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SOU TH LOU ISIANA ED ITION
On Rounds Physician Spotlight
State Wellness Program Swells By TED GRIGGS
Dr. Yvens Laborde His Brothers’ Keepers It’s been almost five years since the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing over 250,000, injuring over 300,000 and displacing over 1.5 million people ... page 3
Hospitals Scramble to Ensure Ebola Training, Equipment in Place The potential threat of Ebola sent Louisiana health officials and hospitals rushing to make sure staff and healthcare providers have the proper training and equipment to deal with the latest infection control protocols ... page 4
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Health Care Commission November Meeting ... page 7
A state program designed to encourage healthy behaviors has grown from one WellSpot to more than five dozen in just six months. Coletta C. Barrett, vice president of mission at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, said Well-Ahead Louisiana is needed. The Department of Health and Hospitals launched the initiative to improve the health and wellness of residents. Chronic diseases sucked $4.5 billion out of the state’s economy in 2003, according to the Milken Institute. Making smart choices – going tobacco-free, eating a healthy lunch, or workplace fitness programs – could reduce economic costs by an estimated $17 billion in 2023 and increase the state’s economic output by $62 billion in 2050.
“I think it’s a good start in the right direction for highlighting … how businesses can be a part of creating a culture and environment of health,” Barrett said. “I encourage others to evaluate the criteria, see what fits for them and join us.” The Lake was the first hospital in the state recognized as a Level 1 WellSpot, the highest of three levels in the program. Our Lady of the Lake College was the second university to receive a WellSpot designation. In order to achieve Level One, the Lake had to meet all of the program’s criteria. Those requirements include a tobacco-free policy; investing in a community-based obesity prevention program; providing healthy dining options in the cafeteria; diabetes self-management education training or prevention programs; and promoting the 5-2-1-0 pro(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)
AMA’s Telemedicine Push
Evolution improves health outcomes, accelerates medical education change, and enhances physician satisfaction and practice sustainability By LyNNE JETER
In June, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a resolution addressing telemedicine as a key innovation in support of healthcare delivery reform. Timing of the resolution melds with legislative advocacy action being made at the local, state and national levels as telemedicine goes mainstream. Among the high points: a universally-accepted telemedicine payment model, licensure portability, ethical guidance, clinical concerns and recommendations. “The umbrella of the reason and purpose of the resolution is that we recognized the technology of telemedicine was a very important tool we could use to take better care of our patients,” said (CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)
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2 • DECEMBER 2014
Louisiana Medical News
Physician Spotlight
Dr. Yvens Laborde His Brothers’ Keeper By LISA HANCHEy
It’s been almost five years since the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing over 250,000, injuring over 300,000 and displacing over 1.5 million people. While conditions have improved, the healing and rebuilding is far from over. Ensuring that this impoverished nation is not forgotten is Dr. Yvens Laborde, a Haitian native who practices right here in Louisiana. Growing up in Haiti, Laborde always felt a calling to help the less fortunate. His uncle, an epidemiologist, taught him about the diseases ravaging the Haitian population. “He used to bring slides and his microscope with him,” Laborde recalled. “I was always fascinated with his ability to identify the particular specialties in the area and the science behind malaria as it related to Haiti. That was something that struck my interest pretty young, maybe at age 8 or 9.” Since childhood, Laborde knew that he wanted to become a doctor and study in the United States. “In Haiti, education is valued a tremendous amount,” he explained. “Once you’ve done your studies there, most families that have means and the capability, try to send their children to the States or to Europe for their education.” After graduating from high school, he decided to head to New Orleans because of its similar climate and culture. “Haiti contributed a great deal to the cultural, economic, architectual and intellectual development of New Orleans, since many of the French colonists, freed men of color, intellectuals, land owners, architects, etc., fled to New Orleans after the Haitian revolution,” the history buff explained. ”That led to New Orleans’ Renaissance, which nearly doubled the population of New Orleans. So, a significant portion of New Orleans’ culture, architecture and cuisine was strongly influenced by this migration.” Laborde attended Loyola and graduated from UNO. He studied medicine at LSU, followed by an internship at Tulane and residency at Ochsner. He decided to specialize in internal medicine. “I’ve always had in my mind that I wanted to go into a field that would allow me to care for a broad, general base of patients,” he explained. “But, I also always had Haiti in mind in terms of the ability to apply the value I would get in my training to actually have an impact there.” In 1995, Laborde officially joined Ochsner, becoming a member of the Ochsner Health System Board. He cur-
