there are older women who come in because they’ve hit a mid-life crisis, or are recently divorced or widowed. Tears are often shed. “We do a lot of counseling,” Smith says. “It’s unbelievable.” “I always tell people I’m just a psychiatrist with a 10-cent blade,” Stephens adds. As Baton Rouge consumers become more aware and educated when it comes to aesthetic medicine, though, there’s a good chance the issues facing the industry will fade. Olson and her husband, Fisher— who split their time between Baton Rouge, New York and Florida—have noticed this happen in other markets, whereas Baton Rouge is a bit behind. The local market here is still saturated by providers who are not properly trained, more so than in other areas. “The untrained providers and the proliferation of medispas right now, it will go away. The market doesn’t support it,” Fisher says. “Until then, I guess there’s this period of time where everyone’s walking around looking startled.”

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

ALL YOUR AIR BALANCING NEEDS FROM THE PREFERRED SERVICE PARTNER IN THE GULF COAST AREA Call today and learn how we can improve your building HOSPITAL

CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS FOR: MRI CHILLERS AIR BALANCE DOMESTIC HOT WATER HEATERS GAS FIRED BOILERS CONDENSING BOILERS TEST AND BALANCE OPEN PROTOCOL BUILDING AUTOMATED CONTROLS

Baton Rouge: 1045 North Carrollton Ave | 225.925.5236 New Orleans: 5413 Powell St, Ste C | 504.265.0017

www.callcmc.com

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

2 019

TRENDS IN

HEALTH CARe SPECIAL ISSUE

Getting smart with artificial intelligence Cutting-edge technology People to watch Birthing new delivery options

VISION

FUTURE

FOR THE

John Kirwan is aggressively raising the profile of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

The health and wellness of your team is critical to a successful business. This is why Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center, in collaboration with Albemarle Foundation, launched Prevention on the Go for the workplace. This program brings key cancer prevention and early detection services to employees at your place of work – at your convenience. It’s a lifesaving benefit that many employers are already finding invaluable.

What’s great is the physicians come right to your office and employees can receive their screening in about 10 minutes without having to take time off. But most importantly, people have caught things and have been treated early in the process – which typically leads to better outcomes. – Tee Brown, President & CEO, GMFS Mortgage

INVEST IN YOUR TEAM. CONTACT US TODAY! (225) 215-1248 PREVENTION@MARYBIRD.COM

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

CONTENTS

A20

“The thing to remember about Pennington is that it’s not a hospital, a university or a pharmaceutical company. Alone, we are none of them, but together we are all of them.”

Publisher: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr.

EDITORIAL

DR. JOHN KIRWAN, executive director, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

DON KADAIR

ADVERTISING

2019 TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

CORPORATE MEDIA

Editor: Lisa Tramontana Content strategist: Allyson Guay Account executives: Lori Christiansen, Judith LaDousa, Angie LaPorte

CUSTOM PUBLISHING

Sales director: Erin Palmintier-Pou

MARKETING

A6 A8 A12 A14 A17 A18

Stat Health care in the Capital Region and Louisiana by the numbers

A20 A22

A fresh perspective to an old problem John Kirwan is aggressively trying to raise the profile of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Chief marketing officer: Elizabeth McCollister Hebert Marketing assistant: Katelyn Oglesby Events: Abby Hamilton Community liaison: Jeanne McCollister McNeil

A14

The Cutting Edge A look at the Capital Region’s latest medical technology and developments

ADMINISTRATION

Controller: Jessica F. Sharp Digital manager: James Hume Business associate: Kirsten Milano Business associate: Tiffany Durocher Office coordinator: Tara Lane Receptionist: Cathy Varnado Brown

People to Watch The health care leaders who are making headlines in 2019 On the Drawing Board A look at a few health care facilities planned in the Capital Region

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Production director: Melanie Samaha Art director: Hoa Vu Graphic designers: Gracie Fletcher, Melinda Gonzalez, Emily Witt

Guest column: Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi Business trends impacting the health care industry in 2019

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Baby wars A growing number of Baton Rouge woman are choosing alternative birthing methods.

Analyze this: Predictive analytics enter Baton Rouge hospitals Developments in artificial intelligence are not only improving health care outcomes, but also the bottom line of hospitals.

LISTMAKERS

A32 Hospitals A33 Specialty hospitals

A34 After-hours and urgent care clinics A35 Outpatient physical therapy providers

Audience development director: Benjamin Gallagher

A18

A publication of Louisiana Business Inc. Chairman: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr. President & CEO: Julio A. Melara Executive assistant: Millie Coon Subscriptions/Customer Service 9029 Jefferson Highway, Suite 300 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-421-8181 BusinessReport.com email: subscriptions@businessreport.com ©Copyright 2019 by Louisiana Business Incorporated. All rights reserved by LBI. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report cannot be responsible for the return of unsolicited material—manuscripts or photographs, with or without the inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. No information expressed here constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

NOW

STAT

ISTOCK

HEALTH CARE IN THE CAPITAL REGION AND LOUISIANA BY THE NUMBERS

#50

LOUISIANA WAS RANKED dead last for overall health in the U.S. last year, replacing Mississippi as the state with the greatest challenges. Among them, Louisiana’s rate of obesity, children in poverty, smoking and low birthweight babies are all significantly above the national average.

ISTOCK

79,700

RY B IR

COU

Y MA RTES

D PE R

CAPITAL REGION RESIDENTS employed at area hospitals (12,300), ambulatory health care services (20,300), and health care and social assistance (47,100) industries, as of December 2018. That’s an increase of 1,000 jobs, or 1.3%, in those fields compared to the year previous.

KINS

8,097

87,000

BABIES BORN AT Woman’s Hospital in 2018. Woman’s is the largest birthing hospital in Louisiana. ISTOCK

PEOPLE WHO HAVE accessed screening services through Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s Prevention on the Go program and its mobile unit, resulting in the detection of 580 cancer cases.

300%

GROWTH OF BATON Rouge General Express Care clinics in 2018. In addition to two new locations near LSU, a third new clinic opened in Ascension Parish.

COURTESY BATON ROUGE GENERAL

ISTOCK

PATIENTS IN THE greater Baton Rouge area who enrolled in Ochsner’s Digital Medicine program last year. Patients have vitals such as blood pressure or blood sugar checked regularly in the comfort of their homes and monitored remotely by a care team, including a personal health coach.

$51 million AVERAGE AMOUNT SPENT by health care firms on advanced artificial intelligence last year. ISTOCK

602

25,000

PATIENTS CHECKED IN at Our Lady of the Lake’s North Baton Rouge Emergency Room in 2018, its first full year in operation, doubling the initial projection that some 10,000 to 15,000 patients would access the facility.

SOURCES: America’s Health Rankings 29th Annual Report by the United Health Foundation, Louisiana Workforce Commission, Woman’s Hospital, Ochsner, Our Lady of The Lake, Baton Rouge General, Mary Bird Perkins, Protiviti Inc.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

L O UI S I A N A FIRE E X T INGU IS HER , INC.

The Oval Brand Fire Extinguisher for Healthcare Facilities

RA ELeB TIN

INTRODUCING

S O F SE RV

HEALTHCARE FACILITIES Oval Brand are the only extinguishers that comply with the recently updated NFPA-101 Life Safety Code (2012 edition), ADA, and CMS requirements when surface mounted in corridors. Perfect for hospitals, senior living facilities, and more.

NOT COMPLIANT

COMPLIANT

Call Today for a Free Site Survey! 8339 Athens Avenue | Baton Rouge, LA 70814-2302 | Telephone: 225-924-2421 | Louisiana Watts 800-256-2421

w w w . l o u i s i a n a f i r e . c o m Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

The Cutting Edge

COURTESY OCHSNER

COURTESY BATON ROUGE GENERAL

A look at the Capital Region’s latest medical technology and developments

GUIDED BY ROBOTS

COURTESY OUR LADY OF THE LAKE

Ochsner Medical Center Baton Rouge is the first in the region to add the Mazor X Robotic Guidance Platform, which makes it possible for a surgeon to step into the operating room with a detail-rich, complete three-dimensional surgical plan using trajectory guidance. As spinal surgery evolves, more focus has been placed on minimally invasive techniques, and this is where the Mazor XTM Platform can deliver its greatest technological benefits.

JOINT RELIEF

Baton Rouge General is home to exclusive technology that is transforming partial and total joint replacement surgery. The Mako robotic arm assisted system gives surgeons a higher degree of accuracy and precision, and at the same time offers the patient a more customized knee replacement. Using the Mako technology, a 3D image of the patient’s knee is created, allowing the surgeon to custom fit the new joint based on a patient’s specific anatomy and diagnosis. The robotic arm is then guided by the physician during surgery, enabling extremely precise placement and alignment of the new joint.

ON WATCH

Baton Rouge General is the first facility in the Capital Region to offer a new option for local residents who are dependent on blood thinners due to atrial fibrillation (AFib). The Watchman device is implanted into the heart, permanently closing off the part of the heart in which clots most commonly form. The non-invasive procedure reduces stroke risk for a lifetime and eliminates the need for blood thinners.

Our Lady of the Lake was the first in the Baton Rouge region to implant the world’s smallest wireless pacemaker, the Micra (pictured above, next to a traditional pacemaker). This new technology allows patients with atrial fibrillation to have this small wireless, leadless pacemaker—about the size of a large vitamin—to be placed directly into the muscle of the heart to regulate its rhythm. It can be checked by bluetooth and the rhythm of the pacemaker can be adjusted as needed by the physician.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

COURTESY BATON ROUGE GENERAL

MICRO MICRA

At LWCC, we’re driven by our unique mission to improve and protect the lives of Louisiana’s workforce—ultimately helping our home state thrive. It's a commitment we made over 25 years ago, and to this day, keeps us focused on building safer and more stable futures for our communities. Learn more about Louisiana's Highest Rated Workers' Compensation Company at LWCC.com

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

SHOW AND TELL

The operating rooms at Ochsner Medical Complex-High Grove have been pre-designated as a Stryker Surgical Suite Showplace Facility. The operating room includes video integration for teaching and remote case assistance, and has connectivity for EMR/PACS integration. The connectivity allows for audio and visual room-to-room calling with microscope capabilities for pathology as well as the the ability to conduct secure off-site communication/ consultations with another facility.

CELL THERAPY Dr. Marco Rodriguez, an orthopedic spine surgeon and founder of the International Spine Institute, has begun offering regenerative stem cell therapy instead of spinal surgery to relieve chronic low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease for qualified and select candidates. Stem cell therapy is an innovative way to collect stem cells from the bone marrow and then process them to isolate the stem cells. Under fluoroscopic X-ray guidance, a spine surgeon can precisely deliver the stem cells to the affected degenerative disc. Stem cell therapy can be an effective treatment for a variety of degenerative spinal conditions, including herniated disc, sciatica and low back pain. This less invasive procedure is more cost-effective and decreases patient recovery time, quickly getting them back to a pain-free lifestyle without the added risk of opioid dependency.

Our Lady of the Lake was the third facility in the country and the first in Louisiana to receive the Motorika Optimal G, a cutting-edge robotic rehabilitation machine. It provides a high level, gait training platform combined with advanced robotics designed to help patients overcome impairments in the lower extremities including those with spinal cord injuries, knee and hip replacements, stroke victims and many other injuries. Cameras on the machine allow therapists to immediately determine if it’s providing proper gait biometrics.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

COURTESY MOTORIKA

ROBO-ASSITED REHAB

COURTESY CIS

COURTESY INTERNATIONAL SPINE INSTITUTE

COURTESY OCHSNER

MATTERS OF THE HEART Cardiovascular Institute of the South Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Satish Gadi is the first in Louisiana to perform a left heart cath procedure through the right distal radial artery using the PreludeSYNC Distal band from Merit Medical for hemostasis. The procedure was performed on Feb. 11 at Baton Rouge General. The PreludeSYNC band is the first-of-its-kind dedicated distal radial compression device. Utilizing it significantly brings more comfort to the patient, allowing full movement of the wrist and the hand during the recovery process. It also eliminates the need to lay flat for hours following the procedure, encouraging faster recovery and earlier discharge, which is beneficial to both the patient and the facility.

SCREEN TIME

COURTESY STRATATECH CORP.

Woman’s Hospital is now offering virtual lactation consultations for breastfeeding mothers through iPhone, iPad or Android devices. The service, called “BreastTime,” allows women to video chat with certified lactation nurses in the convenience of their own homes. During a one-hour BreastTime consultation, a certified lactation nurse video chats with a mother and provides assistance/guidance for her breastfeeding concerns and challenges. In 2018, Woman’s achieved the globally recognized Baby-Friendly designation for its breastfeeding efforts.

SKIN DEEP

ISTOCK

Baton Rouge General’s Regional Burn Center is one of just 10 centers nationwide participating in a trial study of StrataGraft, a sheet of living skin designed to replace a patient’s skin if injured. The regenerative skin tissue would change the way burns are managed, while also minimizing the pain and recovery for burn patients. StrataGraft was developed by Stratatech Corp., a company founded in 2000 in Madison, Wisconsin.

ANOTHER DIMENSION

Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center has opened a new clinic on the first floor of its Essen Lane facility focused exclusively on treating patients with tumors of the soft tissue, muscles and bones. Disorders treated at the Musculoskeletal Oncology Clinic—the first of its kind in Louisiana—include soft tissue, bone and retroperitoneal sarcomas—a rare group of cancers that originate in the bones and/or in the connective tissues of the body. The team includes a surgical oncologist, an orthopedic oncologist, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurses and social workers.

COURTESY MARY BIRD PERKINS-OLOL

RARE CANCER CLINIC

COURTESY PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER

Software under development at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center could slash the cost of wellness screenings, saving businesses hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The Scanning in Medical Analysis, or SIMA, software uses information from 3D body scans to generate a worker’s health assessment in less than five minutes. The software could reduce the need for some of the biometric screenings, which include blood pressure and blood tests for total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and blood sugar levels. “Businesses will spend an estimated $1.7 billion on health screenings in 2021,” says Sima Sobhiyeh, a postdoctoral researcher at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center and one of the software developers. “If our software can exempt even one out of five workers from the biometric screening, health screening costs could drop by as much as $340 million.” Sobhiyeh, Pennington Biomedical’s Metabolism and Body Composition Lab Director Dr. Steven Heymsfield and LSU mathematics Professor Peter Wolenski were awarded an LSU LIFT2 grant that will help them commercialize the wellness-screening software.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

COURTESY SPINE HOSPITAL OF LOUISIANA

HYDRATION STATION Baton Rogue General has added a Hydration Therapy Lounge at its Express

Care location on Highland Road, near LSU. Hydration therapy, a popular wellness treatment for headaches, nausea, hangovers, dehydration and athletic recovery, rapidly replenish fluids, electrolytes and vitamins through an IV. Five hydration “cocktails” are currently available, each including a special combination of fluids, medicine, electrolytes and vitamins, depending on a patient’s specific wants and needs. During the 30 to 45 minute treatments, patients will relax in the private hydration lounge with free Wi-Fi, Amazon Alexa, a flat screen TV with access to Netflix and a PlayStation.

NEXT GENERATION

COURTESY MARY BIRD PERKINS-OLOL

COURTESY BATON ROUGE GENERAL

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana in November launched its robotic spine surgery program. This state-of-the-art technology, only available at a small number of hospitals across the United States, combines image-based preoperative analytics with intra-operative guidance to design and deliver a highly-customized surgical plan for each patient with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. The Spine Hospital is now the only provider on the Gulf Coast to offer both robotic spine surgery and laser spine surgery—the two most minimally-invasive surgical technologies currently available for the treatment of common to complex spinal conditions.

COURTE

SY M ED TRONIC

RADIO WAVES Woman’s Hospital has taken an extra step to prevent retained surgical items and further enhance its standard of surgical care by becoming the first in Baton Rogue to use Medtronic’s Situate disposable cotton sponges, gauze and towels. The items are embedded with a tiny radiofrequency tag that can be detected before surgery is complete with a wand using low-frequency, non-ionizing radio waves. If a sponge still is left in the body, it will transmit a signal back to the device, alerting staff of the item’s exact location. This technology essentially eliminates the risk of leaving surgical items in patients.

BRAIN POWER Research is currently underway at Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center on a program that uses mindfulness to help patients overcome the long-term side effects of cancer treatment. The research, which is being conducted through the Cancer Center’s survivorship program and supported by the Internal Review Board of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady of the Lake University, engages small groups of cancer patients in mindfulness meditation, yoga, expressive arts and mindful eating practices to help reduce common side effects including fear of recurrence, pain, fatigue and impaired quality of life. The Cancer Center is already offering a mindfulness-based cancer survivorship clinic designed to support patients in coping with effects of treatment, making healthy lifestyle changes and engaging in self-care as a part of long-term after care.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A11

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

PEOPLE TO WATCH BENJAMIN BOUDREAUX

DR. KYLE RUSSO

IN MARCH, BENJAMIN Boudreaux became The NeuroMedical Center Clinic’s first new CEO in 33 years, succeeding longtime CEO Nancy Kelly, who retired in late 2018. Boudreaux has more than 15 years of senior health care administration and operations experience, including nine years as executive vice president of business development for the Cardiovascular Institute of the South. Prior to that, Boudreaux served as CIS’s practice administrator, overseeing the administrative and health care activities for several clinics across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. As CEO, Boudreaux will provide overall leadership and direction for the organization with an emphasis on physician and medical staff relations, strategic partnerships, and enhancing availability and access of neurological services throughout South Louisiana.

