HJBR Mar-Apr 2019

60 MAR / APR 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge   Hospital Rounds At the 2018 Quality Blue Primary Care Statewide Collaborative, BCBSLA recognized nearly 500 primary care doctors from around the state who earned top scores on the program’s clinical qual- ity measurements for the four targeted conditions. The Baton Rouge General Physicians recog- nized are: • Donnie Batie (Hypertension) • Timothy Bella (Hypertension, Kidney Disease) • Shavaun Cotton (Hypertension, Diabetes) • Henry Dixon (Hypertension) • Kristen Ducote (Hypertension) • Brad Gaspard (Hypertension, Diabetes, Kidney Disease) • Stacy Jones (Hypertension) • April McCulloh (Hypertension, Vascular Disease) • Stephen McCulloh (Hypertension) • Tarisha Mixon (Hypertension) • Lauren Moore (Hypertension, Diabetes, Kidney Disease) • Vincent Nguyen (Hypertension, Diabetes, Vas- cular Disease) • Philip Padgett (Hypertension) • Desi Valentine (Hypertension) • Vasanthi Vinayagam (Hypertension) • Darakhshan Wahid (Hypertension) • Amanda Watts (Hypertension) • Robert Wood (Hypertension, Diabetes) • Michael Yorek (Hypertension, Diabetes) Kathy Guidry, MD, FACOG, Elected Chief of Staff of Woman’s Hospital Kathy Guidry, MD, FACOG, has been elected to a one-year term as the chief of the medical staff of Woman’s Hospital, the highest elected leadership position among the medical staff. Guidry’s duties include the coordination of clinical improvement activities as well as chairing the medical executive committee. As chief of staff, she will also serve on the Woman’s Hospital board of directors. A prac- ticing obstetrician and gynecologist with Schwart- zenburg, Lafranca, Guidry, and Chapman, she is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Guidry received a medical degree and completed her residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and is certified by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.  Additional 2019 medical leadership at Wom- an’s includes:  • Jill Bader, MD, vice chief of staff • O’Neil “Jay” Parenton, MD, secretary • Julie Martin, MD, chair of OB-GYN clinical service • Michael Puyau, MD, chair of surgery • Charles Pearson, Jr., MD, chair of medicine • Stephen Sanches, MD, chair of pediatric clinical service • Beverly Ogden, MD, chair of cancer clinical ser- vice and medical director of pathology • Dewitt Bateman, MD, medical director of anesthesiology • Marshall St. Amant, MD, medical director of maternal-fetal medicine/high-risk obstetrics • Steven Spedale, MD, medical director of neonatology • Steven Sotile, MD, medical director of radiology NewHeart Implant Surgery Performed at Baton Rouge General There is a new option for Baton Rouge residents who are dependent on blood thinners due to atrial fibrillation (AFib). A one-time heart implant surgery, performed first at Baton Rouge Gen- eral by cardiologists Drs. Robert Drennan, Gar- land Green, and Lance LaMotte, reduces stroke risk for a lifetime and eliminates the need to take blood thinners. About two to three million people in the U.S.— many with AFib—need to take blood thinners such as Coumadin or Warfarin. Patients on blood thinners are unable to work certain jobs, construc- tion or in plants, for example. In addition, these patients are required to make frequent visits to a “Coumadin” or anticoagulation clinic for blood tests that monitor how well the medicine is work- ing to prevent clots. “Blood thinners reduce the risk of stroke, yet some AFib patients don’t take them as directed, making them even more at risk,” said Drennan, electrophysiologist at Cardiovascular Institute of the South. “Within 45 days, 90 per- cent of patients who have this surgery are able to stop taking blood thinners, and that is truly life- changing for them.” During the heart implant surgery, the Watchman A one-time heart implant surgery, performed first at Baton Rouge General by cardiologists (l-r) Drs. Lance LaMotte, Robert Drennan, and Garland Green, reduces stroke risk for a lifetime and eliminates the need to take blood thinners. Kathy Guidry, MD, FACOG