rently serves as the regional medical director of Ochsner Medical Center West Bank. “I’m a New Orleans resident by proxy,” he said with a laugh. But, back-to-back disasters called him back to his native country. In 2008, Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike caused massive flooding in Haiti, sparking Laborde to establish a relief effort. Immediately following the disastrous 2010 earthquake, Laborde returned for more than two weeks to provide medical care to victims. Under the leadership of Dr. Patrick Quinlan, Warner Thomas and Michael Hulefeld, Laborde launched the Ochsner Haitian Relief Fund. He returned to Haiti that November after the ensuing cholera epidemic which killed almost 10,000 people. Working with Ochsner’s support and in collaboration with the Health Ministry of the North, Laborde founded FONDYLSAHH, a Haitian-based non-profit promoting health, education, agriculture and economic development in Haiti with a focus on resiliency and self-reliance. “Growing up in Haiti actually helped form me and has always been a driving force in the things that I’ve tried to accomplish,” he said. “Although I’ve been in the States since 1982, I’ve always had a sense of cultural and historical obligation to help my native country.” Since the earthquake, he has gone to Haiti at least once a year with a team of senior residents from The University of Queensland School of Medicine in Brisbane, Australia, which entered into a partnership with Ochsner in 2009. Recently, Ochsner and the University of Queensland established a relationship with a hospital
and clinic near Cap-Haïtien. “Over the last five years, Haiti has improved, considering the devastation that was caused by the earthquake,” he said. “At one point, there were close to one million displaced
people in Port-au-Prince living in temporary housing and shelters. The last numbers were less than 100,000. The cleanup has improved significantly.” Still, circumstances remain dire for many residents. Infectious disease, such as acute diarrheal illnesses, malaria, TB, Dengue fever, Chikunguaya, typhoid and cholera, as well as other non-communicable conditions, continue to prevail. “Malnutrition is still a significant issue, especially in the pediatric population where deficiencies of certain vitamins, like Vitamin A, have adverse effects on young, developing children,” Laborde said. “There is also a significant problem with intestinal parasitic illnesses, because infestation is fairly common over there.” Laborde stresses that doctors should not forget about Haiti. ”The beauty of being a physician lies in our appreciation and understanding that our purpose, first and foremost, is to serve,” he said. “As physicians, we are all our brothers’ keepers, and we will all continue to work to eradicate the ‘disease’ of poverty – the root cause of the suffering and loss of life.”
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For more information about the Ochsner Haitian Relief Fund, visit the website at www.ochsner.org/lp/haitianrelief or call (504) 872-7120. Louisiana Medical News
DECEMBER 2014 • 3
Hospitals Scramble to Ensure Ebola Training, Equipment in Place By TED GRIGGS
The potential threat of Ebola sent Louisiana health officials and hospitals rushing to make sure staff and healthcare providers have the proper training and equipment to deal with the latest infection control protocols. Dr. Frank Welch, medical director for community preparedness at the Department of Health and Hospital’s Office of Public Health, said the Dallas Ebola case where two nurses were exposed changed the guidelines for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). “Many hospitals and healthcare institutions are kind of scrambling to get
the appropriate personal protective equipment and make sure they have enough of it in stock,” Welch said. “Now, I hear that’s going well, but there really has been a rush on personal protective equipDr. Frank Welch ment, that’s for sure.” In late October, Baton Rouge-based Convergence Equity LLC announced an agreement to provide around 350,000 Ebola-resistant suits to federal departments and agencies. The Louisiana Hospital Association is encouraging hospitals to conduct drills and training sessions with key staff and health-
care providers to implement the latest infection-control procedures, President and Chief Executive Officer Paul A. Salles said. Welch said all of the hospitals, in Louisiana and elsewhere, are updating their PPE caches to support the most recent recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control. That doesn’t mean anyone expects the United States to see anything remotely like the 13,000 to 14,000 Ebola infections reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Welch said. Ebola doesn’t spread like a pandemic. “I think over the next 12 to 18 to 24 months we possibly could expect one (case) in Louisiana,” Welch said.