DR. KYLE RUSSO has pioneered a relatively new form of radiation therapy called deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH). By holding their breath during treatment, patients can make the heart “skinny” and separate the heart from the chest wall by nearly an inch. This gap significantly reduces the risk of radiation exposure to the heart and lung in left-sided breast cancer, and the lung and liver in right-sided breast cancer. As an advocate for this procedure, Russo hopes to turn DIBH into the standard of care for many patients with breast cancer. As simple as it sounds, DIBH requires a significant investment in upgraded technology.

DR. JOHN TABOR JR.

DR. JACOB WOOD

CEO The NeuroMedical Center Clinic

Our Lady of the Lake

DR. JOHN TABOR Jr. is board certified in general surgery, and has completed a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery with a focus on robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System. Tabor was the first and only surgeon in Louisiana—and one of very few in the country—to perform the robotic whipple procedure for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. He also has a special interest in robotic assisted surgery for the treatment of esophageal, stomach, colon rectal and adrenal cancer as well as the treatment of benign conditions such as severe gastroesophageal reflux disease and ventral/incisional/inguinal hernias. Tabor travels the state and country to both teach and lecture fellow surgeons on the patient benefits of robotic surgery using da Vinci technology.

A12

The Capital Region health care leaders who are making headlines in 2019

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Radiation Oncologist Ochsner

Family Medicine Physician Baton Rouge General SINCE JOINING BATON Rouge General last summer, Dr. Jacob Wood has quickly garnered high patient satisfaction ratings by diving head first into the technology patients want like telehealth visits and online scheduling. Wood is seeing about three times the number of patients than the norm for a physician building a new practice, a process that typically takes years. Today, nearly a quarter of his patients are scheduling appointments online. Wood earned his undergraduate degree in microbiology from LSU and his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. The Ruston native has practiced family medicine since 2003. He is also passionate about sports medicine, working with Catholic High for all sports. Prior to his move back to Baton Rouge, Wood served as Louisiana Tech’s team physician for 10 years, and he can also occasionally be seen sharing his expertise on local TV stations.

DR. KELLY FINAN

STEPHANIE DEBARBIERIS

DR. KELLY FINAN is spearheading Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center’s initiative to enhance rectal cancer care through the establishment of a multidisciplinary team focused on the disease, which takes an average of 159 lives each year in Louisiana. Under her leadership, the team of surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists as well as dedicated members from pathology and radiology and others, are focusing solely on providing rectal cancer patients with individualized treatment plans to ensure the best possible outcomes for their cancer care. Finan is also leading the organization toward the prestigious National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. Currently, there are only five accredited facilities in the nation that have attained this new gold-standard status.

STEPHANIE DEBARBIERIS WILL oversee the new new optimal hospital rooms inside the surgical hospital center at the new Ochsner Medical Complex-High Grove. Since 2014, outpatient surgical volume at Ochsner Baton Rouge has increased over 20% and the new surgical center will keep up with the anticipated growth. Innovative devises and materials for Optimal Hospital include, but are not limited to, tablets for patients, red night lighting which is less disruptive to circadian rhythms, and copperinfused gowns, sheets, towels and surfaces, which kill 99.9% of bacteria and reduce the risk of infection.

Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center

DR. ERIC RAVUSSIN Professor

DR. TUOMO RANKINEN

Associated Professor Pennington Biomedical Research Center

DECADES OF RESEARCH have shown that exercise is good for you. Now, two of Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s top scientists—Dr. Eric Ravussin and Dr. Tuomo Rankinen—are helping lead a national effort to find out exactly what happens at the molecular level to produce those benefits. Basically, they’re hoping to discover how physical activity affects people’s health. It’s a massive research project called The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans program, or MoTrPAC. As one of six clinical centers recruiting people for the study, Pennington has been awarded a $5.28 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. In total, the project includes 19 grant awards for research at 23 institutions. Ravussin is a worldrenowned expert in the conduct of translational research in obesity and Type 2 diabetes. His more than 30 years of research include investigating energy expenditure, body composition, carbohydrate metabolism, and biomarkers of aging in health and disease states. For the last 22 years, Rankinen has focused on the genetic and molecular basis of the cardiometabolic response to physical activity. He’s an associate professor in Pennington Biomedical’s Human Genomics Laboratory.

Assistant Vice President-Nursing Ochsner

VADEL SHIVERS

Dietitian Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center VADEL SHIVERSWILL IS leading a collaboration with the oncology support services department and Our Lady of the Lake Voice Center for a project that will enhance nutrition and quality of life for head and neck cancer patients undergoing treatment. Maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration is one of the key factors for successful treatment of these patients. Shivers and the team are now investigating the effects of radiation with or without chemotherapy on changes in sensory threshold of five taste compounds, changes in salivary pH, and how these changes relate to swallowing function and physiology in head and neck patients to further optimize nutritional recommendations. Through this project, Shivers and the team seek to improve overall outcomes through greater hydration, weight management and decreased feeding tube placement in head and neck cancer patients.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A13

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

ON THE DRAWING BOARD A LOOK AT A FEW HEALTH CARE FACILITIES PLANNED IN THE CAPITAL REGION

COURTESY LANE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

LANE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER EXPANSION WHAT IT IS: The addition of a four-story tower and expansion of Lane Regional Medical Center’s hospital on Main Street in Zachary. The tower will house a new operating suite that’s double its current size and expansive new patient rooms, as well as the renovation of existing areas and relocation of patient registration to the front entrance. A groundbreaking is slated for the summer of 2020. “We are excited about the future of Lane and what this expansion means to all those we currently serve,” says Lane CEO Larry Meese. “As we move forward with our strategic plan and vision for the future of Lane, we will continue to work towards our mission to provide exceptional health care services to every patient, every time.” Lane Regional Medical Center is a 139-bed, regional healthcare system that serves as the primary resource for more than 200,000 residents throughout Zachary and the surrounding regions. COST: $50 million EXPECTED COMPLETION: 2024

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER AND

DISCOVER NEW WAYS TO SERVE. Explore our online and graduate degree programs: •

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) *Online

•

Master of Health Administration (MHA) *Online

•

Master of Medical Science - Physician Assistant Studies (PA)

•

Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)

•

Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences (MSNS)

•

Doctor of Nursing Practice - Nurse Anesthesia (DNP-NA)

•

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Apply now. franu.edu 2018 Nursing School of the Year — Graduate Degree Programs

A14

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

COURTESY BATON ROUGE GENERAL

BATON ROUGE GENERAL NEIGHBORHOOD HOSPITAL IN PRAIRIEVILLE WHAT IT IS: Baton Rouge General broke ground in January on its neighborhood hospital in Prairieville, as the hospital system broadens its footprint outside Baton Rouge and into more regional markets. The Ascension Neighborhood Hospital, located at La. 73 and Interstate 10, will provide 24-hour care to an estimated 25,000 residents of Ascension Parish who traveled to Baton Rouge last year to visit a BRG facility. BRG already has an express urgent care clinic in Geismar and internal medicine clinics in Zachary and Slaughter. The 42,500-square foot hospital will include a 10-bed Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad proof #1 inpatient hospital, lab, 14-bed emergency room, primary care and outpatient rehab, as well as physician practices and office space. • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. million •COST: AD WILL $30 RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions EXPECTED COMPLETION: Late 2019 or early 2020 are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

& REHABILITATION CENTER, LLC

NURSING

8 2017

BSRIO NEZRE LV

Jefferson Manor is conveniently located in a quiet residential area of Jefferson Highway just minutes away from all major medical centers, numerous doctors’ offices and the offices of other health care professionals. Our facility is one of Louisiana’s most innovative leaders in quality long term care and is continually working to upgrade and improve our services, as evidenced by being one of the first facilities in our area to have an in-house nurse practitioner, leading our profession in electronic medical records, or by adding computer systems that are physically interactive and mentally engaging for our residents. Our amenities include carpeted private and semi-private suites, arts & crafts center, our beautiful in-house chapel, in-house rehabilitation and fitness center, day rooms ideal for a quiet afternoon show, a lively LSU ballgame, or an evening of cards or dominoes. Our rehabilitation programs including physical, speech and occupational therapy, offer our residents the opportunity of returning to their greatest degree of independence with many returning to their own homes. At Jefferson Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, we are committed to providing you the very best in Quality Care and Superior Service. 9919 Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 225-293-1434 www.jeffersonmanornursingandrehab.com JM Bat Rg Bus Rep ad.indd 1

improving Quality of Life 4/3/18 9:00 AM

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A15

SPONSORED BY:

Embracing the Journey: Breaking the end-of-life taboo

ospice care is too often viewed as giving up when it’s actually choosing to focus on the dignity and quality of life for the patient as well as their loved ones. Hospice is not a place— it’s a type of healthcare service that every person should have a chance to benefit from, if needed. Patients and their families deserve to know about hospice services and experience the benefits. Hospice is a gift available to all who become terminally ill—young or old. Through all walks of life, every person’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs should be met, including all of our end of life experiences. For the last 15 years, Life Source Services has worked diligently to ensure that each person they serve is able to receive comfort and peace, and has focused on each patient’s and family’s individual needs. This precious gift of hospice care, Care with Compassion, is the commitment to the type of care that Life Source Services is dedicated to providing. Since its inception in 2004, Life Source Services has been committed to excellence, in the provision of comfort care, pain relief, and symptom management. According to Linda Artell, RN, “Our main goal as hospice nurses is to make our patients as comfortable as is possible.” Their team of highly skilled and compassionate physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, CNAs, social workers, chaplains, caregivers, and volunteers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to meet the needs of patients and

their families. “You can’t afford to lose time when every minute matters,” says Shedonna MartinMason, volunteer coordinator. Life Source Services provides hospice care in Louisiana within a 50-mile radius from their main office in Baton Rouge, which spans over 12 parishes. One of the things patients and families may experience is the process of grieving. Grief affects all aspects of a person’s life. Their physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual selves, are challenged and in need of counsel. A calming presence in a storm—that is how the ministry of presence is shared with someone who has lost someone they love. The Bereavement Department of Life Source Services is called upon during life’s most difficult and heartbreaking times, to be a calming and comforting presence when needed most. “When you need us, we will be there,” says Pastor Ray Smith, bereavement coordinator. Life Source Services provides loving support to patients and their families. The chaplains and social workers are vital to the team, as each member provides spiritual and emotional support to patients, caregivers, and families, as they adjust through changes, with respect toward each individual’s needs. Martin-Mason says, “We connect patients and their families with the people who

can help in dealing with the very real concerns associated with the end of life.” It is important to choose a hospice provider that is certified and licensed in the state of Louisiana. Life Source Services meets those standards. It is a Medicare Certified Hospice Provider, and also accepts most private insurances. Life Source Services is an active member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), as well as the Louisiana and Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (LMHPCO). This allows Life Source Services to continue to excel in their knowledge and education geared toward providing excellent hospice service. Volunteer opportunities are also available. Contact Martin-Mason, by phone (225) 2919421 or email: SMason@asimgt.com.

WHAT IS HOSPICE?

IN-HOME HOSPICE CARE:

INPATIENT HOSPICE:

RESPITE CARE:

An interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and volunteers focused on comfort care rather than curative care, wherever a patient lives, which can be their primary residence, nursing home facility, or wherever the patient calls home.

When symptoms can no longer be managed in the home, hospice provides the care needed at an inpatient hospice facility. There, patients can receive the care they need to manage their symptoms and monitor their overall well-being.

Help provided for family caregivers who need a break— either to take a vacation, run errands, or simply to recharge and rejuvenate.

To learn more about hospice services or volunteer opportunities, contact Life Source Services by phone (225) 291-9421, toll free (866) 291-1061 or visit lifesourcehospice.net to learn more. Life Source Services • 11605 Southfork Avenue, Suite A • Baton Rouge • Providing excellent hospice services to our community for 15 years A16

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

NOW

Business trends impacting the health care industry in 2019

FILE PHOTO

Health care costs also impact economic development. When businesses pick locations, they choose locales where the costs are lower, not higher. This does not bode well for Louisiana and states where health care costs are some of the highest in the nation.

DR. I. STEVEN UDVARHELYI PRESIDENT AND CEO BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF LOUISIANA

WHEN I LOOK at business trends for 2019, first and foremost, I look at it through the lens of our customers and members—and what Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana must do to improve the health and lives of not only the 1.8 million Louisianians we directly touch, but for all 4.6 million people who call our state home as well as for the employers who drive Louisiana’s economy. In health care, we see three primary business trends that will impact Louisiana in 2019: • Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence • Increasing financial pressure • An uncertain political and regulatory environment ADVANCED ANALYTICS AND AI Big data and technology have become more and more important for all businesses, no matter the industry. In health care, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence will be transformative as we seek to decrease costs, improve quality and increase access to affordable care. For example, if we want to really improve health, we need to change behaviors of both patients and doctors. So at Blue Cross we are using advanced analytics to determine what drives behavior, how can we understand what is causing the status quo, and then gain near real-time

When businesses pick locations, they choose locales where the costs are lower, not higher. This does not bode well for Louisiana and states where health care costs are some of the highest in the nation. feedback on whether interventions we undertake are having the desired and positive impact. We are using artificial intelligence to forecast future outcomes. Predictive models are identifying members who are at risk for poor outcomes, allowing nurses and other clinical staff to reach out and provide health coaching, care coordination, education and self-care support. We are also sharing this information with members’ physicians and encouraging members to see their physician to prevent problems before they occur. Through providing a better understanding of patients’ needs and early engagement with the health care delivery system, these efforts have the potential to improve health, save lives, increase quality and reduce costs. INCREASING FINANCIAL PRESSURE Collectively, the health care industry is making health care unaffordable for many. The cost of health care continues to rise and, accordingly, so does the cost of health insurance, particularly in

the individual market. For Louisiana overall, health care has a big impact on the state’s budget. We see it playing out in the current dialog around Medicaid spending. And health insurance is typically the second largest cost to businesses, after salaries. As the cost of care increases, employers are sharing more and more of the cost with their employees. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual health insurance employer contribution for family coverage was $19,615 in 2018. That is more than 55% higher than just ten years earlier. Over the same time period, the portion paid by employees has risen more than 65%. Between premium contributions and out-of-pocket expenses for cost sharing, employees are now picking up approximately 25% of the total cost of health care. That cost burden is now causing some insured people to delay or forgo care they think they need, and can inadvertently lead to them not optimally managing their chronic illnesses.

AN UNCERTAIN POLITICAL AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT In 2019, all industries will continue to keep a close eye on the political and regulatory environment, and that is especially true for those of us in health care. We are seeing continuous change. In fact, 2018 saw more health care regulations coming out of Washington, D.C. than in any recent year, many related to changes in how we implement the Affordable Care Act. When the rules keep changing, it’s hard to plan and predict for the future. It has a direct and negative impact on our work to decrease costs, improve quality and increase access. As we look ahead to a more divided federal government—and as we enter into an election year in Louisiana—politics will continue to remain front and center. The partisan political divide will not ease in 2019. Those of us in health care know more needs to be done to help stabilize the individual market, help bring down costs, and we must continue our focus on access and innovation. Everyone— including doctors, hospitals, health plans, patients and government—must come together to find solutions that deliver real results. Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi is president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College, an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a Master of Science in health services administration from Harvard School of Public Health. Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A17

MATERNITY CARE

ISTOCK

Baby wars A growing number of Baton Rouge woman are choosing alternative birthing methods. BY EMILY KERN HEBERT

BATON ROUGE NOW has a freestanding birth center on Woman’s Hospital campus, and the prime location has not only increased the center’s visibility but also interest in the type of birth offered there—non-medicated, vaginal births delivered by midwives. Woman’s is not alone as other area hospitals are racing to meet the demand for alternative birthing options. Woman’s Hospital still delivers the most babies in Baton Rouge, at just over 8,000 in 2018. But the number of babies born at the Birth Center of Baton Rouge—an accredited out-of-hospital childbirth center for women with lowrisk pregnancies—has been rising steadily since it began operating in 2014. The move to the Woman’s Hospital campus last year has helped to drive the numbers even higher, with a 34% increase from 2017 to 2018. Woman’s does not own the Birth Center. Rather, the hospital is its landlord. At the Birth Center, women give birth without pain medication, including epidurals, and more than half of women have water A18

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

births, where women push the baby out in a birthing tub without much clinical assistance, says Lauryn Modenbach, executive director of the Birth Center of Baton Rouge. Pregnant women are called clients instead of patients, and fathers are encouraged to “catch babies” rather than deliver them. Women are often discharged within six to 12 hours after having their babies. Modenbach says today’s women are educating themselves about their birthing options. Women are looking for a facility that accepts their birth plan, has a low rate of cesarean sections, doesn’t perform unnecessary interventions, allows water births and supports the idea of informed consent. “They’re seeking out places where they believe they’re going to be listened to and their choices are going to be respected,” Modenbach says. More than 450 babies have been birthed at the Birth Center since 2014, Modenbach says. The Birth Center contains three birthing rooms, all with regular beds,

individual temperature controls, dimmable lighting, instant hot water and birthing tubs in each room. “Our clients really aren’t interested in feeling like they’re experiencing something clinical,” Modenbach says. “They want it to feel homelike.” At the same time, Modenbach says, the Birth Center is prepared to handle emergencies. The Birth Center is backed up by six, board certified OBGYNs, who are available to accept the Birth Center’s clients, and those physicians

have a good working relationship with the center’s certified nurse midwives. With the close proximity to Woman’s, a transfer can happen quickly if needed, Modenbach says. “We’re in an ideal situation,” she says. “It really brings about a team approach for making sure the next level of care is available and briefed.” However, a lot of screening takes place, initially and throughout the pregnancy, to ensure only those women who have the lowest risk of complications are accepted as clients. The Birth Center employs a highly trained sonographer, and its medical director, OBGYN Dr. Ryan Dickerson, reviews charts and is always on call, Modenbach says. “We continue to evaluate our clients to ensure they are low risk and continue to be a candidate for an out-of-hospital birth,” she says. Dickerson says the birth center model is common in other major cities around the country, including Dallas, where he completed his residency. “There are birth centers all over Dallas. It’s what I knew to be the norm,” he says. “I moved here and that option wasn’t available, so I created it.” But, he adds, “it’s a niche market. It’s not for everyone.” Dickerson estimates that about 20% of his patients are interested in a non-medicated, out-of-hospital birth.

