HJBR Mar-Apr 2019

42 MAR / APR 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of baton rouge   Healthcare Briefs Association of Social Workers-Louisiana upon successful completion of the training. “By making these opportunities available, we are helping physicians and clinicians across the state improve the quality of care they deliver, not just to our members, but to all their patients,” said Case. Smoking Cessation Trust Fund Offers Help for Louisiana Smokers One New Year’s resolution that consistently appears at the top of many lists is quitting smoking. Louisiana currently ranks 48 out of 50 states for tobacco use, according to the recently released 2018 America’s Health Rankings® Report from the United Health Foundation. Pres- ently, 23.1 percent of the state’s adult population lights up. According to the CDC, the number of adult smokers in the U.S. is now estimated at 14 percent (as of 2017). The state’s overall health ranking is now 50, one spot down from 49 in 2017. “With existing and potential smokers now being convinced on a daily basis that safer some- how equals safe when it comes to new, high-tech cessation tools, unfortunately, we will continue to see a steady rise of Louisiana citizens smoking at even higher rates,” said Mike Rogers, CEO, Smoking Cessation Trust Management Services. “To combat this challenge, the Trust continues to help people face their challenges by offering eligible smokers a variety of free products and services, as well as advocating for a rise in the age in which young people can purchase tobacco products to 21, to protect our youth from a life- time of addiction to nicotine. These efforts are designed to help people kick (or never start) a nicotine addiction. To date, the Smoking Cessa- tion Trust has enrolled more than 95,000 mem- bers, with a goal of 200,000 by 2022. Anna’s Grace Foundation to Hold Quarter Marathon Kickoff Celebration Anna’s Grace Foundation opened the fourth year of its signature quarter marathon season with a kickoff celebration in January at Ochsner Medical Center Baton Rouge. The Anna’s Grace Quarter Marathon benefits Anna’s Grace Founda- tion, which has become instrumental in providing emotional and financial support to families in the Greater Baton Rouge community who experience the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. The quarter marathon event—representing the one in four pregnancies that ends in loss— will take place on March 24 and will be staged at its new location of L’auberge Baton Rouge. The event also includes a 5K and a 1-mile fun run. The 1-mile will begin at 7:30 a.m., followed by the quarter marathon and 5K at 8:15 a.m. All distances will be chip-timed, and awards will be given to overall winners and the top finishers in each age category. The family-friendly morning also will include a Children’s Village with activi- ties for kids of all ages, live music, food, bever- ages, and a moving remembrance celebration. “Those who participate in the Anna’s Grace Quarter Marathon aren’t just running,” said Mon- ica Alley, executive director and co-founder of Anna’s Grace Foundation. “Each step they take makes a difference in the lives of the one in four by raising awareness and by raising important funds for our programs. Anna’s Grace recently provided financial assis- tance to its 300th local family since the summer of 2015. Hospice In His Care Joins ChampionManagement Family of Companies Champion Management of Baton Rouge announced that Hospice In His Care, a Baton Rouge based Hospice service founded in 2004, joined the Louisiana family of Champion Manage- ment healthcare services. John Stagg, CEO and president of Champion Management said, “Hospice In His Care has provided an excellent level of Hospice care to families in a 50 mile radius of Baton Rouge for a decade and a half, and has an outstanding repu- tation for patient care, having received the Deyta Hospice Honors Award for three years including their latest in 2018. The quality of care and the patient focused values of Hospice In His Care are an excellent fit with the healthcare service approach that is practiced across all Champion Management programs. We are most pleased to now include them as part of our growing health- care family.” Hospice In His Care will be closely associated with Champion Management’s Superior Home Health, also of Baton Rouge, but will retain their own identity within the Champion organization. According to Janette Roulston, RN, CEO and co- founder of Hospice In His Care, the location of the hospice and all staff and programs will con- tinue uninterrupted during the transition into the Champion Management family. Roulston said, “As part of the Champion fam- ily of companies and our association with Supe- rior Home Health, Hospice In His Care will be able to continue providing vital Hospice services in the 17 parish area in which we serve. We are excited about this new partnership and look for- ward to providing excellent hospice care in 2019 and beyond.” Superior Home Health, part of the Champion family since 2017, has served in its multi-parish service area since 1991. It will associ- ate with Hospice In His Care in offering a broader range of services to families and patients. Stagg points to the AIM program (Advanced Ill- ness Management) of Superior Home Health and Hospice In His Care as an example of the individ- ualized and patient centered care offered by both programs. AIM provides a middle level of service between Home Health services and Hospice care and helps patients increase the quality of their life through pain and symptom management, medi- cation and disease education, and access to key resources that maximize their comfort and life quality. A key aspect of the AIM service is help- ing patients better manage their healthcare at their home with a reduction of visits to hospital emergency rooms and doctors’ offices. Champion Management of Baton Rouge is the parent corporation over a variety of healthcare companies managed under Hometown Health- care Management and located in and around the Baton Rouge and Southeast Louisiana area including Tangi Pines Nursing Home, Superior Home Health, Modern Home Health and Mod- ern Hospice, and Central Pharmacy. The Carpenter Health Network Announces NewVice President of Governmental Affairs The Carpenter Health Network (TCHN), a Louisiana-based post-acute healthcare net- work, announced that James “Jimmie” Benoit