The United States is really encouraging healthcare and humanitarian workers to go over to Africa and treat people and control the outbreak at its source, he said. So given that that is the way the disease will be stopped one has to expect that “every once in a while” a healthcare worker is going to come back after being exposed to Ebola. “What we need to do is make sure we can identify and recognize it, catch it early because that’s when they’re not infectious, appropriately contain them, and treat the workers appropriately,” Welch said. This approach has generated good results among the healthcare workers who have come back to the U.S. after being exposed to Ebola, Welch said. The method has also prevented secondary infections from those workers. However, Louisiana public health officials and the federal Centers for Disease Control, not to mention other health experts, differ when it comes to determining what is appropriate where Ebola is concerned. Louisiana officials told healthcare professionals who’ve been to Ebola-stricken countries to skip two major conventions in New Orleans. The state’s medical director, Dr. Jimmy Guidry, told members of the media Louisiana’s response is in no way an overreaction. Lowering the number of convention attendees may mean a temporary hit to the New Orleans economy, but that’s preferable to even one person with Ebola attending a convention of thousands of healthcare providers, he said. Welch said there was a little discrepancy between the state’s protocol and that of the CDC. Louisiana basically says anyone who has visited Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone – countries where roughly 14,000 people have died from Ebola in the last few months – must be isolated for 21 days. The CDC’s most recent protocols assign people different risk categories, with the levels of monitoring or action depending on the category, Welch said. For example, a person who has been to any of the three affected countries and falls ill before leaving is encouraged to stay in that country. People who aren’t sick and return to the United States are funneled through five major U.S. airports where CDC workers interview them. The questions include asking whether visitors treated Ebola patients, how long they were in the affected country, if they encountered anyone who was ill while there, Welch said. Those visitors and their risk categories are reported to the state departments of health, and the visitors are then monitored for 21 days. That’s true whether the visitor was a doctor who treated Ebola patients but didn’t have access to all of the recom(CONTINUED ON PAGE 7)
4 • DECEMBER 2014
Louisiana Medical News
Urgent & Emergent
Getting new treatments through the FDA pipeline By CINDY SANDERS
On average, it takes 12 years and more than $500 million … sometimes significantly more … to move a new drug from bench to bedside in the United States. But what happens when there is an urgent or emergent need for new drugs, vaccines and biologics to be developed in the wake of a public health crisis? The recent attention on Ebola brought with it an increased interest in the approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is tasked with finding the critical balance between urgent public need and overall safety and efficacy of drugs being distributed … even in a limited, experimental manner. Under Normal Circumstances Of the 5,000-10,000 compounds entering the research and development pipeline at any given time, only about 250 make it to the pre-clinical phase of testing. From there, only about five will make it to clinical trials in humans with only one drug ultimately receiving FDA approval. Generally, developers should expect to spend three-six years in the discovery and pre-clinical phase of the process. If enough supportive data results from conducting research and animal model
studies, then a company approaches the FDA to ask for consideration of clinical trials. Only about one of every 1,000 compounds being tested will prove promising enough for a company to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Approval of the IND by the FDA and an Institutional Review Board leads to another six-seven years being invested in phased human trials. If, after running that gauntlet, the product has the evidence to back its efficacy and safety, a New Drug Application (NDA) is filed for FDA review. From there, drug developers will probably wait another six months-two years for the FDA to complete the review process. Speeding Up the Timeline However, noted Jennifer Rodriquez, a spokesperson for the FDA, “There are several paths for making drugs and biologics that qualify available as rapidly as possible … such as Fast Track, Priority Review, Accelerated Approval and Breakthrough Designation.” Fast Track is a process to facilitate development and expedite review for drugs to treat serious conditions and fill
given to drugs or therapies intended to treat serious conditions that are deemed to offer substantial improvement over other available therapies. “Under certain circumstances, the FDA can also enable access for individuals to investigational products through mechanisms outside of a clinical trial, such as through an Emergency Investigational New Drug (EIND) application under the FDA’s Expanded Access program,” Rodriguez said. “In order for an experimental treatment to be administered in the United States, a request must be submitted to and authorized by the FDA.” She added the FDA is ready and willing to work with companies and investigators focused on serious public health issues, such as caring for Ebola patients in dire need of treatment, “to enable access to an experimental product where appropriate.” Rodriguez continued, “Under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) mechanism, the agency can also enable the use of an unapproved medical product, or the unapproved use of an approved medical product, during emergencies when … among other circumstances … there are no adequate, approved and