“Our clients really aren’t interested in feeling like they’re experiencing something clinical. They want it to feel homelike.” LAURYN MODENBACH, executive director, Birth Center of Baton Rouge. ISTOCK

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

Issue Date: 4-09-19 Ad proof #2

SUMMER MEMBERSHIP DRIVE BIRTHS AT BATON ROUGE HOSPITALS 2017 2018

Woman’s Hospital

8,295 8,097

Ochsner Baton Rouge

1,563 1,425

Baton Rouge General

837 980

Baton Rouge Birth Center

90 121

Today, women have access to more information, including C-section rates and the contributing factors, Dickerson says. “I think it may be a reaction, rightly or wrongly, about what many women perceive as an over-medicalization of their birth,” he says. He adds that giving birth in a birth center is also less expensive, about a quarter of the cost of a hospital birth. “I think that may drive some of it,” Dickerson says. At Ochsner Baton Rouge, the hospital has also embraced using midwives as part of the labor and delivery team, and has a collaborative model where midwives deliver nearly all of the vaginal births at the hospital. Physicians deliver all C-section births, says OBGYN Dr. Ralph Dauterive, vice president of medical affairs at Ochsner Baton Rouge. This model, within the hospital, allows women to have a non-medicated birth in a safe environment with a midwife present and an obstetrician available, Dauterive says. The hospital also has four birthing tubs available, for laboring in the water or giving birth in the tub, Dauterive says. He adds, “Women want choices. We listen to what they tell us, and we guide them to the next step without pushing them.” At Baton Rouge General, the hospital’s nurses report that women are increasingly looking for providers who are open

ISTOCK

to different options and who will take the extra time to listen to their questions and educate them on what’s available, says Baton Rouge General OBGYN Dr. Candace Moore. Stan Shelton, senior vice president of strategy for Woman’s Hospital, agrees that women want shared decision making with their doctor. “They view themselves as consumers who have the ability to make a choice about who to go to and what they want the care to be,” Shelton says. He says the decision was made during the design process of the new Woman’s Hospital to install tubs in every labor and delivery room. Patients do not give birth in the tubs at Woman’s, but they are allowed to labor there. The hospital has wireless and waterproof fetal monitors, which also encourage women to get out of bed, walk the halls, sit on birthing balls or shower during labor. “It’s very choice driven,” says Angela Hammett, a registered nurse at Woman’s who also works as OB nurse navigator and natural birth liaison. Even with more choices available, approximately 90% of Woman’s patients request an epidural during labor. Less than 10% of patients want a non-medicated birth. “Being able to have those discussions and set those expectations is so important,” Hammett says.

JOIN GBR SHRM from May 1 - July 31 for only $75

YOU COULD WIN

$100!

You’ll enjoy professional development opportunities and the ability to earn credits towards recertification with HRCI or SHRM. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT

GBRSHRM.SHRM.ORG A F F I L I AT E O F

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A19

RESEARCH

DON KADAIR

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

IMPORTANT WORK: Dr. John Kirwan, executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, is developing a strategy to tackle a problem impacting roughly half of Louisiana’s population.

A fresh perspective to an old problem

John Kirwan is aggressively trying to raise the profile of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. BY CAITIE BURKES ARRIVING WITH MORE than 30 years of research, teaching, and service in the obesity and diabetes fields, Dr. John Kirwan seemed a natural fit to lead the Pennington Biomedical Research Center when, last January, he became its executive director. With just over a year under his belt, Kirwan is not only planning and overseeing dozens of studies and initiatives, but is also developing a long-term vision for the center. Pennington is planning a summer release of its comprehensive strategic plan. While the plan’s details remain guarded, it’s clear that Pennington’s greatest challenge— and opportunity—is serving a state where half the population, roughly 500,000 residents, suffer from diabetes and pre-diabetes conditions like obesity. “You go to where the patients are, and a center like Pennington is right in the heart of that,” says A20

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Kirwan, who previously was director of the Metabolic Translational Research Center at the Cleveland Clinic. “We have the opportunity to focus on something that’s of high relevance to Louisianans. The problem is enormous.” Indeed, diabetes alone costs the state an estimated $5.4 billion a year, with each Louisiana diabetic spending, on average, anywhere from $16,000 to $25,000 annually on treatments. Yet only 25% of Pennington’s annual $65 million operating budget— roughly $16.25 million—comes from the state. The bulk of its

budget, approximately 60%, is self-generated—earned primarily through grants and contracts— while another 15% comes from philanthropic donations to the Pennington Foundation. “Pennington’s budget is modest compared to the size of the problem we’re trying to reverse,” Kirwan says. “If we’re going to be successful, we need more manpower … and increased access to the patients.” ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE Kirwan distinguishes himself from his predecessors by bringing

“Pennington’s budget is modest compared to the size of the problem we’re trying to reverse. If we’re going to be successful, we need more manpower … and increased access to the patients.” DR. JOHN KIRWAN, executive director, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

a few unique perspectives to the research center formed here in the 1980s by C.B. “Doc” Pennington and his wife, Irene. Clearest among them is an international perspective. Kirwan was born and raised in Tullow, Ireland, and was a high-performing athlete throughout his youth, competitively playing Gaelic football, club rugby and track and field—for which he won national medals. His interest in sports propelled him to study exercise physiology as an undergraduate in Ireland. He crossed the Atlantic in 1982 to pursue further academic studies, including a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a Ph.D. in Human Bioenergetics from Indiana’s Ball State University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that lasted from 1987 to 1991. But shortly after wrapping up the fellowship, Kirwan found himself back in his native Ireland with an interesting mission: Create an innovative training center to provide optimal support services for Irish Olympic athletes preparing for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He devoted two years to the training center and then boomeranged back to the U.S. to accept an assistant professorship at Penn State. Throughout the course of events, he became familiar with Pennington’s increasing prestige—a point he considers when recruiting potential faculty. Today, Kirwan is spearheading an aggressive recruiting process, hoping to ultimately add another 40 faculty members to the center. He’s 20% of the way there, having hired six scientists last year and two so far in 2019, bringing the staff count up to 64. But even more important than the quantity of new recruits, he says, is the quality. A couple recent additions have come from Harvard and the well-respected Mayo Clinic. “For folks interested in diabetes, obesity and cancer, we have a unique infrastructure that is better than the institutions they’re coming from,” says Kirwan, “which speaks really well to what Pennington has to offer and its reputation as an

international center for research and metabolism.” More manpower means a greater volume of research. Among several initiatives filling the pipeline: A $1 million Diabetes Model Clinic scheduled to open late this year, which would treat Medicaid patients inhouse using some of Pennington’s discoveries. Also discerning Kirwan from his four predecessors—Drs. George Bray, Claude Bouchard, Steven Heymsfield and William Cefalu, who respectively came from medical, academic, industry and research backgrounds—is the fact that, as a Cleveland Clinic alumnus, he comes from all four of those backgrounds. Moreover, Kirwan brings with him a history of extensive engagement in “translational” research, or translating clinical discoveries into marketplace products. Topping the list in terms of significance: his published discovery that Type 2 diabetes can often be cured by surgical alteration of the intestines and stomach. It’s this translational approach Kirwan wants to define Pennington’s work within the next five to 10 years, aiming for its scope to directly affect the local, statewide, national and international communities. Internationally, he says, that could mean bringing more new drugs to market, such as a cancer drug that’s in development and moving into phase two of clinical trials at M.D. Anderson in Houston. Locally, it also means offering unique programs like the recently announced “Medicaid pilot demonstration clinic” that will open later this year. Additionally, Kirwan wants the center to grow its engagement with the pharmaceutical and nutrition industries. “What we can do more of here is more commercialization, more interaction with the business community,” Kirwan says. “It’s about bringing more of that entrepreneurial energy to discovery, translating the science to the patients to provide an additional revenue stream to the center.” The challenge is great, considering Kirwan’s own assertion that it will cost around $2.6 billion

and take 10 years to bring the discovery of a new drug to market. However, he believes Pennington more than capable, noting that, since 2003, Pennington has generated over $46 million from contracts with 85 pharmaceutical companies and 21 food-and-beverage companies. Meanwhile, as a member of the Baton Rouge Health District, Pennington will build upon its continuum of care by extending its partnerships with the Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center and LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. “The thing to remember about Pennington is that it’s not a hospital, a university or a pharmaceutical company. Alone, we are none of them, but together we are all of them,” Kirwan says. “An institution like Pennington is at the base of all these big initiatives that are part of our society.”

THE KIRWAN RESUME 1987-1991: Attends Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 1991-1993: Helps set up the Olympic Training Center in Ireland 1993-1999: Works first academic post as an assistant professor at Penn State University 1995: Receives first grant from the National Institutes of Health, for an independent research program examining the relationship between glucose and fat 2011: Becomes director of the Metabolic Translational Research Center at the Cleveland Clinic after serving as a professor of molecular medicine for five years

The inside SCOOP. Inside your INBOX.

2012: New England Journal of Medicine publishes Kirwan’s most significant discovery to date, that bariatric surgery results in diabetes remission 2018: Succeeds William Cefalu as executive director of Pennington Biomedical Research Center

A21

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

TECHNOLOGY

“If (AI technology) prevents a transfer to the ICU, that’s going to simplify things for the patient, and it’s going to shorten their hospital stay. And even if not, at least it’s being recognized earlier, and earlier intervention leads to faster recovery.”

DON KADAIR

—DR. LOUIS JEANSONNE, assistant vice president of medical affairs, Ochsner Baton Rouge

ANALYZE THIS: Predictive analytics enter Baton Rouge hospitals Developments in artificial intelligence are not only improving health care outcomes, but also the bottom line of hospitals. BY CAITIE BURKES A DOCTOR GETS an alert on his phone: a patient’s vital signs are slightly fluctuating, signaling a cardiac arrest is likely within hours. Rushing to the patient, the doctor adjusts the medication dosage and the crisis is averted— before it ever actually began. Without this modern technology alert system, according to statistical models built using datasets of more than 125,000 hospitalized patients, it’s almost certain the doctor wouldn’t have known anything was wrong until the patient went into cardiac arrest some four hours later, requiring a high-pressure rush to the intensive care unit. The scenario is one of the many health care realities made possible through artificial intelligence. And hospitals are investing heavily in the technology. Consulting firm Protiviti Inc. surveyed 300 health care firms, finding each, on average, spent $51 million on advanced AI last year—including A22

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

the kind of predictive analytics technology that prevented our hypothetical patient from going into cardiac arrest. In the past few months, AI has also become increasingly visible in Baton Rouge. As competition intensifies among local hospitals, it’s even more important for providers to manage patient health and well-being on the front-end. Proactive care, say health professionals, not only reduces patient costs, but also the length of hospital stays as well as the likelihood of a patient returning with a worse diagnosis. Which helps explain why three of Baton Rouge’s largest hospitals— Ochsner, Our Lady of the Lake, and Baton Rouge General—have each launched a new AI platform this year. Could crises like respiratory arrests and diseases like sepsis be completely eradicated from Baton Rouge hospitals? While the predictive analytics technologies

are mostly in the pilot stage, they’re already showing promise. OCHSNER: DE-‘CODING’ PATIENT HEALTH Doctors and nurses are trained to rush into action when a patient “codes,” or suffers from a cardiac or respiratory arrest and needs immediate medical assistance. But Ochsner Health System has launched an AI tool that analyzes thousands of data points to predict if a patient’s health will deteriorate in the near future, enabling preventive measures to stop the episode before it happens. If the system predicts that a patient is likely to have an incident within the next four hours— based on subtle changes in their vital signs or blood work—an alert is sent to the doctor’s phone. The doctor can then check on the patient and make any necessary changes, such as adjusting their medication dose or giving them

more IV fluids. “If (AI technology) prevents a transfer to the ICU, that’s going to simplify things for the patient, and it’s going to shorten their hospital stay,” says Dr. Louis Jeansonne, assistant vice president of medical affairs for Ochsner Baton Rouge. “And even if not, at least it’s being recognized earlier, and earlier intervention leads to faster recovery.” During the system’s 90-day pilot program last fall at the New Orleans campus, Ochsner saw a 44% decrease in cardiac arrests and other adverse events. While the Baton Rouge campus just began using the technology in January, officials estimate doctors are alerted by the machine learning platform, powered by health care software company Epic, one to three times a day. BATON ROUGE GENERAL: STOPPING SEPSIS About 270,000 Americans die

we have

Cancer ANSWERS

causes questions

It’s normal to have questions when you’re diagnosed with breast or GYN cancer. Let us be your guide. At the

Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion, experts from Woman’s Hospital and Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center can fill in the blanks. What are my next steps? What type of doctor do I need? How do I get a second opinion? Will my hair fall out? What does this mean for me and my family? What questions do you have? Call our CancerAnswer Call Line at

225-215-7600.

TECHNOLOGY

OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: PRIORITIZING POPULATIONS Joining the predictive analytics bandwagon is OLOL, whose chief medical information officer, Stephen Hosea, says the hospital is leveraging AI opportunities with its electronic medical record partner, Epic—the same company that services Ochsner. A24

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

SCREEN SAVER: By screening patients with a new AI tool, Baton Rouge General expects to lower the rate of sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition triggered by the body’s response to an infection.

DON KADAIR

each year from sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition triggered by the body’s response to an infection. Baton Rouge General wants to lower sepsis mortality and morbidity rates locally, with plans to screen all its patients for the disease by July 31 using a new AI tool from Wolters Kluwer Health. The POC (Point of Care) Advisor platform delivers real-time sepsis alerts and advice to clinicians. It aggregates and normalizes patient data from BRG’s electronic medical record, automatically analyzing the information by using hundreds of rules that account for possible abnormalities. Since implementing the pilot program in February, BRG officials say they have already prevented sepsis in 22 patients, with three to seven of those cases determined to be “severe.” What’s unique about the platform: Physicians document information using a voice recognition product called Dragon Speak, which, like Siri, can “speak” using a plugged-in narrative and can learn and understand specific human vocal patterns. “Most doctor-patient interactions are short, because doctors have to take time to review charts to get a fuller clinical picture. In that same period of time, our sepsis algorithm has already figured it out,” says Bennett Cheramie, the hospital’s vice president of information technology. “This saves doctors minutes, if not hours, on the back-end, and lets them have more face-to-face interaction with the patient.” Cheramie says BRG plans to roll out the platform to the rest of the hospital over the next couple months. In addition to sepsis prediction, the hospital is in discussions with Wolters Kluwer about using AI to evaluate 25 other health conditions, including diabetes.

They’ve deployed several predictive analytics modules thus far: one, like BRG, is an in-patient alert tool that predicts sepsis; the others, meanwhile, determine which patients are at high risk of admission or readmission for heart failure, using data that comes through angulatory patient populations in a clinical setting. Hosea says the bulk of OLOL’s AI investment was made five years ago, when the hospital standardized its EMR platform. Epic regularly comes out with new products, but, if they aren’t included in the contract, OLOL must prioritize them based on population health and quality of care experience. “The charge within health care right now is to provide a better quality at a lower cost so there is an overall better value,” he says. “We’re focused on identifying high-risk patient populations and intervening more efficiently to prevent costly care.” Moving forward, hospital officials are keeping a close eye on ambient listening technology, which, once fully baked, could transcribe entire doctor-patient conversations, indexing keywords and phrases to create diagnoses and prescriptions.

DON KADAIR

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

THE FUTURE IS NOW: Ochsner began using a new predictive AI tool in Baton Rouge in January.

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

WHATâ€™S NEW IN HEALTH CARE Technology is undoubtedly the driving force in the health care industry, but the delivery of health care is undergoing changes as well. From compounding pharmacies to surgical centers to palliative careâ€” patients have more options than ever before. This special advertising section highlights some of the facilities and physicians who are making a difference by offering innovative treatments that improve the quality of life for the Baton Rouge community.

