HJBR Mar-Apr 2019

40 MAR / APR 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of baton rouge   Healthcare Briefs - Active and regular medical oversight - Written policies and procedures concerning user safety and the ability to respond appropriately to all emergencies - Disease management and prevention programs - Health risk reduction and therapeutic lifestyle programs - Individualized health screening - Testing and outcome tracking - Quality management, with a focus on measur- able results - A focus on improving community health In addition to receiving facility certification, the MFA has named Brooke Coogan, director of Woman’s Center for Wellness, as a certified fit- ness facility director. This certification recognizes Coogan’s knowledge of the fundamental oper- ations of fitness facilities and understanding of the roles fitness facilities will play as healthcare migrates toward a population health model. To earn this credential, Coogan had to meet certain eligibility requirements related to minimum edu- cation and leadership standards as well as pass a rigorous examination. Pennington Biomedical-led Team Receives LSU LIFT? Grant Software under development at LSU’s Penning- ton Biomedical Research Center could slash the cost of wellness screenings, saving businesses hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The Scanning in Medical Analysis (SIMA) soft- ware 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,” said Sima Sobhi- yeh, a postdoctoral researcher at LSU’s Penning- ton 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, Dr. Steven Heymsfield—director of Pennington Biomedical’s Metabolism and Body Composition Lab—and LSU mathematics Profes- sor Peter Wolenski were awarded an LSU LIFT? grant that will help them commercialize the well- ness-screening software. The LSU LIFT? fund supports academic researchers as they advance their innovations and technologies from the lab to the marketplace. By providing a bridge over the critical gap between basic research and commercialization, the LSU LIFT? fund awards grants to researchers on a competitive basis twice a year to develop mar- ket-facing prototypes and to validate the market potential of their inventions. Since 2014, 120 research projects have received LSU LIFT? grant funding. More than $4 million has been awarded by the LSU Board of Supervi- sors through this competitive grant to research- ers across all of LSU’s campuses. “University research often plays a critical role in the technological or medical advances that have shaped our society and world. The LSU LIFT? grants are a vital part of cultivating inno- vation at universities,” said LSU Office of Inno- vation & Technology Commercialization Direc- tor Andrew Maas. UnitedHealthcare, SBP Dedicate Rebuilt House for Baton Rouge Resident UnitedHealthcare, SBP, the Baton Rouge may- or’s office, and UnitedHealthcare and SBP vol- unteers hosted a welcome home ceremony for Baton Rouge resident Gladiola Haney, whose home was severely damaged by the Baton Rouge floods of 2016. This rebuild, along with others throughout Baton Rouge, was made possible Brooke Coogan UnitedHealthcare, SBP, the Baton Rouge mayor’s office, and UnitedHealthcare and SBP volunteers hosted a welcome home ceremony for Baton Rouge resident Gladiola Haney, whose home was severely damaged by the Baton Rouge floods of 2016. Sen. Regina Barrow, District 15, East Baton Rouge Parish, presents a door wreath to Haney and her niece Kelly Stewart. Pictured, left to right, are Allison Young, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Louisiana; Haney; Stewart; and Sen. Barrow. Photo by Jeff Strout.