unmet medical needs, which is defined as providing a therapy where none exists or providing a therapy that could potentially be better than anything currently available. Priority Review allows for a quicker process and indicates the FDA’s goal is to take action on an application within six months of receiving data. Accelerated Approval gives the FDA a mechanism to get drugs that fill an unmet condition approved using a surrogate or an intermediate clinical endpoint rather than waiting the years it could take to fully show a drug is clinically meaningful over the long haul. Such surrogate or intermediate endpoints – ranging from laboratory measures to improved morbidity and mortality rates – are reasonably likely to predict the clinical benefit of a drug. Breakthrough Designation is
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 9)
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AMA’s Telemedicine Push, continued from page 1 AMA President Robert Wah, MD. “Underneath that umbrella, we firmly believe this technology shouldn’t necessarily replace face-to-face interaction between the physician and the patient. We view faceto-face interaction as the highest quality action to have with a patient because there’s so much detail and information that comes out with direct interaction with our patients. We recognize that in some cases, after a patient-physician interaction has been established, telemedicine can be very helpful. In some instances, such as urgent matters requiring a consult, the technology may be used without an initial face-to-face interaction. But we still believe strongly that face-to-face is optimal for our patients.” Licensure Requirements In its resolution, the AMA made it clear that the physician providing telemedicine should be licensed in the state the patient resides. “We believe it’s important for physicians and patients to be treated within the parameter of local regulations and laws, which differ widely across the country,” said Wah. “We want to respect those differences and not try to supersede them via the use of telemedicine. Robert For instance, if I as an Dr.Wah OB-GYN am going to prescribe birth control for a patient under the age of consent, some states require a parent to be notified. The best way to comply with local regulations and laws is to make sure the physician is licensed in the state he’s using telemedicine.” Background In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the nation’s first comprehensive report on telemedicine, “Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care.” Despite the evolution of the practice, there remains no consensus on the definition of telemedicine and telehealth, often viewed as interchangeable terms. Instead, three broad categories of telemedicine technologies are defined as: store-and-forward, remote monitoring, and (real-time) interactive services. Regardless of the verbiage, “the evolution of telemedicine impacts all three strategic focus areas of the AMA: improving health outcomes, accelerating change in medical education, and enhancing physician satisfaction and practice sustainability by shaping delivery and payment models,” said Charles F. Willson, MD, a pediatrician from Greenville, NC, and presenter of the Report of the Council on Medical Service that preceded the AMA’s adoption of the resolution on telemedicine. Payment Reform In the report, Willson addressed how coverage of and payment for telemedicine has varied widely after the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Telemedicine Communications Act
of 1996 enabled payment for professional telemedicine consultation in 1999, and how inconsistencies remain to create barriers to the further adoption of telemedicine as public and private payers have continued to develop formal mechanisms to pay for telemedicine services. “Each year, Medicare pays approximately $6 million for telemedicine services,” according to the report, “In 2009, there were approximately 40,000 telemedicine visits, involving some 14,000 Medicare beneficiaries. That same year, 369 practitioners, including physicians, provided 10 or more telemedicine services to Medicare beneficiaries – most of which were mental health services. “Psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers comprised 49 percent of the practitioners who provided 10 or more telemedicine services in Medicare. While physician assistants, nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists accounted for 19 percent of such practitioners, family medicine and internal medicine physicians accounted for 7 percent.” The District of Columbia (DC) and 46 states offer some form of Medicaid payment for telemedicine services. Also, 19 states and DC have adopted laws mandating that private payers cover telemedicine services, as defined by various states. “When any developing therapy or technology in medicine becomes mainstream, we want to make sure there’s a payment for the benefit that gets accrued by using the technology,” said Wah. Case Studies Highlighted in the AMA’s Report of the Council on Medical Service are two case studies resulting from telemedicine outreach and research efforts: The University of Virginia (UVA) Center for Telehealth across the UVA Telemedicine Partner Networks includes 118 sites offering telemedicine services in more than 40 specialties and sub-specialties. The center has provided more than 33,000 patient encounters in Virginia, and provides more than 30,000 teleradiology services annually. The Arkansas ANGELS (Antenatal & Neonatal Guidelines, Education & Learning System) provides patients with round-the-clock and telemedical support at approximately 30 telemedicine sites statewide to address high-risk obstetrical care needs. In 2012, Arkansas ANGELS reported 5,221 telemedicine visits, 2,062 telemedicine obstetric ultrasound visits, and 130 fetal echocardiogram visits. Also the same year, 1,629 colposcopy exams were performed, which identified 303 women with high-grade lesions requiring treatment and five diagnosed with cancer. “We made a strong statement in our resolution to lobby for continued research on the most optimal way to use telemedicine and integrate it into our current delivery system to take better care of our patients,” said Wah. “I don’t have specific thoughts about how that research would proceed. Yet, as with any therapy or technology that I use to care for my patients, I’m always looking for ways to improve that care.”