Pharmaceutical Specialties Hospice of Baton Rouge Integrative Pharmacy Williamson Eye Center NeuroMedical Center Surgical Specialty Center

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A25

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[ P H A R M A C E U T I C A L S P E C I A LT I E S ]

Compounding pharmacy fills a critical niche in the health care landscape WHEN IT OPENED in 1997, Pharmaceutical Specialties was a trendsetter—one of the first compounding pharmacies in South Louisiana. Today, the business continues to thrive and grow from Michael Bourg its new Bluebonnet Boulevard location, which opened in January. “We have always been patient-centered, but this new location allows us to provide a higher quality experience to a growing number of customers,” says Michael Bourg, who opened the business with then-business partner Merrill Patin in 1997. “It will also allow us to stay ahead of regulatory changes.” Doctors rely on compounding pharmacies to customize drug therapies not readily available in the dosage, composition or price point that may be best for a patient. Compounding pharmacies fill a critical niche in today’s complex health care landscape, as many patients search for a higher level of personal service. It’s an idea that has come full circle, since the roots of the modern pharmacy lie in the old-fashioned apothecary, the place where a community would go for medicinal therapies that were often mixed on site. “Basically, we’re problem solvers,” says Bourg. “When there’s nothing out there on the market, we can step in and help a patient by customizing the right dosage and formula.” Doctors send orders to a compounding pharmacy, where the drug therapy is mixed based on the patient’s condition, weight and other factors. Bourg and his team are able to create a final product that contains a precise dose of active ingredients and does so in a way that is economical and conveniently administered. Patients use the services of a compounding pharmacy for a variety of health care concerns, including hormone replacement therapy, anti-aging issues, erectile dysfunction and many other conditions that benefit from a tailored dosage. Bourg says that veterinary medicine is another popular market since pets benefit from human grade pharmaceuticals, but need them reformulated in an appropriate dosage and format. In one of its most well-known cases several years ago, Pharmaceutical Specialties created proper dosages of tetracycline for Judy, an injured elephant at the Baton Rouge Zoo, who refused to take her medicine. Bourg and his team found a way to place elephant-sized doses of the antibiotic in chocolate flavoring so that Judy would successfully take them. A26

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Pharmaceutical Specialties’ new location offers customers a welcoming waiting room that features antique signage over the main counter and brick walls decorated with framed retro images of druggists and patients. While this part of the shop celebrates a cozy American past, the back of the store is all about the future. Visible through a glass wall, the rear quadrant holds modern sleek equipment, sterile mixing areas and separate clean rooms for working with all types of drugs. Bourg says the decision to relocate was driven by the need for a larger facility that would allow his team to better serve their customers, and to be in a position to comply with probable FDA regulatory changes in the future. “We feel that continuous advances in equipment and technology will only serve to maintain the integrity and quality of our products and services,” Bourg says. “We are committed to meeting the needs of each individual patient with dedication, concern and efficiency.”

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[HOSPICE OF BR]

Palliative care brings comfort to patients with serious illnesses THE NEED FOR palliative (or comfort) care can be overwhelming for patients and their families. Dealing with day-today issues such as doctor appointments, medications and treatments, and pain management can be mentally and physically taxing. Simply identifying how to get support for palliative care can be challenging. Palliative care is designed for patients with life-threatening or serious illnesses such as cancer, lung disease, end-stage kidney disease, heart disease or neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Palliative care helps patients manage their pain and other symptoms, and also includes psychological, social and spiritual support for patients and their families. The Hospice of Baton Rouge recognized a gap among the palliative care programs in Baton Rouge, and began offering their own in-home palliative care program in January 2018. “The program started organically,” says Catherine Schendel, CEO of The Hospice of Baton Rouge. “We had a lot of experience with symptom management in a home setting and with that came referrals for people who wanted to receive treatment at home, but who were outside the scope of hospice. That option wasn’t on the table for a lot of people, so we formed Palliative Care of Baton Rouge to meet the needs of our community.” Unlike end-of-life hospice care, at-home palliative care is generally not covered by insurance. As the only nonprofit comfort care provider in the city, The Hospice of Baton Rouge is able to support patients through its foundation, Schendel says. Patients in the palliative program can access The Hospice of Baton Rouge’s wider services, including those provided by physicians, chaplains and volunteers who provide companionship and respite. Most patients come to the program through referrals from doctors, hospitals or from established relationships with home health providers, which can pair their nursing or therapy services with the palliative care program for increased support. A doctor’s order is required to ensure a physician is involved in the patient’s care and can collaborate with the team at Palliative Care of Baton Rouge, adds Mary Maloney, registered nurse and palliative care coordinator. Non-medical issues are an important part of treatment, says Karen Marioneaux, a social worker for Palliative Care of Baton Rouge. “Being able to spend quality time with patients in their home and really listen to them is important,” she says. “Some of those hard conversations can be missed in the fast-paced setting of a doctor’s office or hospital-based

palliative care. Our program is about minimizing the patient’s stress—little things can take a load off and help them stay afloat—like sitting and listening to them, or rocking their baby while they are at a doctor’s appointment.” Palliative Care of Baton Rouge also helps patients when it’s time to leave the program, either because they are discharged or because they are transitioned to a different type of care. “When a patient’s condition changes, we can have a conversation with them and with their physicians and say they need a higher level of care,” Maloney says. “With our network, we are able to transition them to hospice care, for example, often within hours. That is a huge help to be able to step in quickly when that need arises.” Providing support when someone is struggling or needs extra care is what makes the program successful for patients and the palliative care team,” says Schendel. “These patients and their families have so many things going on. It really can be overwhelming. Even if it is one little thing, knowing we are making a difference keeps us going.”

From left: Karen Marioneaux, Mary Maloney, Catherine Schendel (seated) and Denise Domingue

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A27

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[ I N T E G R AT I V E

PHARMACY AND WELLNESS]

Specialists in compounding medicine provide individualized service and solutions THE FOUNDATION OF a compounding pharmacy is based on the relationship between the prescriber, pharmacist, and patient working together to achieve results tailored to the patient’s specific needs. Compounding pharmacies are seeing a resurgence. Generations ago, the local pharmacist concocted remedies for the sick, but that process has now evolved into a specialized niche in pharmacy that focuses on the unique needs of the patient. When prescribers send prescriptions to a compounding pharmacy, the medications are made from raw ingredients. “We can compound a drug for a patient when the commercially available product is not a viable option,” says Amy Johnson, PharmD, the Pharmacist in Charge (PIC) at Integrative Pharmacy and Wellness. “At this point we can work with the prescriber to create a solution to their problem.” Allergies or intolerances to substances such as gluten, lactose, and dyes are becoming increasingly common, Johnson says, yet those substances are found in many commercially available medications. In these cases, the compounding pharmacy can substitute ingredients to ensure the end product is tailored to the patient’s unique needs. Integrative Pharmacy and Wellness also offers over-thecounter, gluten-free skin and hair care lines. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins— many of which are free of gluten and other common allergens—are also available, which Johnson says is reassuring to patients who must be cognizant of what they are putting into their bodies. “Using the highest quality ingredients and resources available, we are able to formulate different dosage forms of medications that aren’t commercially available,” says Johnson. “For a patient who may not be able to swallow pills, we can often work with the prescriber to create a liquid formulation, dissolvable tablet, or in some cases, a topical version that is absorbed through the skin.” Integrative Pharmacy and Wellness services all fields of medicine, including dermatology, anti-aging, bio-identical hormone replacement for men and women, pain, pediatrics, geriatrics, and sports medicine. “We even work with veterinarians to create medicine for pets in appropriate dosages, dosage forms and with ingredients that are not harmful to the type of pet we are treating,” Johnson says. “There is almost always a solution to a problem,” Johnson says. Being able to offer individualized service and solving problems is where she finds the most satisfaction in working at a compounding pharmacy. A28

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Amy Johnson, PharmD

“I talk to every single patient who comes through the door,” she says, adding that it is rewarding when customers tell her they are seeing positive results from the medications she custom-made for them. Coming soon, in the same building with Integrative Pharmacy and Wellness, is a hair wellness center which will utilize a trichology scalp program from Italy to treat scalp and hair problems. It will be the first of its kind in Baton Rouge, offering a complete, customized program to treat anything from common scalp conditions (dryness, itchiness, flakiness, and oiliness) to severe hair thinning and balding due to underlying genetic or medical conditions. The center will also offer a custom hair system for individuals who may not be good candidates for hair transplant surgery.

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[WILLIAMSON

EYE CENTER]

Williamson legacy continues with third generation of advanced eye care FOR NEARLY 70 YEARS, the Williamson family has provided eye care services to the Greater Baton Rouge area with one mission—to bring the most advanced technology and the best possible care to patients. The same will remain true for many years to come as the Williamson Eye Center’s legacy is continuing on in its third generation with Dr. Blake Williamson, son of Medical Director Dr. Charles Williamson, and their surgical partners Drs. Matthew Smith and Blake Booth. As the world of technology evolves, options to correct vision are providing a greater range of treatment for patients with even the highest level prescriptions. For Williamson, what remains most important is the ability to provide a better quality of life for patients. “I didn’t realize there were so many options to correct my vision. Being able to read and drive without glasses has been so gratifying,” says patient and Hall of Fame Coach Paul Mainieri.

LASER VISION CORRECTION

LASIK is still considered one of the safest elective procedures performed in the U.S. and with recent advancements, surgeons can customize treatment plans like never before using the iDesign Refractive Studio, the next generation of one of the world’s most successful procedures. With iDesign, surgeons can tailor treatment based on the measurements of a single three-second scan that captures more than 1,200 data points from the inside and outside of the eye to create an ultra-precise 3D map. Through the use of iDesign, more patients are seeing 20/20—or even better. Take it from football player Devin White. “Before LASIK, it took forever to get my contacts in,” he says. “The next day [after surgery], I felt like a whole new person. I have perfect vision, and I don’t have to squint on the field.”

From left: Dr. Charles Williamson and Dr. Blake Williamson

PRESERVING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF SIGHT

Glaucoma remains the second leading cause of blindness in the world and is often referred to as “the silent thief of sight.” The good news is that new surgical technology called MIGS (Microinvasive Glaucoma Surgery) is providing more effective management of glaucoma. Recently, Dr. Blake Williamson was the first in Louisiana to implant the world’s smallest medical device to treat glaucoma pressure—the iStent Inject®. Once implanted, iStent Inject® can effectively lower intraocular pressure and patients may experience a reduced reliance on costly glaucoma medication (at the discretion of eye care professionals). For the ophthalmologists at Williamson Eye Center, implementing MIGS was an easy choice. “With an increasing number of patients requiring cataract surgery, many of whom have concomitant glaucoma, I realized that the need for surgical treatment could be particularly beneficial to my patients,” Dr. Smith says. Dr. Booth explains that medications to reduce intraocular pressure are great, but obtaining and taking them correctly can be a burden. “When I heard that it may be possible to help patients fight glaucoma with a microinvasive surgical option that reduced the medication burden, I took it seriously,” he says. MIGS has revolutionized the way ophthalmologists manage glaucoma, and the physicians at Williamson Eye Center are proud to be part of the development of such technologies.

The iStent Inject® atop a penny

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A29

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[THE

NEUROMEDICAL CENTER]

Robotics, lasers continue to revolutionize spinal surgeries IF YOU HAVE ever experienced back pain, you know it can often be severe and unrelenting. Dr. Eric Oberlander, an award-winning neurosurgeon with The NeuroMedical Center and The Spine Hospital of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, understands this pain. As a spinal specialist with one of the largest practices in the country, Oberlander uses some of the latest techniques in spine surgery, such as minimally invasive laser and robotic-assisted spinal surgery, to help his patients with neck and back issues. Laser surgery, he says, can be used to vaporize tissue and ease pain with a herniated disc. And it’s a great adjunct to spine surgery, making it safer and more efficient. Robotic-assisted surgery is similar. Used often to help surgeons place screws in the spine with enhanced precision, Oberlander describes robotic-assisted spinal surgery as an example of an evolutionary step that will be around for the long haul. While the first generation of robots for spine surgery were impressive, the second and third generation robots have a better design and are safer and more useful. Oberlander, who has fellowship training in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery, says that while the latest trends in spinal surgery are important, each case should be approached conservatively. “The way to think about laser and robotic surgery is not that they are amazing and revolutionary in how spine surgery is performed, but that they are two additional tools in our toolbox to get the job done,” he says. Spinal surgery is constantly evolving, and surgeons have to adapt to new techniques and technologies. Along with this opportunity for lifelong learning, surgeons are also bombarded with new gadgets, widgets and technologies that sometimes simply don’t work. “We have to constantly comb through each one to determine which ones are good,” he says. When it comes to approaching spinal conditions conservatively, Oberlander says a lot of progress has been made in the realm of biologics, products used in spinal fusion, which can help to ultimately rebuild the spine. “We will continue to see more progress in this field in the future,” he predicts. Oberlander also sees a lot of advances in replacement disc technology, but he cautions that there are still some durability questions. As one of a team of doctors and medical professionals working at The NeuroMedical Center, Oberlander said the center’s continuity of care, from neurology and neuropsychology to pain management and neuroradiology, means patients will receive the best and most appropriate care. “Patients should understand that seeing a spinal surgeon doesn’t always mean you are going to have surgery. In fact, most patients get better with conservative care,” he says. And if that doesn’t work? “There are options,” he says. “The bigger the toolbox and the more tools and skills you have, the more options your patient can choose.” A30

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Eric K. Oberlander, MD

SAVE YOUR BACK 1 Maintain a

healthy weight

2 Don’t smoke;

tobacco accelerates wear and tear on the spine

Dr. Eric Oberlander recommends these tips to help protect your spine and avoid back pain

3 Exercise,

but choose low-impact activities

4 Get plenty of

sleep, which rejuvenates the spine every night

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G F E AT U R E

[ S U R G I C A L S P E C I A LT Y C E N T E R ]

Work culture promotes employee satisfaction, good patient outcomes

MORE PEOPLE ARE choosing to have elective surgical procedures done at specialty hospitals instead of traditional medical facilities. The trend stems from a desire for specialized care and a more efficient experience— and it is driving a period of rapid growth at Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge. The physicians at Surgical Specialty Center believe patients can be treated efficiently while still providing superior clinic outcomes. They are able to do this because they are seasoned experts in their specialties and have the support of a skilled nursing staff, says Kari Ulrich, operating room director at the center. “We have it down to a science because we do the same types of cases over and over,” she says. Ulrich is the president of the local chapter of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). The doctors are performing more surgeries—and types of surgeries—than ever before. The center recently began offering robotic surgery for urology and general surgery procedures, helping to draw in more patients. The total joint replacement program has grown over 200 percent since it began two years ago. To expand capacity, the center purchased the majority share of Lake Surgery Center in 2017. To keep up with the growing range of services and a higher patient volume, the center is now focusing on expanding its nursing staff. In particular, the center is looking for skilled nurses who already have hospital

experience and are ready to work in a fast-paced environment. For details, visit the website at sscbr.com. The center’s doctors depend on nurses to help them work efficiently in the operating room. They tend to form strong bonds, which leads to a better experience for patients. “Our relationship with our docs is like a well-choreographed dance,” Ulrich says. “We know their next moves. We work so closely with them that we know them that well.” Kari Ulrich, OR director

More than 20 employees have worked at the center for at least 15 years—a reflection on its positive workplace culture, says Chief Nursing Officer Kelli Firmin. “This facility is so good to the employees,” she says. “We’re always celebrating something—birthdays, nurses’ week, hospital week, employee appreciation. It’s more like a close-knit family … everybody from the CEO to the housekeepers to the managers know your name.” “The physicians know the staff, so they are quick to give praise to a nurse or a tech,” adds HR Director Lara Mosbroker. “In bigger facilities, it’s hard to do that. Our doctors know when someone is making their day go smoothly.” That translates to better care for patients. Mosbroker says some of the center’s nurses were recruited after they had surgeries there and were impressed with the facility. Working at the center, which is owned by its physicians, is rewarding, says Mosbroker. And because it’s a specialty facility, employees typically don’t have to work holidays or weekends. “We are a good hybrid for people who want to be in health care, but still have a balance with their personal life.” “Employee satisfaction is highly correlated with patient satisfaction,” says CEO Ann Heine. “If you have a highly engaged and satisfied workforce, then your patient outcomes correlate directly with that.” Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A31

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

Hospitals

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center 5000 Hennessy Blvd., Baton Rouge 70808 225-765-6565 | www.ololrmc.com Baton Rouge General 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 225-763-4000 | www.brgeneral.org Woman's Hospital 100 Woman's Way, Baton Rouge 70817 225-927-1300 | www.womans.org North Oaks Medical Center 15790 Paul Vega MD Drive, Hammond 70403 985-345-2700 | www.northoaks.org Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge 17000 Medical Center Drive, Baton Rouge 70816 225-761-5200 | www.ochsner.org St. Elizabeth Hospital 1125 W. Louisiana 30, Gonzales 70737 225-647-5000 | www.steh.com Lane Regional Medical Center 6300 Main St., Zachary 70791 225-658-4000 | www.lanermc.org St. James Parish Hospital 1645 Lutcher Ave., Lutcher 70071 225-869-5512 | www.sjph.org

6,194 1923

Edgardo Tenreiro CEO

$406.51 million

3,500 1900

n n n

Robert Burgess Interim CEO

$271.42 million

1,753 1968

Michele Kidd Sutton Administrator

$228.17 million

DNR 1960

n n

Eric McMillen CEO

$208.92 million

2,000 1985

n n

Robert Burgess President and CEO

$78.91 million

373 2000

Larry Meese CEO

$76.65 million

698 1960

MaryEllen Pratt CEO

$24.88 million

176 DNR

• Nurse call event notifications • Alerts from bed exit, patient monitors, infusion pumps and more • Other data from clinical applications A32

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

OWNER

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

DNR

Private nonprofit governed by community board of directors

Hospital Service District No. 1 of Tangipahoa Parish

Ochsner Health System

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

Hospital Service District No. 1 of East Baton Rouge Parish

DNR

DNR-did not respond NR-not ranked To be featured in Business Report's Listmakers, hospitals must have at least one campus providing acute inpatient care in or near the nine-parish Capital Region. Information came from the individual companies, the Louisiana Department of Health, the American Hospital Directory (www.ahd.com) and other research. The Business Report presumes the provided information is accurate. Information about all 12 hospitals on the list will be available to subscribers on our website. To be considered for next year's list, please contact research@businessreport.com. Published April 9, 2019.

