HJBR Nov/Dec 2019

Healthcare Journal of BATON ROUGE I  NOV / DEC 2019 41 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com blood, which raises the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes. PAD is a common and treatable disease, but it is often unrecognized and undiagnosed. Ultimately, PAD can reduce mobility and lead to amputation if left untreated. Monroe Doctor Receives OB/ GYN Physician Summit Award Dawn Pennebaker, MD, OB/GYN, with The Woman’s Clinic of Monroe, La., has been awarded the OB/GYN Physician Summit Award from Loui- siana Healthcare Connections for demonstrating a commitment to “high quality, accessible care.” The award is given annually to the OB/GYN pro- vider that achieves the highest scores in key qual- ity measures related to women’s health across the health plan’s provider network. “Dr. Pennebaker consistently provides our members with exemplary care, and her commit- ment to quality is clear,” says Marcus Wallace, MD, vice president of Medical Affairs at Louisiana Healthcare Connections. “Dr. Pennebaker and the staff at The Woman’s Clinic of Monroe share our commitment to improving health and health outcomes, and we are pleased to recognize their dedication with this award.” Wallace presented the award to Pennebaker on Aug. 21. Accepting the award on Pennebaker’s behalf were Caitlin Crow, LPN, and Tanya Rabb, LPN. Cardiovascular Institute of the South Celebrates 36thAnniversary Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) is cel- ebrating its 36th anniversary of providing com- plete cardiovascular care to communities in south Louisiana. In the past year, from August of 2018 to date, CIS has treated nearly 115,000 patients in Louisiana and beyond. Beginning as a one-man practice under the leadership of Dr. Craig Walker in Houma, La., CIS has grown to become a world-renowned prac- tice with more than 60 physicians and 800 team members with 19 locations and seven telecardi- ology sites. “Our greatest accomplishment has been that we have dramatically improved cardiovascular outcomes in each of the areas where we have established practices, and this is confirmed by national statistics,” said Dr. Craig Walker, interventional cardiologist and Founder, presi- dent and medical director at CIS. “We have now treated patients from every inhabited continent and from every U.S. state which is far beyond our early dreams.” Walker began CIS with the intent to provide cardiac and peripheral vascular care to south cen- tral Louisiana. Throughout the years, CIS has pio- neered many “firsts” including participating in the first peripheral stent trial in 1988 and the first cor- onary stent trial in 1989. These are just examples of the many “firsts” that CIS continues to pioneer, using new devices and procedure techniques, which have earned CIS international acclaim as a leader of research and development in cardiovas- cular care. Most recently, CIS was the first in Loui- siana to use the BASILICA Procedure Technique for transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the first in the southeast U.S. to use the Tack Endo- vascular System to treat peripheral artery disease, and first in the country to use the Mynx closure device for venous disease. In putting patients first, CIS has contributed sig- nificantly to the advancement and development of non-surgical treatments for cardiovascular dis- ease, with a special focus also on peripheral artery disease in the legs. These interventional proce- dures are minimally-invasive, involving a much lower risk for our patients and less recovery time than surgery. “From the beginning, we sought out new techniques and helped to develop techniques to better care for our patients,” said Walker.  CIS has established a first-of-its-kind Virtual Care Center in Lafayette, offering patients 24/7 access to their care team through a variety of pro- grams, increasing access to care, improving out- comes, and enhancing communication between the patient and the provider. CIS also recently announced its plans to develop a cardiac rehab facility in Lafayette, offering a holistic approach through exercise and nutrition to help patients with chronic conditions in the healing of their hearts. CIS continues to grow and expand to multiple locations, opening new clinics and offering tele- cardiology services to rural hospitals, to make the most advanced cardiovascular care accessible to more communities. “I take great pride in the fact that CIS has grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive cardiovascular programs anywhere in the world,” said Walker. n Dr. Ankur Lodha, interventional cardiologist at Cardiovascular Institute of the South, is the first in the world to use the R2P™ MISAGO® RX self-expanding stent, the longest stent platform that is specifically designed for above-the-knee peripheral artery disease (PAD) interventions via radial access through the wrist.

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