Hospitals, continued from page 4 mended PPE or worked on an offshore rig and never saw another person, Welch said. The rig worker might be able to selfreport his temperature twice a day rather than having a public health worker do the temperature check. Welch said it will take the state a little while to catch up to the CDC policy. The state wants the full 21-day quarantine because Louisiana has no way to know what risk category a visitor fell into before the new CDC protocol was established, Welch said. The Louisiana requirements drew criticism from the American Public Health Association and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, among others. Both associations scheduled November conferences in New Orleans. Although both objected to the state requirement as non-scientific, both groups agreed to abide by the request. The APHA convention was expected to draw 14,000 people, while attendance at the Tropical Medicine conference was estimated at around 3,500 people. “We have gotten a little kickback…. People say the medical science supports the position: ‘If I didn’t come into contact with anyone, I couldn’t have Ebola, even if I went to Liberia,’” Welch said. “They’re right. The medical science supports that. But we as a state can’t assure the other residents that we know that to be true, until that full program is implemented for 21 days.”
Legislative Affairs BY CINDY BISHOP
Notes from the Louisiana Health Care Commission November Meeting Chairman Donna Fraiche called the meeting to order on November 7. She welcomed the newest member of the council Diana Davison from Roy O. Martin Lumber Company headquartered in Alexandria. Marilyn Reynaud, Office of Public Health, gave an update on the Ebola Virus, presenting a Power Point presentation on behalf of Dr. Jimmy Guidry, state health officer. Ebola was first identified in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bats are the reservoir. Ebola is not spread through air, food or water but its incubation period is 2 to 21 days with the average being 8-10 days. It is not contagious until the patient develops symptoms such as weakness, muscle pain or sore throat. If someone must travel – avoid handling items that are contaminated. Wash your hands often or use an alcoholic based sanitizer regularly. Avoid facilities in West Africa where Ebola patients are treated. Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of a deceased Ebola patient.
The CDC recently came out with risk exposure categories. For more information, go to the CDC website (www.cdc.gov) or the DHH website at dhh.state.la.us. You can also email ebola@la.gov or call 855-523-2652 for general information. Navigators Updates Jackie Riley – Capital Area Agency on Aging, Karla Wilburn – Family Road Healthy Start and Brian Burton – Southwest AHEC gave presentations on their activities as contracted navigators. During the 2014 Regular Session legislators enacted a law requiring navigators to become licensed under the Department of Insurance. Korey Harvey, Deputy Commissioner gave an update on the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Eric Bumgartner gave an update on the Affordable Care Act Working Group that he chairs. Dr. Bumgartner works for the Louisiana Public Health Institute. Commissioner Donelon gave a brief update. He thanked the members of the Louisiana Health Care Commission for their collective brain power and contribu-
tions. He acknowledged that now is the time for open enrollment. The penalty for not signing up for insurance is increasing this year to $325 so this may result in more folks enrolling in health plans. Regarding insurance rates in the health insurance market, they went up 12-15 percent in Louisiana. Donelon said that the DOI has been asking for prior-approval on rates. Donelon said he will continue to ask the legislators for the authority. The legislature did, however, give DOI the ability to obtain informational rates from health insurers. Now the Department of Insurance will receive all rate filings. DOI received a grant from the federal government and they’ve been able to communicate with the carriers about their rates. This has resulted in a $4 million rate reduction for policy holders in Louisiana. Legislative Affairs content is provided by Checkmate Strategies, publisher of Health Care Information Services. All content © Checkmate Strategies and Louisiana Medical News, LLC. For more information, readers may contact Cindy Bishop at 225.923.1599 or P.O. Box 80053, BR, LA 70598, or send email to destiny362@aol.com. Our website is www.checkmate-strategies.com
Louisiana Medical News
DECEMBER 2014 • 7
State Wellness Program Swells, continued from page 1 gram – five or more fruits and vegetables, two or few hours of recreational screen time, one or more hours of physical activity, and zero sodas or sweetened drinks every day. Getting to Level One, with the attendant staff participation, engagement and outcomes Coletta C. takes a long time, BarBarrett rett said. When the state Department of Health and Hospitals announced the Well-Ahead program, it sounded interesting because the Lake had
already been on a “wellness journey” for some time. The Lake’s wellness effort centers on its Healthy Lives program. The data-driven endeavor identifies the workers most at risk for serious health issues and provides a path to prevention and wellness. The assistance includes coaching and an environment that helps people get healthier. Barrett said after examining the WellAhead criteria, the Lake realized it was already doing most of the program. However, the hospital did have to pull some additional data and perform some analysis, Barrett said. For example, the
Lake had to look at how much it was spending in different areas, such as anti-obesity and community education programs. “We were doing the program and the function and the work, but we didn’t necessarily report it as an outcome,” she said. “We had to do the analysis to make sure we could tell the story.” The Lake doesn’t have data showing the cost savings from Well-Ahead Louisiana. But the Healthy Lives program has helped the Lake prevent its health insurance premiums from rising for four years, with only a slight increase this year, Barrett said.