Myco bridges communication gaps between the patient bedside, clinicians and care teams.

Psychiatric unit

$944.06 million

Physical therapy

K. Scott Wester CEO

Pediatric ICU

EMPLOYEES YEAR EST. LOCALLY

OB-GYN

2017 NET PATIENT REVENUE

MRI unit

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

Oncology unit

Neonatal ICU

Intensive care unit

Emergency room

Dialysis unit

COMPANY ADDRESS PHONE | WEBSITE

Cardiac unit

PREV. RANK

Burn unit

Ranked by net patient revenue

Researched by Alaine Keisling

Specialty hospitals Ranked by net patient revenue PREV. RANK

COMPANY ADDRESS PHONE | WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

2017 NET PATIENT REVENUE

LICENSED BEDS EMPLOYEES

LOCAL OFFICES HOSPITAL TYPE YEAR EST. LOCALLY OWNER

SPECIALTIES

Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70810 225-408-8080 | www.sscbr.com

Ann Lightfoot Heine CEO

$46.35 million

16 209

1 2003

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana 10105 Park Rowe Circle, Baton Rouge 70810 225-763-9900 | www.spinehola.com

Robert D. Blair President and CEO

$44.41 million

23 150

1 2004

Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System 4502 Highway 951, Jackson 70748 225-634-0100

Hampton P.S. Lea CEO

$39.09 million

334 1,169

DNR DNR

Psychiatric Louisiana

Integrated system of mental health care

Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital 4040 North Blvd., Baton Rouge 70806 225-300-8470 | www.batonrougebehavioral.com

John Picciano CEO

$19.69 million

47 84

1 DNR

Psychiatric Oglethorpe Inc.

DNR

Promise Hospital of Baton Rouge 5130 Mancuso Lane, Baton Rouge 70809 225-490-9600 | www.promise-batonrouge.com

Kiley Cedotal CEO

$17.75 million

54 179

3 2003

Long term Promise Healthcare

Treatment of complex respiratory diagnosis, ventilator and trach weaning/ management, intensive wound care program and long-term acute care

Seaside Health System - Baton Rouge 4363 Convention St., Baton Rouge 70806 225-522-4076 | www.seasidehc.com

Eric Gintoli CEO

$17.58 million

64 168

DNR DNR

Psychiatric Seaside Healthcare LLC

Inpatient services for those requiring hospital care for crisis stabilization

Post Acute Specialty Hospital of Hammond 42074 Veterans Blvd., Hammond 70403 985-902-8148 | www.postacutemedical.com

Jerry Elenbaas CEO

$14.9 million

40 107

DNR 2009

Long term Long-term acute care Specialty Healthcare LLC

AMG Specialty Hospital-Zachary 4601 McHugh Road, Bldg. B, Zachary 70791-5348 225-683-1600 | www.amgzachary.com

Keith Carruth CEO

$12.04 million

16 36

1 2001

Long term AMG Hospitals

Short-term acute care Physician partnership with DNR Our Lady of the Lake Spine surgery (laser, minimally invasive, complex), carpal tunnel surgery, pain Short-term acute care management, radiology, migraine Physician-owned treatment, sleep studies and laboratory

DNR-did not respond NR-not ranked FYE-fiscal year ending To be featured in Business Report's Listmakers, specialty hospitals must have at least one campus providing inpatient care in or near the nine-parish Capital Region. Information came from the individual companies, the Louisiana Department of Health, the American Hospital Directory (www.ahd.com) and other research. The Business Report presumes the provided information is accurate. Information about all 16 hospitals on the list will be available to subscribers on our website. To be considered for next year's list, please contact research@businessreport.com. Published April 9, 2019.

DNR Researched by Alaine Keisling

Healthcare REDEFINED. From day one. Since the day our doors opened, we’ve redefined what it means to care for the health of a community. From performing the city’s first open-heart surgery in 1958 to offering innovative knee-replacement surgery, Baton Rouge General has grown to meet the needs of our community, so that one day, when you need us, we can be there for you.

BRGeneral.org

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A33

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

After-hours and urgent care clinics Ranked by number of local staff providers COMPANY ADDRESS PHONE | WEBSITE

Prev. rank

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

LOCAL PROVIDERS DOCTORS/NP/PA

LOCAL EMPLOYEES LOCATIONS

YEAR EST. LOCALLY LOCATIONS

TYPES OF CARE

Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic aka BROC 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Suite 1000, Baton Rouge 70810 225-924-2424 | www.brortho.com

Trey Williamson CEO

67 33/5/29

367 5

Lake After Hours 10319 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge 70809 225-239-7176 | www.lakeafterhours.com

Steven P. Sellars CEO

61 23/17/21

257 17

Ochsner Health Center-Urgent Care 10310 The Grove Blvd, Baton Rouge 70836 225-761-5200 | www.ochsner.org

Eric McMillen CEO

45 32/10/3

75 10

Patient Plus Urgent Care 7353 Jefferson Highway, Bldg. 2, Baton Rouge 70806 225-442-0500 | www.patientplusuc.com

Rubin Patel CEO

28 2/22/4

84 4

Lake Urgent Care 10319 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge 70809 225-239-7176 | www.lakeurgentcare.com

Graham Tujague, Kevin DiBenedetto Medical directors

18 4/9/5

87 4

Central STAT Care Clinic 11055 Shoe Creek Drive, Central 70818 225-261-4493 | www.statcareclinicbr.com

Melissa Barrett Owner

14 1/12/1

45 2

Urgent care

Baton Rouge Clinic Urgent Care Center 7479 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70808 225-246-9997 | www.batonrougeclinic.com

Clayton Runfalo Medical director

10 10/0/0

17 1

Sprains and broken bones, colds and flu, allergies, sinus infections, severe sore throats, bladder infections, cuts, 2011 stitches, bruises, pediatric care (ages three months and Baton Rouge older) and skin infections

1999 Baton Rouge, Walker, Gonzales, Zachary Ear or eye infections, fever, minor cuts that may need 1999 stitches, possible broken bones, severe sore throat, Baton Rouge, Central, sprains and strains, vomiting/diarrhea, allergies and skin Hammond, Denham Springs, infections Brusly, Zachary, Walker Treating sprains, broken bones and fractures needing x- 1986 ray, lacerations requiring stitches, abscesses, coughs, Baton Rouge, Prairieville, colds and sore throats, urinary pain, earaches, minor Springs, Zachary, burns, rashes, sunburn and heat ailments, fever, flu-like Denham Plaquemine and Central symptoms and mild-to-moderate stomach aches Minor illnesses and injuries, allergies, bronchitis, ear and 2016 eye infections, flu, food poisoning, kidney and bladder Bocage, Southdowns, Mid infections, sore throat, sinusitis, minor cuts and sprains, City and Delmont sections of digital X-rays, physicals, drug testing and vaccinations Baton Rouge Ear or eye infections, fever, minor cuts that may need 2013 stitches, possible broken bones, severe sore throat, St. Amant and sprains and strains, vomiting/diarrhea, allergies and skin Prairieville, Gonzales infections Orthopedic injuries, such as sprains, strains, neck and back pain as well as simple fractures

2011 Baton Rouge

Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad proof #2

DNR-did not respond NR-not ranked NP-nurse practitioners PA-physician assistants To be featured in Business Report's Listmakers, after-hours and urgent care clinics have to have at least one office in the nineparish Capital Region and respond to our requests for information. The Business Report presumes the provided information is accurate. Information about all 9 firms that responded will be available to subscribers on our • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. website. To be considered for next year's list, please contact Alaine Keisling at research@businessreport.com. Published April 9, 2019. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions

Researched by Alaine Keisling

are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2019. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

THINK!

DON’T DRINK

New Orleans East Hospital

STOP UNDERAGE DRINKING

An alcohol, drug abuse and #DON’TDRINK violence prevention program A RC H I T E CT U RA L WO O DWO R K I N G Y

A34

AT I T S F I N E S T

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

gatormillworks.com

(225) 226-2273 | icare.ebrschools.org |

icareebr

JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL PREVENTION SUMMIT ON JUNE 1, 2019 Pennington Conference Center • 8am-12pm • Registration begins at 7am

Outpatient physical therapy providers Custom orthotics

Occupational therapy

Orthopedic rehab

Pediatric therapy

Physical therapy

Speech therapy

Women's health

n DNR

370 5 2001

26 24/2/0

115 7 1963

Chris Purvis, Fabian Roussel, Scott Dickie, Jason Greene Partners

25.5 23/2.5/0

155 10 1999

Woman's Center for Wellness 9637 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge 70809 225-924-8300 | www.womans.org

Robert Burgess Interim CEO

17 10/4/3

76 1 1997

Sage Rehabilitation Hospital Outpatient Services 8313 Picardy Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 225-906-4097 | www.sage-rehab.org

Gayla Bryant VP of rehab operations

16 6/6/4

35 1 2009

COMPANY ADDRESS PHONE | WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

LICENSED PROFESSIONALS PT/OT/SP

60 27/20/13

3,500 3 1900

30 22/5/3

30 7 1977

Baton Rouge General 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 225-763-4000 | www.brgeneral.org

Edgardo Tenreiro CEO

Moreau Physical Therapy 3129 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70808 225-246-2076 | www.moreaupt.com

Al Moreau President

Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic aka Trey Williamson BROC Therapy Services 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Suite 1000, Baton Rouge 70810 CEO 225-924-2424 | www.brortho.com

26 13/13/0

Baton Rouge Physical Therapy - Lake 5222 Brittany Drive, Suite A, Baton Rouge 70808 225-927-9185 | www.brptlake.com

Seth Kaplan President and CEO

Peak Performance Physical Therapy and Fitness 11320 Industriplex Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 225-295-8183 | www.peakphysicaltherapy.com

Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad proof #1

LOCAL EMPLOYEES LOCATIONS YEAR EST.

Aquatic therapy

PREV. RANK

Cardiac/pulmonary

Ranked by local licensed professionals

DNR-did not respond NR-not ranked OT-occupational therapists PT-physical therapists SP-speech pathologists To be featured in Business Report's Listmakers, outpatient physical therapy providers must have at • Please respond e-mailCapital or faxRegion withand your approval minorforrevisions. least one location in the by nine-parish respond to our or requests information. The Business Report presumes the provided information is accurate. Information about all 19 companies on the list will be • AD WILL RUN ASonISourunless or final revisions available to subscribers website.approval To be considered for next year's list, please contact research@businessreport.com. Published April 9, 2019.

OWNER

Al Moreau III

DNR

DNR C. Purvis, F. Roussel, S. n Dickie, J. Greene

n Woman's Hospital

Patrick Mitchell Researched by Alaine Keisling

are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Chapel Services

NURSING REHABILITATION CENTER, LLC

7 2018

RE BSRIL OVNEZ

Ascension Oaks is committed to providing the very best in quality care and superior service. We know that quality resident care is no accident. Our facility is one of Louisiana’s most innovative leaders in quality long term care. This innovative spirit is evidenced by being one of the first facilities in our area to have an in-house nurse practitioner, leading our profession in electronic medical records, or by adding computer systems that are physically interactive and mentally engaging for our residents. Ascension Oaks’ amenities include carpeted private and semi-private suites, private suites with kitchenettes, arts and crafts center, our beautiful in-house chapel, movie cinema, rehabilitation and fitness center, and day rooms ideal for a quiet afternoon show or an evening of cards or dominoes. Our rehabilitation programs offer our residents the opportunity of returning to their greatest degree of independence with many returning to their own homes. Our Physical Therapists help restore range of motion, balance, strength, coordination and functional mobility. Our Speech Therapists evaluate and rehabilitate swallowing disorders, language, written and spoken verbal communication, and verbal memory problems. Our Occupational Therapy team evaluates and provides training in activities of daily living such as feeding, dressing, bathing and meal preparation. At Ascension Oaks, we are committed to Improving Quality of Life. 711 West CornervieW road P.o. Box 370 Gonzales, la 70737 225 644-6581 www.ascensionoaksnursingandrehab.com AO Bat Rg Bus Rep ad.indd 1

Physical, Speech & Occupational Therapy Provided In Our Rehabilitation & Fitness Gym

improving Quality of Life 4/3/18 9:00 AM

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

A35

Newly pregnant?

Text Woman’s your happy news! When you find out you’re pregnant, you don’t have to wait to get answers. Text Woman’s Pregnancy Navigator, an experienced Labor & Delivery nurse, to help you find a doctor, learn what classes to take, understand the importance of breastfeeding and so much more. Let us help you plan the experience you desire. Because your experience matters.

Text (225) 314-8485

NEWS TH E B IG STORY

Another rocky road A GAS TAX bill crafted by a statewide industry group, Louisiana Coalition to Fix Our Roads, and sponsored by Republican Baton Rouge Rep. Steve Carter is the latest proposed solution to the state’s aging, chronically gridlocked transportation infrastructure. It’s also the most ambitious. Not only would the bill gradually increase the state’s gasoline tax, but it would levy fees on electric and hybrid vehicles and redirect a temporary, half-cent sales tax to highway and bridge construction projects. It would also dedicate a portion of the funds to specific, badly needed projects around the state, including a new Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge, a new Calcasieu River bridge in Lake Charles and the completion of Interstate 49 south from Lafayette to New Orleans. Perhaps most significantly, the bill would ensure all new revenue generated by the taxes and fees go only to construction projects—as opposed to operations at the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development—by safeguarding them in a dedicated subfund of the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. Though the bill effectively satisfies every problem opponents have had with past efforts to raise the gas tax, it’s likely to face stiff opposition from a coalition of strange bedfellows: Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who doesn’t want to raise taxes in a year when he’s up for re-election year, and conservative lawmakers, who don’t want to raise taxes ever. That said, at least parts of the bill are supported by influential economic development and

FILE PHOTO

Strange political bedfellows could put the brakes on an ambitious new gas tax bill that appears to appease all previous objections. BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL

business groups, including the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. They understand the state’s economic future is at stake. The public, too, is more desperate than ever for solutions, particularly after the traffic nightmares that snarled the Capital Region in late March, most notably when the La. 1 bridge in Port Allen was partially shut down. “That really got everyone’s attention,” says political consultant Roy Fletcher. “It put even more focus on the importance of getting a new bridge.” In an unrelated effort, Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, and Sen. Rick Ward, R-Port Allen, are proposing a bill that would dedicate some $50 million a year in

BP settlement funds to a handful of highway projects, among them, a new flyover ramp connecting Lobdell in West Baton Rouge Parish across the Intercoastal Waterway to La. 1. The state will receive some $750 million over the next 12 years for economic damage caused by the 2010 oil spill—money that’s separate from the BP funds earmarked for coastal restoration projects—and Ward says it would “be a waste if we didn’t find a way to dedicate the money to badly needed infrastructure projects.” Meanwhile, a five-parish regional taxing authority created by a Ward-sponsored bill during the 2018 session continues its preliminary work of finding ways

to fund a new Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge. Though the coalition hasn’t actually done much in its year-long existence, it has brought together the five parish presidents—literally in the same room—to talk about potential solutions. That may not sound like much but to anyone who knows local politics, it’s huge. So what will come of it all? It’s hard to say. What is certain is that at no time in recent history have so many been so focused on finding solutions to Baton Rouge’s traffic woes. Though 2019 may not be the year when serious legislation is passed, it might be the year that lays the ground work for what will come in 2020. Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

NEWS

REAL ESTATE

Unfulfilled in-filled promise Billed as an ‘urban village’ that would breath life into the Nicholson Corridor, the failed River District is a cautionary tale of what can happen with renaissance developments. BY CAITIE BURKES

THE LONG EXPANSE of land straddling oak-lined Nicholson Drive is by now supposed to be a vibrant, mixed-use development, not only linking LSU to downtown Baton Rouge but also breathing much-needed urban renaissance life into a blighted Nicholson Corridor. At least that’s what we were told when The River District project was announced with great fanfare. The stark-contrast reality is this 42 acres of unfulfilled in-fill promise sits as empty as the day it was purchased almost 15 years ago by Lafayette oilman Michel Moreno, who saw the property seized in 2015 by Goldman Sachs when his $52.4 million loan went into default. The days of the property becoming an “urban village”—as pitched by renown Lafayette architect Steve Oubre not long before Moreno’s financial fortunes reversed—are long over. For the past year, the land has been sitting on the market without any takers. “It’s a giant property and a giant project,” says Ty Gose, the NAI/ Latter & Blum broker representing the seller. “Putting the pieces of the puzzle together takes time.” NAI/Latter & Blum has already begun the jigsaw-like process, 30

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

FIELD OF DREAMS: Bold plans for the River District—an “urban village” linking LSU with downtown Baton Rouge—never came to pass, with the property remaining as empty as the day in which Lafayette oilman Michel Moreno first acquired it.

recently partnering with Lafayettebased Hargroder Real Estate to pair the primary 32-acre property with another 10 acres owned by Carencro businessman Carrol Castille, which encompassed the remaining 25% of the original PUD. Now that all 42 acres are being packaged as one tract, Gose hopes the new marketing technique will spark renewed interest from investors, who might have an easier time developing the land by dealing with just one property owner and transaction instead of multiple. Gose expects to see some transactions in another six months, with a couple projects being finished “within a year or two” of closing. It’s the latest move in the longstalled effort to develop the property, a complex rigamarole that goes back some 15 years. But will a packaging perk be enough to allow one developer to waltz in and execute a vision that benefits the community at large? Despite its prime location, local real estate experts say the property comes with several challenges. For starters, they contend the seller’s high asking price—a negotiable $25-per-square-foot— serves as a major deterrent to

developers. What’s more, the original River District plans—which included office space and apartments—will likely have to change, considering currently oversaturated markets in the local Class A office and multifamily spheres. Once these pieces are accounted for, maybe the rest of the picture can materialize. THE PRICE OF PROGRESS Historically, most problems with developing the corridor have come down to dollars and cents. Problems surfaced in the early 2000s, when Moreno started acquiring the Nicholson Drive land in more than 50 separate transactions for a total of $23 million. Therein lies the first issue, say real estate sources: Moreno paid too much for the land. “The property was quite expensive, one of the more expensive properties in the parish from a developer’s standpoint,” recalls attorney Charles Landry, who represents Commercial Properties, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s real estate arm. “[Moreno] was assembling residential lots, but the houses had a negative value to them because he had to tear them down.” The economy then took a

COLLIN RICHIE

downturn with the 2008 financial crisis, with Moreno later becoming embroiled in several lawsuits. In late 2013, his Lafayette oil business, Green Field Energy Services, went bankrupt. GE Oil and Gas later sued him personally for $27 million. The following year, the bankruptcy liquidating trustee sued him for $230 million. In July 2015, Goldman Sachs sued Moreno for defaulting on a $52.4 million loan, a portion of which had financed his acquisition of the Nicholson Drive property. Less than two years later, the bank took back the land for $20 million and put it on the market in March 2018, where it’s been sitting quietly since. Real estate experts speculate that’s because the bank’s asking price is nearly 40% more than the $18-per-square-foot price Moreno paid when he acquired the property in the mid-2000s. “I think it’s going to be difficult to find a developer who would do it for that price,” says Tom Cook, an independent appraiser with Cook, Moore, Davenport and Associates. One source familiar with local real estate estimates the property is actually worth anywhere from $6- to $8-per-square-foot,

in which case the total lot value FUTURE: CHANGE OF PLANS? would be between nearly $11 milThe original River District vilion and $14.6 million. Instead, the sion looked something like this: seller’s asking price comes out to Locals would’ve hopped on for$45,738,000—three to four times mer Mayor Kip Holden’s proposed the estimated value. 3.4-mile streetcar line to enter the Regarding the price, Gose says mixed-use development, which the development and acquisiwould have housed 1,800 contion are too complex to cover on dominiums and apartments, as the database therefore the top well as a 220-room hotel, 100,000 end price is all that is publicly square feet of office space and anavailable. other 100,000 square feet of retail Others, like David Trusty, a space, including a neighborhood broker with Coldwell Banker grocery store. But now, there are Commercial, attribute the standsome problems with that vision: still to the property being broken No. 1: The streetcar is no longer up in many pieces for a long time. in the picture, since Mayor Sharon “No one would pay for that Weston Broome scrapped the plan broken property,” Trusty said bein favor of a Bus Rapid Transit fore the 42 acres became formally system. available as one tract. Nos. 2-3: There’s already too For Gose, the partnership with much Class A office space, with Hargroder Real Estate ushers in a occupancy rates dropping from new era of possibility. The three 93.5% in 2015 to 85.6% in 2018. contiguous tracts—one on either The multifamily market is also side of Nicholson, and a third overcrowded, with vacancies at on the other side of the railroad 7.8%, well above the 7% national tracks—offer the buyer comaverage. plete control over the entire PUD, Issue Date: 8/28/18 Ad proof #1 No. 4: There’s less need for a grobringing thebynumber ofwith decicery store, since Matherne’s now • Please respond e-mail or fax your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unlessto approval sion-makers down one.or final revisions anchors the nearby Nicholson are received by the close of business today. Gateway development. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Moreover, the River House—a 224-unit multifamily complex on the site of the former Prince Murat Hotel—opened in 2017. Its owners recently refinanced, indicating strong performance for the residential section. However, both its 34,000-square-foot office portion has been for sale or lease for more than a year, while its retail portion remains on hold. All things considered, some plans will have to change. First and foremost, Cook says a strong entertainment anchor that attracts young people is critical. “The bones are there, the potential is there,” says Cook, “they just need an anchor to get it off the ground.” A concert venue or assembly hall had previously been envisioned for the site of the 20acre, decommissioned Central Wastewater Treatment Plant. Cityparish officials are now considering putting the property on the market in a year as is, meaning it would be up to a developer to demolish the facility. Still, many see promise for the corridor, citing its ideal location

in between two of Baton Rouge’s busiest areas. Landry, the attorney who represents BRAF, says the area should build off the success of the Water Campus. He says the corridor’s removal from a historic overlay district should also provide long-term benefits. “If anything, the property has gotten better because of the success of the Water Campus and [Nicholson Gateway],” says Landry, the attorney who represents BRAF. “Those are additional draws in terms of restaurants.” Trusty, who also owns some property in the area, says a new developer would have to be someone who respects the history of the site once nicknamed “the golden corridor.” He says the space needs places where community members can gather, pushing for walkability and affordable housing for young professionals. “It’s kind of like osmosis—a rising tide lifts all ships,” Trusty says. “We still have to reinvent our city, and we’re doing it one zone at a time.”

WEEKDAY MORNINGS

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

NEWS

WORKFORCE

‘It’s not charity’ ANY TIME Bet-R Neighborhood Market owner Cliff Boulden has a job opening, he tries to hire a person with an intellectual or developmental disability—not as a sign of sympathy, but because he sees them as an untapped workforce that’s eager to stock shelves and read labels. Boulden already knows many of them through his involvement with the Greater Baton Rouge Hope Academy, the alma mater of his 25-year-old daughter, Molly, who is developmentally delayed. After Molly aged out of the school a few years ago, Boulden hired her part-time as a way to keep her busy and focused. But since then, he’s also brought on at least a half-dozen of her friends with special needs, who now comprise roughly 15% of his payroll. “If you can find the thing they do well, they’re just as good as anybody else,” Boulden says of the group of mostly 20-somethings, who start out earning minimum wage. “The only drawback is that I can’t hire all of them.” Larger grocery stores like Albertsons and Winn-Dixie are among many nationwide that have integrated people with disabilities into their dwindling workforce. As a small business owner, Boulden says he sees a greater payoff because the closeknit environment allows him to teach workers how to perform tasks other than bagging groceries, maximizing operational efficiency. Next, he wants to teach them how to use the cash registers. Boulden’s recruiting practice comes as the unemployment rate for people with disabilities continues to fall nationally, dropping to 8% in 2018—the lowest it’s been since the government started tracking the metric in 2007. However, the jobless rate for people with disabilities is still more than double the country’s 3.8% unemployment rate, and they still run into challenges when searching for work. With an airtight labor market, 32

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

BY CAITIE BURKES

COURTESY CLIFF BOULDEN

Hiring people with disabilities is helping companies with their bottom line.

WILLING AND ABLE: Bet-R Neighborhood Market has in recent years been increasingly hiring people with disabilities, including, from front, David Mills, Stephen Wascom, Molly Boulden, Emily Dunlap, Charles Reed and Nathan Kirshner.

local companies are beginning to examine this untapped pool of workers—who employers say are capable, focused and friendly—to fill both full- and part-time jobs with historically high turnover rates and vacancies. “It’s not charity. It’s not, ‘We feel sorry for you, here’s a job,’” Boulden says. “We benefit because they’re producing.” THE BOTTOM LINE Companies across a variety of sectors are also hiring people with special needs to help with their bottom lines. For many, that means filling gaps in skills and manpower. The trend is noticeably playing out in the Information Technology sector, where local

firms are looking for workers who can perform highly repetitive jobs that typically have high turnover rates, like coding and data entry. Most people on the autism spectrum, however, flourish under routine, often bringing different—and welcomed—perspective to product development. “We’ve found that sometimes the so-called ‘disabilities’ are strengths when it comes to creative tasks like software design or network problem-solving,” says Mohit Vij, president and CEO of General Informatics, which has some employees who are on the autism spectrum. “We have found them to be amazing individuals who are genuinely bright and very friendly people.” The employees occupy a range

of jobs at the IT services company, writing complex software code, troubleshooting end-user problems and regularly patching networks as well as thousands of devices with security fixes. They’re mostly full-time, salaried workers who are paid “based on the value they add,” Vij says, noting perceived disabilities don’t factor into salary determination. Meanwhile, as the manufacturing sector eyes an aging workforce and looming skills gap, it’s also beginning to consider tapping into the unique workforce. ExxonMobil spokeswoman Stephanie Cargile says the oil and gas giant has dozens of employees with disabilities working a variety of jobs in Baton Rouge, ranging from craft workers to engineers, and they’re looking to hire more. “ExxonMobil is currently exploring NeuroDiversity and the many positive qualities associated with some presentations of autism,” Cargile says, noting the company headquarters recently hosted an industry meeting in Houston focused on the employment of individuals with disabilities. For VICI Precision Sampling, it’s a strictly economical move. The company—which manufactures syringes, Mininert valves and probes—has maintained a partnership with The Arc Baton Rouge for decades, outsourcing a supervised, several-person crew that comes in two to three days a week to assemble and package Mininert valves. Last year, VICI Precision Sampling increased the prices of some of their products in order to give the part-time workers a small pay raise—and the company is still saving money. “It seemed fair to us,” says Administrative Manager Kaye Smith, noting each person on the crew is paid a rate based on the quantity and type of pieces they assemble. “It would cost us more if we had someone else do it fulltime, and we haven’t ever considered hiring anyone else.”

Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad proof #1

People with disabilities are also generally paid lower than those without disabilities. It isn’t clear whether—and if so, how many— of Louisiana’s part-time workers with disabilities earn a subminimum wage, as is the case in some other states. But the median annual earnings of a Louisianian with disabilities, according to the survey, is $22,203, compared to $31,104 for someone who doesn’t have a disability. Susanne Romig, executive director of The Arc Baton Rouge, says people with disabilities also often have problems securing transportation. Her organization remedies the setback by bussing people to state government buildings, Woman’s Hospital and other places to complete temporary work, like janitorial and lawn care services. “The businesses like it because we’re kind of like a temporary staffing agency,” she says. “We provide the labor, and they don’t have to worry about the HR or the background checks.” While the community has slowly embraced the idea of outsourcing to The Arc (and even hiring some of its members) over time, Romig says, Baton Rouge still has a long way to go. Currently, she’s part of a larger group working on an initiative to place people with special needs into local jobs. “It’s just a matter of outlining the simplicity of it and creating a starting point,” she says. “We’re trying to get a couple businesses to become champions, and others will follow.”

Jake Netterville HALL OF FAME LAUREATE

WE COULDN’T AGREE MORE! Amedisys is proud of our long-time friend and dedicated board member Jake Netterville for being inducted into the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Hall of Fame. His lifetime of service to the business community has made Baton Rouge a better place. Jake, you are most deserving of this honor.

Congratulations!

- from your friends at Amedisys

COURTESY ARC BATON ROUGE

BATON ROUGE’S CHALLENGES Despite available resources and growing interest among employers, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities still confront obstacles as job candidates in Baton Rouge. Finding an employer who is receptive to an interview is often the hardest step, says social worker Maggie Giles, program director of Gateway Transition Center, a local nonprofit that places people with autism into jobs. However, Giles is starting to notice a shift in the employer mindset. “I see from employers more of an openness and acceptance of people with disabilities,” Giles says, attributing uptick to increasingly positive media representation of the population. “But when some employers hear the word ‘autism’ or ‘disability,’ they’re worried about providing accommodations.” Accommodations might include offering flexible hours, remote working opportunities or tailored interpersonal communications techniques, Giles says, acknowledging that business owners also worry about potential liabilities. It’s one of the reasons people with cognitive disabilities like autism and Down syndrome face high unemployment rates. They comprise 6.2% of Louisiana’s population but only 2.8% of its workforce—a roughly 45% unemployment rate, according to estimates from the 2017 U.S. Census American Community Survey.

WILLING AND ABLE: For VICI Precision Sampling, outsourcing a group of people with disabilities to assemble and package Mininert valves a few days a week is ultimately less costly than hiring someone to perform the task full-time. The Arc Baton Rouge has been sending crews of part-time workers to the syringe manufacturing company for decades. Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

SPONSORED BY:

Good people become great leaders. Invest in their development.

or a company to stay ahead of the competition, it must develop a more productive, creative, smarter, faster and harder-working team. When employees are hired, they come with their own experience and skill set— but how long before those skills become outdated for the organization? To increase their proficiency and experience, they must continue to expand their knowledge. Developing leaders helps businesses achieve their strategic aims. While this can seem a daunting task, consider the alternative: If they do not continue their education, they will remain stagnant, holding back the company’s overall growth. Good employee development should include technical education, behavioral training, and, of course, leadership skills. Unfortunately, the price for training is often expensive. With a partner like the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, businesses can develop their people while still preserving their bottom line.

“People are an asset. Not investing in their development puts an organization at risk,” says Andrew Tadman, reference coordinator for the library. “We give them free access to the programs, classes and resources they need to learn and grow in everything from technology to soft skill leadership.” The library is the missing piece in the people development puzzle. They provide a wealth of resources and professional courses at no cost. Visit ebrpl.com/ DigitalLibrary to plug in and start learning. In addition to online classes, the library also has a Career Center that provides support for people at every stage of their career. Recently awarded the National Career Development Association’s 2019 “Exemplary Career Center—Nonprofit/ Community Organizations” Award, EBRPL’s Career Center offers seminars, training, professional guidance and extensive resources to identify needs through all stages of a career path. Visit careercenterbr.com to learn more.

CRITICAL SKILLS AND WHERE TO DEVELOP THEM WHETHER CHALLENGING YOUR TEAM OR DEVELOPING YOUR OWN SKILLS, AN EBRPL LIBRARY CARD GIVES ACCESS TO A WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE. LEADING TECH-EVOLUTION: In both efficiency and profit, technology is a critical part of organizational growth. Classes are available through Lynda.com, and Gale Courses to help you and your team be confident in managing the ever-evolving technology on the job. Courses are online and on-demand, so your team can learn on its own schedule. Safari Tech Books is a great source for technology and software ebooks and videos. MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATION: Fuel international growth with bilingual employees. Speed Spanish courses make it simple and Mango Languages and Pronunciator are great tools for quick practical language answers as well as cultural etiquette that matters when crossing borders. DRIVING TRANSFORMATION AND 360-DEGREE THINKING: Your team can be developed to identify and understand problems or opportunities and choose the best course of action. Accel5 is a new peer to peer development platform that delivers high-quality, curated content directly to users in the areas of management and business.