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Louisiana Medical News
Barrett said the biggest hurdle Lake employees had to overcome may have been going tobacco-free, Barrett said. That means not only cigarettes, but chewing, dipping and even electronic nicotine dispensers. The Lake had a surprising number of tobacco chewers and snuff dippers, Barrett said. The hospital helped workers with smoking-cessation classes and support. In their annual health assessments, workers are asked if they’re tobacco-free, Barrett said. They are also required to prove they are by blowing into a device that measures the nicotine in their system, whether they smoke, dip or chew. “In God we trust. Everybody else you gotta bring the data,” Barrett said. The most difficult ongoing challenge is weight loss. This is probably even harder than giving up tobacco because weight issues are even more rampant, Barrett said. Most people lack a structured, builtin environment that helps them be more physically active. Jobs have evolved to be less physically challenging. Meanwhile, Louisiana’s culture revolves around phenomenal food, food that is often prepared in the least healthy way possible. The Lake can put up a sign that says “no smoking” or prohibit the use of tobacco in certain locations, and people follow the rules, Barrett said. “But you pull the fryer out of our kitchen, and you don’t give people their fried chicken on Thursdays, oh my word!” she said. The Lake has added healthier options to vending machines and steers people toward snacks with less salt, fat and sugar. There are baked chips and dark-chocolate selections available. The hospital has also sharply reduced the sugary drinks available, adding flavored waters, no-calorie energy drinks and diet teas. The options mean people can still get the crunch and the salt, or the sugar and the chocolate, while consuming less of the things that are bad for them, Barrett said. But the reality is that the unhealthy stuff sells. Still, it will be interesting to see how the Lake can continue to change the environment for healthier eating options, Barrett said.
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Urgent & Emergent, continued from page 5 available alternatives.” She explained the EUA is an important way for the FDA to allow broader access to available products. It was the mechanism put in play this past August that allowed the FDA to authorize use of a diagnostic test developed by the U.S. Department of Defense to detect the Ebola Zaire virus in individuals. In times of public health crisis or epidemic, Rodriguez noted, “The FDA’s role during situations like this involves sharing information about medical products in development, as well as communicating our assessment of product readiness and clarifying regulatory pathways for development.” She added the FDA works with other U.S. government agencies, international partners, and medical product sponsors to move products forward in development as quickly as possible without
compromising patient safety. She also noted the FDA plays an important role in disseminating evidence-based information to the public. “Unfortunately, during outbreak situations, fraudulent products claiming to prevent, treat or cure a disease almost always appear,” she said of those who play on public fears. While the agency has a number of mechanisms to move the science more rapidly through the pipeline, Rodriguez stressed that doesn’t mean the agency gets away from its primary goal of making sure the American public has access to safe, effective treatment options. “It’s important to note that every FDA regulatory decision is based on a risk-benefit assessment of scientific data that includes the context of use for the product and the patient population being studied,” she concluded.
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to leArn more contact us at (225) 334-9299 or rec@lhcqf.org.