VIEWPOINT

THE BIG PICTURE

Crawford House faces uncertain future

STEPHANIE RIEGEL EARLIER THIS YEAR, I wrote about the demolition of the mid-century modern house on South Acadian Thruway that had been the home of C.B. “Doc” Pennington, and what the community loses when one of its historically and architecturally significant structures is destroyed. Now, an even finer gem from that era—the iconic Crawford House at 1855 Country Club Dr.—faces an uncertain future, and local preservationists are sounding the alarm. But it may already be too late. If you’re unfamiliar with the house, you’re missing out on what is Baton Rouge’s most pristine and best preserved mid-century modern home. Tucked away in the Westdale neighborhood, the 4,200-squarefoot home was designed in 1957 by an internationally renowned architect of the era, Wahl Snyder— who did homes for the Baccardis in Cuba and movie stars in Miami— and it contains countless unique and significant features. Most notable is its lanai—an outdoor living space that partially overlooks the spacious, 1.5-acre grounds and slopes to a swimming pool enclosed with fiberglass screens

REFLECTIONS

“IN CHRIST” IS A GAME CHANGER This feature is a tribute by our publisher in honor of Business Report founder, Rolfe H. McCollister Sr.

supported on turnbuckle tensioned gables. Besides being architecturally significant—the home has been featured in numerous national publications—it is important because of who it belonged to: W. Hamilton Crawford, an architect himself, who designed and built thousands of small, affordable, ranch-style homes throughout south Louisiana—and beyond— during the booming post-war years. Crawford, and, later his widow, lived in the house until the 1990s. When it went on the market in 1997, Ann and Andrew Singleton jumped at the chance to buy it. “It was my dream house my entire life,” says Ann Singleton, 73, who preserved the home’s mid-century modern character during their two decades of ownership. In recent years, however, her husband has gotten sick. They can’t keep up the pool or fix the things that break. The home is in need of some serious TLC, though it is still structurally sound and chock full of architectural marvels. As if by providence, a home builder knocked on their door in January. He introduced himself as Jason Laubscher and said the home had long been the dream house of him and his wife, Whitney. He told Singleton he wanted to buy it and live there with his family, she says. He offered her $800,000 cash, no appraisal, no agents, no inspection. Within a couple of days, she agreed to a deal that sounded too good to be true—in large part, she says, because he promised her he loved the house as much as she did. Baton Rouge being what it is, it

didn’t take long for word to get out that Laubscher had a purchase agreement on the property. In mid-February, someone posted on Nextdoor.com that the buyer planned to demolish the house and subdivide the property into four lots. The post was later removed, but Singleton was suspicious. She texted Laubscher. He denied the rumors in a text message on Feb. 20, saying, “… this same situation arose when we rehabbed an old Sears Roebuck home on Richland Avenue. … People started saying we were going to subdivide it and build new homes. We saved it. … We try to preserve the area … Right now we’re looking at this the same way. I … LOVE this area and your home. …” Fears assuaged, the Singletons went forward with the sale on March 15. The next week, Laubscher brought a contractor through. Following the visit, he texted Singleton with some bad news—the contractor’s estimate to fix up the house was $500,000, minimum. It might not be possible at that price to save the dream house after all, his message suggested. Singleton was livid and says she “felt like she’d been duped.” She got even more upset when, days later, she found out that literally moments after she left the closing, Jason and Whitney Laubscher sold the house to Jason Laubscher’s development company, Magnolia Home Building and Renovation, and Lseymour LLC, owned by James Seymour. Court records show the documents were filed just moments apart. Laubscher was traveling and

EPHESIANS 1:3-14 and the prayer following through verse 23 sets ones feet upon the rock. Being in Christ means you are “one with” all that He is and has. Notice the three couplets of truth: 1) You can be chosen in Him and redeemed through His blood. (This speaks to your value and His calling); 2) You can be holy and blameless before Him and forgiven through His blood according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (This speaks of God’s goodness to make us His inheritance); and 3). One can be adopted through Christ to the Father to reign, and

unavailable to explain his actions or detail his plans. Seymour is vague and cannot explain the curious sales transactions. He at once professes his “passion” for the house and insists both partners want to “make the property fabulous again.” But he won’t say whether the “property” includes the house, or just the spacious acreage. Nor will he promise the house won’t be torn down because, he says, “I don’t know at this point what the plans are.” “No one wants to see it torn down,” he goes on to say. “But it takes a lot of money … and we have a business to run.” He says they want to make something work for the whole community but that they need help. Investors? Tax incentives? A buyer to take this historic home off their hands? Perhaps, Seymour says, who adds he wants to work with the community. In recent days, Preserve Louisiana has gotten involved. So has the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation. They’re meeting with Seymour and Laubscher on April 22, hoping to convince them save something that is unique to Baton Rouge and gives it character. It’s too soon to say whether they’ll be successful. But it’s clear that those who care about the Crawford House and understand why saving it matters will have to find way to make it worthwhile for the new owners to do the right thing. They have to put up more than passionate arguments. They’ll have to come forward with a financially viable solution.

are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. (This speaks to the authority and the His power that He gives to His own). So, if you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) you are a chosen—redeemed, holy and blameless, forgiven, adopted son, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, child of God. The prayer in verses 15-23 is a worthy one to pray so that God can give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so the eyes of your heart can see. When you see it and receive it; being “in Christ” is a game changer! What an identity! —Chaplain (COL) Jeff Mitchell, State Chaplain, Louisiana Army National Guard

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

VIEWPOINT

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Voters deserve the taxing truth

JR BALL U.S. REP. RALPH ABRAHAM and Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone—the two Republican’s vying to become governor—are wrong: Taxes in Louisiana are not too high. Say what? You read that right: these two smart, ultra-successful men are, at best, stretching the truth by dumbing down their campaign rhetoric on taxes. Why do they do it? Probably because most of you also believe—wrongly—that taxes are too high. Here’s the truth: Whether you’re talking about people or corporations—which are people, too, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court—Louisiana is home to one of the lowest effective tax burdens in America. In fact, when it comes to the combined state and local tax burden, both per capita and as a percentage of income, Louisiana checks in at No. 45 on a Tax Foundation list where, if paying taxes is not your thing, it’s good to be darn near the bottom. This state’s effective tax burden is 7.6%—which, coincidentally, is exactly the same as Texas—with only Tennessee (7.3%) as well as South Dakota and Wyoming (each 7.1%) coming in lower. What we get in return for our tax dollars is a legitimate debate, but that has exactly zero to do with the question or whether taxes are too high. Honestly, that’s an argument over spending and the folks we elect to office. But what about the nation’s near-highest sales tax rate? What’s the deal with all those LABI studies providing four-color graphic 36

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

evidence of the tax beatings that business takes in this state? And the coup de grâce: Explain Louisiana’s routinely dismal business climate rankings? Wonk alert: This is where life, the numbers and the truth get complicated. It is accurate to say Louisiana has mighty high tax rates—and in many cases, like sales taxes and a handful of corporate taxes, among the highest in America. But—and this is a mighty big but—the state also has an inordinate number of exemptions and other workarounds which drastically reduce both the individual and corporate tax tab. In plain-speak, Louisiana’s tax rates are high, but what we actually pay is not. To get a sense of how many gimmicks have been concocted to right the wrong of high tax rates, consider this: Louisiana, according to a study from the Progressive Policy Institute, has between 450 and 500 of what it calls “tax expenditures”—a fancy way of saying “tax breaks.” Only the state of Washington has more. For example, Louisiana’s way-high combined state and local sales tax rate— around 10%, depending on where one lives or shops— is essentially cut in half on many purchases thanks to at least 17 business and consumer exemptions of the state’s take. On a far greater dollars-andcents scale, Louisiana is one of a select few states—along with Texas—that secures many billions of dollars in capital-intensive manufacturing projects. Given that we’re largely talking about the petrochemical and the oil and gas industries, one can reasonably argue this sector is the most important when it comes to Louisiana’s economy. According to the most recent “Location Matters” study by the Tax Foundation, the state is 16th in the effective tax rate for these corporations, with an effective

rate of 8.5% for mature firms and a nation’s-best 0.1% for new projects. Many of the states faring better on the list do minimal business in this sector so those rates are pretty much irrelevant. In contrast, the much-compared Texas comes in at No. 23, with effective tax rates of 9.9% for mature firms and 19.8% for new ones. Take a guess at what gives Louisiana a huge tax-rate edge in the capital-intensive game? Yep, the Industrial Tax Exemption Program … otherwise known as ITEP. Think of it this way: residential property owners get the nation’s highest homestead exemption to offset high millage rates; big industry gets ITEP. Simply put, ITEP is the reason why Louisiana has the country’s lowest effective tax rate for new projects. But—and it’s another big one—the Tax Foundation, when calculating these rates, only considers what it terms “by-right” exemptions, meaning the tax break is a lock. With Gov. John Bel Edwards changing the game in 2016 and Baton Rouge rejecting a pair of ExxonMobil requests earlier this year, ITEP is “by-right” no more. Consequently, when you run the taxing numbers absent ITEP, look for the Tax Foundation to drop Louisiana from No. 1 for new capital-intensive manufacturing projects to roughly No. 44. Ouch. Which brings us to the state’s less than desirable business climate rankings. Without question the craziness of Louisiana’s corporate tax system—though not necessarily the actual amount of taxes paid—does have a significant impact. The tax code tends to knock Louisiana to the tail end of middle of the pack, but what drives us toward the bottom is insufficient funding for higher education and infrastructure— especially in the Tax Foundation rankings.

Louisiana is home to one of the lowest effective tax burdens in America.

When it comes to oft-cited lists put out by Forbes and CNBC, the anchors become poverty levels, crime rates, the generally poor health of our population and woeful K-12 education outcomes. In short, what’s actually being paid in business taxes is a factor, but that’s not why our business climate is, to be kind, pitiful. All of which is why it’s so important for people who know better—like Abraham and Rispone—to ditch the campaign garbage and start speaking hard truths to the electorate. It’s nonsense like saying we pay too much in taxes—and voters believing it—that enables us to ignore this state’s many and very real problems. Until we acknowledge our problems, we’ll never begin the process of actually solving them. Now, before Edwards and his supporters get too giddy, it’s equally disingenuous for the governor to be running around screaming that taxes have been cut on his watch when, in truth, the exact opposite has happened. Shading the truth is how candidate Edwards can allay taxand-spend fears by claiming an ability to solve the state’s looming budget crisis without having to raise taxes. Once elected, however, Gov. Edwards, despite serving in the House and voting for bills which led to the very fiscal mess in need of solving, moans the problems are far worse than anyone could have known, and higher taxes are the only answer. Louisiana will never be anything other than “better than Mississippi or West Virginia” until its leaders quit making false promises on the campaign trail and then kicking the scores of problematic cans down the road once in office. The issue of this state’s ridiculously byzantine tax code is too vital to Louisiana’s future. It needs to be fixed—and simplified—like yesterday. We, the people, deserve better. And, surely, the candidates can do better.

VIEWPOINT

GUEST COLUMN

Aunt Becky isn’t the real college scandal

LUCAS SPIELFOGEL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BATON ROUGE YOUTH COALITION

I DIDN’T NEED a “Full House” character to show me the college admissions deck is stacked. For seven years I have been the executive director of the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition, an organization that since 2009 has helped public school youth—whom we call “Fellows”—enter and persist in college at nationally-recognized rates. Among BRYC’s success stories are dozens of Fellows who have graduated from, currently attend or have earned admission to colleges as prestigious as those under investigation. I’m also an independent college consultant, mainly to children of BRYC donors. So far I’ve had 10 clients. Nine got into their top-choice schools; the other went to Princeton instead of Stanford. And before all this, I was one of my clients. I attended Yale University, which is at the center of the largest college admissions scandal ever. Nothing surprises me about Aunt Becky-gate, but the sensational headlines distract from systemic unfairness in highly selective college admissions. It’s easy to understand how material privilege disproportionately favors wealthy families like mine in this process. An exorbitant tuition is a small price to pay after eighteen years of private school, music lessons, summer programs, test prep and other investments in curating the perfect college applicant. This is to say nothing of legacy applicants, who are admitted at five times the rate of non-legacies, or applicants

accepted because their parents donated or likely will. My “ticket” was rowing, a sport one almost has to be affluent to compete in, as it is mainly offered at prohibitively expensive prep schools. My grades and SAT scores were just strong enough for the tailwind of privilege to push me to Yale under the illusion I was especially deserving. This is the more insidious injustice you’ll find at selective colleges: the widespread belief among wealthy, white students—who have been buoyed by resources and favors at every turn—that they’ve earned everything that others could have if they had just worked harder. Among those “others” are BRYC Fellows. They don’t work hard. They work magic. They traverse minefields for chances at postsecondary success and long-term economic mobility. Each year about a third of our senior class will apply to the 50-to-60 “highly selective”colleges whose admission rates are south of 33%. Each year I ask myself the same question: How could any student navigate this process alone? It demands far too much even of its well-heeled applicants, who don’t have to complete the FAFSA, CSS PROFILE and IDOC, or contribute to their families financially, or compete with hundreds of peers

for counselors’ attention. The selective college application process has gotten out of hand generally, but its many burdens fall hardest on the marginalized youth that top schools are in search of. Even if the claim that low-income youth of color have an admissions edge were true, students would have to survive the application process to redeem that imaginary token. Why care about admissions fairness at a handful of selective colleges? It’s about opportunity cost. A 2017 study on college access and social mobility showed that elite college attendance has little impact on well-off students’ economic prospects. They stay rich regardless. For lower-income students, top college degrees translate to earnings on par with those of wealthy classmates. Elite colleges could be “engines of social mobility” for students like those BRYC serves, but so few gain admission. In fact, not one such college cracked this study’s top 10 for “college mobility rate,” a new statistic measuring how well a school propels its lower-income students socioeconomically. In this way, elite college admissions perpetuates income inequality along racial lines, despite its many recent efforts to expand access and affordability

MAKING AN IMPACT Baton Rouge Youth Coalition by the numbers… 296

total alumni (college students and graduates)

188

total high school students

four-year college persistence rate (national 80% average for lower-income students is 14%) total college persistence rate (includes four-year, 88% two-year and technical college attendance)

95%

average four-year college matriculation rate

to traditionally underrepresented students. Change is happening, but too slowly. BRYC works from the ground up, equipping high-achieving, under-resourced teens with the tools and mentorship needed to enter and excel in college. More than 80% of our 296 alumni are on track to completing or have graduated from 63 four-year colleges across 19 states, and our “persistence” rate jumps to 90% when factoring in two-year and technical college attendance. The 76 members of our 2019 class are on pace to similar and greater heights, having earned admission to 145 postsecondary institutions as they await even more decisions. In 2019-2020 BRYC will support 250 high schoolers and nearly 400 alumni. Ten years in, we’re just getting started. So are our college graduates like Dominique Ricks. Effective July 1, he will become the first black principal in Middleton, Wisconsin, after emerging as the top choice from a 24-applicant pool in which he was the youngest at 26. Bribery grabbed headlines, but the scandal is not the story. The story is about the steep price thousands of youth pay when we block them from equal opportunity. Source: Baton Rouge Youth Coalition

Where they’ve gone…

Where they’re going…

BRYC alumni attend or have graduated from 63 postsecondary institutions, among them highly selective colleges like:

BRYC 2019 class members have been admitted to more than 150 postsecondary institutions, among them highly selective colleges like:

• Boston College • Brown University • Colby College • Columbia University • Emory University • Grinnell College • New York University • Pomona College • Stanford University • Tulane University • University of Chicago • University of Miami • University of Virginia • Vanderbilt University • Wesleyan University

• American University • Brown University • Emory University • Georgia Institute of Technology • Georgetown University • Grinnell College • Middlebury College • New York University • Northeastern University • Stanford University • Tulane University • University of Miami • University of Southern California • University of Virginia • University of Washington in St. Louis • Wesleyan University

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

YOUR BUSINESS

SPECIAL PROMOTION

Business Awards & Hall of Fame MORE THAN 500 people joined the celebration on March 20 for the Baton Rouge Business Awards & Hall of Fame banquet. Business Report President & CEO Julio Melara and Chairman Rolfe McCollister Jr., and Mayor Sharon Weston Broome presented the awards to this yearâ€™s honorees: Kenny Nguyen, CEO, ThreeSixtyEight (Young Businessperson of the Year); John Engquist, executive chairman and director, H & E Equipment (Businessperson of the Year); Martin Ecosystems (Company of the Year/fewer than 100 employees); and DSLD Homes (Company of the Year/100 or more employees). Jake Netterville, chairman emeritus of Postlethwaite Netterville and E.J. Ourso, entrepreneur (posthumous) were named Hall of Fame Laureates. The event was hosted by Business Report and Junior Achievement, with presenting sponsors Capital One Bank, Franklin, and Hannis T. Bourgeois. 1. Attendees inside the Crowne Plaza ballroom for the 2019 Business Awards & Hall of Fame event 2. Most Reverend Michael Duca, bishop, Diocese of Baton Rouge; Nicole Waguespack, Martin Ecosystems (Company of the Year/fewer than 100 employees); and John Engquist, H & E Equipment (Businessperson of the Year) 3. Members of the Kids Orchestra entertain guests as they arrive. 4. Saun Sullivan, DSDL Homes (Company of the Year/100 or more employees), Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel, and Kenny Nguyen (Young Businessperson of the Year) 5. Julio Melara, Jesse Arboneaux, E.J. Ourso Family Foundation (Hall of Fame Laureate) and Jake Netterville (Hall of Fame Laureate) 6. Craig Chumney, Franklin (sponsor); Monica Zumo, Hannis T. Bourgeois (sponsor); Paula Dawson, Junior Achievement; and Patrick Olinde, Capital One (sponsor) 7. Congressman Garret Graves and his wife, Carissa 8. Patrick Mulhearn, Camille Conaway, and Nial Patel 9. William Silvia and Dr. Rob Delarosa 38

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

9 Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

BUSINE SS

R E PORT

LEADERSHIP A C A D E M Y

What will differentiate the winners from the losers won’t be technology or capital but leadership and a willingness to learn. —JOHN CHAMBERS

LEARN CONNECT GROW

This EXCLUSIVE Program is only for rising executives or small business owners who want to take their leadership to the next level.

Apply today for Fall 2019 at www.BRLeadershipAcademy.com

PAST TOP CEO GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE: TODD GRAVES, CEO- RAISING CANE’S; ROLAND TOUPS, CEO- TURNER INDUSTRIES; CHRIS MEAUX, CEO- WAITR; SEAN REILLY, CEO- LAMAR ADVERTISING

+ MORE!

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

YOUR BUSINESS

COMPANY NEWS PosiGen CEO Tom Neyhart and Mayor Sharon Weston Broome

Baton Rouge-based REGYMEN Fitness has officially opened its newest fitness studio to serve a growing client base in Ascension Parish. The 4,300-square-foot Prairieville building located at 38538 Duplessis Road will offer more than 90 workouts per month. The first Baton Rouge location opened in March 2018, and the company has added two more in the city since then.

Nur Medical Spa

COMPANY NEWS Neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Davis and Internal Medicine Physician Dr. Hema Edupuganti have opened Nur Medical Spa at 4309 Bluebonnet Blvd. and are expanding their medical practices to include unique healing options. The focus of the spa will be total wellness, including body improvement through weight loss and lifestyle changes as well as anti-aging treatments and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company is expanding with a new administrative office located in Topeka, Kansas. The need for an added service center and improved technologies resulted due to the growing influx of new business at the Baton Rouge home office.

Investar Bank

Investar Bank recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest branch at 8759 Sullivan Road in Central. The branch is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The branch manager is Brandon Walker. AM Best has upgraded the credit ratings of Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. AM Best upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to A from A- of Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. The outlook of these credit ratings has been revised to stable from positive. The ratings reflect Louisiana Farm Bureau’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

the company’s teams utilize their vast skill sets to provide safety measures and global medical assistance. The venture comes as PRIME looks to expand on a global scale.

PosiGen, a provider of renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for low-to-moderate income households, has opened a Baton Rouge location at 10935 Perkins Road, Suite C. The company’s “Solar For All” mission aims to makes solar and increased energy efficiency available to all homeowners, regardless of income or credit score. The Baton Rouge office is starting off with a sales team of 10 employees. The future plan is to base their operations center in Baton Rouge, creating more than 30 jobs. PRIME Occupational Medicine has entered into a strategic alliance with International SOS, the world’s largest medical and security risk management company. International SOS provides health and security solutions for organizations that have employees across the world, and

SASSO Agency has been named Agency of Record for GoAuto Insurance to help support the company’s upcoming multi-state expansion efforts. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, GoAuto is one of Louisiana’s largest automobile insurance companies advertising in all major markets in the state. In addition to Louisiana, GoAuto has multiple locations in Nevada, including Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City. Walker High School administrators, teachers, students and local business leaders participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in March to celebrate four businesses opening locations on the new and expanded campus at 9677 Florida Blvd. in Walker. The four businesses include Papa John’s, Neighbors Federal Credit Union, Nike Apparel, and WalkOn’s Conference Center. All four Walker High School

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

YOUR BUSINESS

COMPANY NEWS

businesses will be jointly operated and managed by students and professional business professionals, and all four businesses are open to on-campus and off-campus customers. ACCREDITATION CERTIFICATION The UniFirst Corporation industrial laundry facility in Baton Rouge has been awarded TRSA’s Hygienically Clean Food Safety certification status for its cleaning and servicing of work apparel for food-related industries. AWARDS HONORS Two companies from Baton Rouge were honored recently for their business success and community leadership as part of the inaugural class of Louisiana Growth Leaders. The businesses were announced at the annual Spotlight Louisiana reception hosted by Louisiana Economic Development. Spotlight Louisiana is a recognition and networking reception for small businesses in the LED Growth Network. The following Baton Rouge businesses and their

principal executives were cited as 2019 Louisiana Growth Leaders: ITinspired, Robert Wise; and Pod Pack International, Tom Martin. La Capitol Federal Credit Union has been designated as one of 2019’s “Best of the Best” credit unions by MemberXP, a credit union member experience measurement platform. La Cap won the honor in three categories this year: Outstanding Member Experience, Outstanding Member Transaction Experience and Outstanding Member Loan Experience.

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana

graduate nursing program was named nursing school of the year in 2018. This is the ninth time Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge has been named Hospital of Year, and the seventh time in Gonzales.

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and St. Elizabeth Hospital, now operating as Our Lady of the Lake Ascension, have each been named Hospital of the Year in the large and small hospital categories, respectively, by the Louisiana State Nurses Association and the Louisiana Nurses Foundation. Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University’s undergraduate nursing program was also recognized as the best in the state. FranU’s

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana at The NeuroMedical Center has been named 2019 Hospital of the Year in the 60 beds or fewer category by the Louisiana Nurses Foundation. This marks the fourth time in five years that The Spine Hospital has

earned this award for demonstrating excellence in nursing and patient care. Kelli Bondy Troutman, director of communications and community relations at LUBA Workers’ Comp, has Troutman been named a Great Futures Honoree by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge. Troutman was identified for her professional, personal and philanthropic involvement in the

Highlight the women who make a difference in your business.

2019

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

LOGO

UR? NEM REPROVI EATIORE RFERFERNAT te aruptatur Ut arum re sinvel ipis exerorio volorro dese sus, sunt doluptaqui quaepudit Id eum haritiis quamus et porit aut plibus. dellori volut ipidem.

QUAM? UPIS ET AUT OPTATECTO ni venihiciis Ra dolupta tibeatem dolore natem nonestem demporro ipiet harum dentia ostissi, se a sumquiam nis si del magnati pedio. voluptat ipsundi quatempore

CARMEN R. AUSTIN Position in Company

Company Name

with • Please respond by e-mail or fax or final revisions • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval today. are received by the close of business and may be subject to production fees. • Additional revisions must be requested NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE Fax 225-926-1329 Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 •

Inc. 2019. All rights

Position in Company

Company Name

UR? NEM REPROVI EATIORE RFERFERNAT te aruptatur Ut arum re sinvel ipis exerorio volorro dese sus, sunt doluptaqui quaepudit Id eum haritiis quamus et porit aut plibus. dellori volut ipidem.

EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

LOGO

EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

LOGO

Inc. 2019. All rights

Company Name

LOGO

CARMEN R. AUSTIN QUAM? UPIS ET AUT OPTATECTO ni venihiciis Ra dolupta tibeatem dolore natem nonestem demporro ipiet harum dentia ostissi, se a sumquiam nis si del magnati pedio. voluptat ipsundi quatempore

Position in Company

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

rights reserved. Louisiana Business, Inc. 2019. All

CARMEN R. AUSTIN

EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

with • Please respond by e-mail or fax or final revisions • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval today. are received by the close of business and may be subject to production fees. • Additional revisions must be requested NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

LOGO

UR? NEM REPROVI EATIORE RFERFERNAT te aruptatur Ut arum re sinvel ipis exerorio volorro dese sus, sunt doluptaqui quaepudit Id eum haritiis quamus et porit aut plibus. dellori volut ipidem.

EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

Company Name

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

dellori volut ipidem.

UR? NEM REPROVI EATIORE RFERFERNAT te aruptatur Ut arum re sinvel ipis exerorio volorro dese sus, sunt doluptaqui quaepudit Id eum haritiis quamus et porit aut plibus.

Position in Company

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

QUAM? UPIS ET AUT OPTATECTO ni venihiciis Ra dolupta tibeatem dolore natem nonestem demporro ipiet harum dentia ostissi, se a sumquiam nis si del magnati pedio. voluptat ipsundi quatempore

CARMEN R. AUSTIN

QUAM? UPIS ET AUT OPTATECTO ni venihiciis Ra dolupta tibeatem dolore natem nonestem demporro ipiet harum dentia ostissi, se a sumquiam nis si del magnati pedio. voluptat ipsundi quatempore

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

Company Name

with • Please respond by e-mail or fax or final revisions • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval today. are received by the close of business and may be subject to production fees. • Additional revisions must be requested NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

Position in Company

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

CARMEN R. AUSTIN

with • Please respond by e-mail or fax or final revisions • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval today. are received by the close of business and may be subject to production fees. • Additional revisions must be requested NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

For more information, contact Kerrie Richmond at 421-8154 or krichmond@businessreport.com

Ad proof #1 Issue Date: 05.07.19 your approval or minor revisions.

Issue coming May 7, 2019!

with • Please respond by e-mail or fax or final revisions • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval today. are received by the close of business and may be subject to production fees. • Additional revisions must be requested NUMBER • ANY TYPOS ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CARMEN R. AUSTIN Position in Company

Company Name

QUAM? UPIS ET AUT OPTATECTO ni venihiciis Ra dolupta tibeatem dolore natem nonestem demporro ipiet harum dentia ostissi, se a sumquiam nis si del magnati pedio. voluptat ipsundi quatempore UR? NEM REPROVI EATIORE RFERFERNAT te aruptatur Ut arum re sinvel ipis exerorio volorro dese sus, sunt doluptaqui quaepudit Id eum haritiis quamus et porit aut plibus. dellori volut ipidem. EXERORIO? UT ARUM RE SINVEL IPIS mos Et ut officienda dero il experchitate eum maio. Id doluptat dolupta tusdae por Nem reprovidel haritiis dellori volut ipidem. omnis. eatiore rferfernatur accaturio

LOGO

Business Report now offers the perfect opportunity to salute the women who lead the way in the Capital City. Honor them through this special section in our May 7 issue!

While CUNA utilized this date to compare it to local banks in each credit union’s area, the end result showed that Wymar Federal Credit Union saves their members an average of $699 per household by choosing them as a financial partner over a bank. APPOINTMENTS MEMBERSHIPS

Cador

Calato

Garafola

Wymar Federal Credit Union

community and her passion for Wymar Federal Credit Union making the city a great place to recently ranked third in CUNA live and work. At LUBA Workers’ Benefits of Membership Award in Comp, Troutman oversees the dothe “$100 Million to $1 Billion in nations and support for more Assets” category. During the 2019 than 60 local nonprofits each GAC Conference in Washington, year. As an honoree, Troutman D.C., many credit unions across raised at least $2,000 for the Boys Issue Date: 4-9-19 Ad 2 proof #3the nation submitted their fees, & Girlsrespond Clubbyofe-mail Greater Baton rates and dividends in 2018 to • Please or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILLahead RUN AS ISof unless final revisions CUNA to see just how much Rouge theapproval Marchor 23 are received by the close of business today. gala. money they save their members. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

Kovich

Laborde

Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area has announced the addition of Roger Cador, Damian Calato, Mandi Garafola, John Kovich and Mathew Laborde to its board of directors. Cador is a fundraiser for the athletic department at Southern University,

and a long-term care specialist with Magnolia Wealth Strategies, a MassMutual firm. Garafola has worked for IberiaBank since 2002 and is currently senior vice president in the Baton Rouge private client group. Kovich is a chemical engineer who held several executive management positions at ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Chemical Plant before retiring in 2014. Laborde is a commercial real estate agent and owner of Elifin Realty. The BREC Foundation announced the election of several new members to its board of directors, including Will Chadwick, Elifin Realty; Mary-Patricia Wray, Top Drawer Strategies; James Gilmore, Council on Aging; James Dutschke, NFP Corporate Benefits; Melvin Hardnett, Geaux Limeaux; Blane Clark, Kean Miller; John Grinton, Keogh, Cox & Wilson; and Roy Heidelberg, Public Administration Institute, LSU. The 2019 Officers are Scott Gaudin, The First-A National Banking Association, president; Al Moreau, vice president; Bobby

Luxury on the Lakes at the Crescent Condominiums

THIS CONDO FOR SALE! For more info, call 225.766.7630 THIS LUXURIOUS CRESCENT AT UNIVERSITY LAKES CONDOMINIUM features 2 bedrooms, 2 baths on the third floor with excellent views of the lakes and pond. Enjoy a spacious kitchen with custom cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, private balcony with gas grill and custom floors in bedrooms. State-of-the-art fitness center and clubhouse, resort style pool, a 15-acre recreational area with lake and jogging trail. Safety is paramount with controlled gate access and 7-day evening security. There is on-site management as well as maintenance and concierge services.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019

BREC Foundation

Varnau, Hannis T. Bourgeois, treasurer; Chris Adams, secretary and Mike Anderson, community volunteer, immediate past president.

Boykin

Aneatra Boykin has been elected chair of the board of directors of Mid City Redevelopment Alliance. An attorney with the Louisiana

Department of Transportation and Development, Boykin has served on the Mid City board since 2015. Joining Boykin on the board are new members Nissan Ballard, owner of the Grooming Parlor Barber Spa, Creative English owner Jeff English and Yolanda Poullard, senior talent acquisition consultant with Cox Communications. The Louisiana Association

of Business and Industry announced its officers and board of directors for 2019, along with the members of the 2019 LABI Emerging Leaders Council, a group of distinguished entrepreneurs and young professionals. Officers include: Sonia Pérez, president of southeast states for AT&T, chair; Tim Stine, CEO of Stine Lumber Company, immediate past chair; Terry Baugh, chief financial officer of D&J Construction Company Inc., vice chair; Tom O’Neal, president of O’Nealgas Inc., secretary; and Christel Slaughter, CEO, SSA Consultants, treasurer. Serving as chair of the Emerging Leaders Council is Jim Raines, partner, Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson LLP. Fourteen LABI members are new to the board of directors, and 19 leaders were re-nominated for another term. That combined list is as follows: Andree Begneaud, Greg Bowser, J. H. Campbell, Kim Carver, Michael Echols, Cassie Felder, Felicia Frederick, Ryan Girouard, George Guidry, Mike Hall, David Huval, Steve Jordan, Christopher Kinsey, Jay

Lapeyre, Jamey LeBlanc, Brad McFarland, Danny Montelaro, Jody Montelaro, Spencer Murphy, Mark Myrtue, Reldon Owens, Fred Palmer, Sonia Pérez, Todd Perry, Arthur Price, Paula Ramsey, Phillip Rozeman, Christel Slaughter, Matt Stuller, Kelli Bondy Troutman, Rusty Vincent, Robert Webb and William Windham. The 18 new members of the 2019 LABI Emerging Leaders Council include: Cody Bauman, Anita Begneaud, Kia Bickham, Anita Byrne, Eric Engemann, Marshall Ferrell, Lance Glaser, Dustin Granger, Brent Guthrie, Canaan Heard, Ron Hemelt, Trent Hill, Riley Kennedy, Justin Landry, Mike Nizzo, Dustin Puryear, Meagan Shields and Stephen Smith. The board of commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge has elected new officers for 2019. Officers Stevens elected include Kevin Stevens, East Baton Rouge

2019

BEST

S R O T C DO IS SUE C

201 E N U J G MIN

TO ADVERTISE, contact Erin Pou at 225.421.8147 or erinp@225batonrouge.com 44

BUSINESS REPORT, April 9, 2019 | BusinessReport.com

YOUR BUSINESS

COMPANY NEWS

Parish, president; Clint Seneca, Iberville Parish, secretary; and Bob Kelly, East Baton Rouge Parish, treasurer.

Louisiana’s Board of Commerce & Industry. Jones has served on the board since he was appointed by former Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2008. He previously served the board as vice chairman and chairman of the Rules Committee, and this is his second time to serve as chairman of the board.

Dr. Steven Heymsfield, a scientist at LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Heymsfiels was recently appointed to the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. USDA and HHS announced the appointment of 20 nationally recognized experts to serve on the committee, who will review scientific evidence on topics and questions identified by the departments and will provide a report on their findings to the secretaries. Their review, along with public and agency comments, will help inform USDA and HHS’ development of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Gloria Moncada has been named chair and David Foster has been named vice chair of the Louisiana MidMoncada Continent Oil and Gas Association Board of Directors. Moncada is the first female chair of the organization in its 97-year history. She is the plant manager for the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery, where she began her career in 1992 as a chemical engineer. Throughout her career, Moncada has worked in business, planning and leadership roles in refineries across the globe. She previously served as LMOGA’s vice chair.

Jerry Jones, a partner at Bradley Murchison Kelly & Shea, has been elected chairman of

You work late. So do we. FAST, RELIABLE INTERNET 25 GIGS OF ONLINE BACKUP 24/7 BUSINESS-CLASS SUPPORT

99 mo*

50 Mbps Internet

with a 3-year agreement

SWITCH TODAY. Call (225) 366 - 6485 or visit coxbusiness.com *Offer valid until 4/31/19. Minimum service term, early termination fees, equipment, installation fees, taxes, and other restrictions may apply. See coxbusiness.com. © 2019 Cox Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital

Ingrid Payne, senior vice president of member services at La Capitol Federal Credit Union, has been elected vice Payne president of Women in Management. She previously served as treasurer and secretary of the group, and has been a WIM member for eight years.

PHILANTHROPY GRANTS MAPP has committed $200,000 to the Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital playhouses in the garden of the new freestanding hospital. Since 2013, MAPP has hosted an annual golf tournament benefiting the Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and the proceeds were dedicated to these playhouses.

Congratulations Morgan Stanley is proud to congratulate Jay Rousseau for being named to Forbes’ 2019 list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors. Being named to the list is a testament to your experience, professionalism and dedication to your clients. Thank you for the work you do each day and for carrying forward the culture of excellence at our firm. Jay Rousseau Executive Director | Financial Advisor 400 Convention Street, Suite 400 Baton Rouge, LA 70802 225-237-3110 jules.j.rousseau@morganstanley.com Source: Forbes.com (Feb. 2019). America’s Best-In-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client ’s experience. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor its Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors pay a fee to Forbes or SHOOK Research in exchange for the ranking. For more information: www.SHOOKresearch.com. © 2019 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

MECH

JOB INFORMATION 9533958 / 604635623

PROJ. NO.:

JOB NAME:

WM Mkt Chin Rousseau LocAd

CRC 2457952 03/19 CS 9533958 03/19

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, NOTES April 9, 2019

TRIM SIZE: FINISHED SIZE: BLEED: POST-PROD.:

SPECIFICATIONS 4.25" × 5" 4.25” × 5” NA

2019

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER, BETTY URIBE

or nearly three decades, Dr. Betty has been transforming business, culture, and people through values based leadership, making her an award-winning values-based leader and business turnaround expert. A recognized authority on the psychology of leadership, turnarounds, organizational structure, and peak performance, she has been honored consistently for her turnaround results, strategic intellect and humanitarian endeavors. She is the Best Selling Author of “#Values: The Secret to Top Level Performance in Business Life”.

MAY 21, 2019 • CROWNE PLAZA • 11 AM TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT 2019BRWIB.EVENTBRITE.COM INDIVIDUAL TICKET: $50 • RESERVED TABLE OF 10: $500