A H e A lt H C A r e Q u A l i t y F o r u m i n i t i At i v e
METAIRIE- For the 14th consecutive year, LAMMICO has assisted recent college graduates with the cost of attending medical school in Louisiana. “LAMMICO’s unique scholarship program offers support to these local students as they continue their medical training to become excellent contributors to our state’s healthcare system,” said Thomas H. Grimstad, M.D., LAMMICO’s President/Chief Executive Officer. Since 2000 – 2001, LAMMICO has awarded merit scholarships to qualifying medical students for their first year enrollment at every Louisiana medical and dental school. Including this year’s class, a total of 55 incoming freshmen students have earned the LAMMICO scholarship to help defray tuition and other expenses. Eligible students are incoming freshmen from Louisiana. The following institutions award the scholarships based upon criteria established at each medical school: LSU School of Dentistry - New Orleans: Blaine P. Adams from Cut Off, Louisiana graduated cum laude from Nicholls State University in May 2010 with a degree in biology. He then continued his education at Nicholls, where he finished required course work toward a Master of Science degree in Marine and Environmental Biology. Blaine is currently in the process of defending his master’s thesis, which includes extensive research of molecular cloning of mobile elements in the genome of Louisiana’s commercial red swamp crawfish. The LSU School of Dentistry is the only dental school in the state and educates nearly 75 percent of all practicing dentists in Louisiana. LAMMICO has awarded a scholarship to a student at LSU Dental School since 2005. LSU Medical School: New Orleans: Edward-Michael Dussom graduated from Harvard College in 2012 with a bachelor of arts degree in romance lan-
guages and literatures. Originally from Covington, he has spent the last two years enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program at the University of New Orleans, taking advance course work in immunology, microbiology and biochemistry. Before enrolling in medical school, Dussom worked at Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Covington, providing patient care as an emergency room technician. Dussom was valedictorian of his class at Covington’s St. Paul High School. LSU Medical School: Shreveport: Kyle P. Schuler of Shreveport graduated from LSU-Baton Rouge in May 2014 with bachelor of sciences degree in biology. Because of his 4.0 cumulative grade point average, Schuler received the University Medal for having one of the highest GPA’s in his graduating class at LSU. He was also on the LSU Chancellor’s Honor Roll during his freshman, sophomore and junior years. Schuler worked as a medical transport every summer as an undergraduate student at Christus Schumpert Highland Hospital in Shreveport, where he coordinated with physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to take patients from their rooms to various locations for X-rays, scans, surgery and other medical tests or procedures. Tulane University Medical School: Madeline O. Jansen of Metairie graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a bachelor of arts degree in human biology. She received the Dean of Student’s Outstanding Achievement Award during her sophomore, junior and senior years at Stanford. Jansen stayed on the West Coast after receiving her undergraduate degree, conducting research in the psychiatry and behavioral sciences department at Stanford University School of Medicine. While there, Jansen wrote a resource guide for students with eating disorders and created an Internet-based obesity prevention program. Her future goal is to practice in the field of adolescent psychiatry.
lhcqf.org
Louisiana Medical News
DECEMBER 2014 • 9
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In the News
Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Names New Officers and Board Members
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Louisiana Medical News
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum has named new officers and board members to its Board of Directors for 2014-2015. The new officers are Louis Minsky, MD, President, private practitioner with Minsky & Carver Medical Center for Wellness in Baton Rouge; John Carroll, CFM, ARPC, CRPC, CSNA, AAMS, President-Elect, Vice President with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Alexandria; Stephen Wright, Secretary/ Treasurer, President/CEO of CHRISTUS Health Louisiana in Alexandria; and Donna D. Fraiche, Esq., Member at Large, attorney with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. In addition, three individuals have joined the Quality Forum Board: Chuck Burnell, MD, lead Medical Director with Acadian Companies in Lafayette; Teri Fontenot, FACHE, President/CEO of Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge; and Wes Hataway, JD, director of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration for the Louisiana Workforce Commission in Baton Rouge. Returning board members include: Daniel Burke, SPHR, director of Corporate Benefits with Turner Industries in Baton Rouge; David Carmouche, MD, Executive Vice President of External Operations and Chief Medical Officer with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana in Baton Rouge; Catherine Fairchild, JD, Right of Way Manager for CSRS, Inc. in Baton Rouge; Glen Golemi, President and CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s Gulf States Region in Metairie; Sandra Kemmerly, MD, MACP, FIDSA, Medical Director of Clinical Practice Improvement for Ochsner Health System in New Orleans; Susan E. Nelson, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, Medical Director of Senior Services for the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge; and Leonard Weather, Jr., R.Ph, MD, Director of the Omni Fertility and Laser Institute in Shreveport. Medical News is pleased to provide space for press releases by providers in our Grand Rounds section. Content and accuracy of the releases is the sole responsibility of the issuer.
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Louisiana Medical News
DECEMBER 2014 • 11