HJBR Mar/Apr 2020

42 MAR / APR 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Hospital Rounds The Joint Commission. “We commend Baton Rouge General for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for chest pain patients. The chest pain certification joins BRG’s other recent achievements in cardiology, including the advanced certification for primary stroke centers and the certification of its cardiac rehab program. BRG School of Nursing Graduates 38 NewNurses Thirty-eight new nurses graduated from Baton Rouge General’s School of Nursing (SON), join- ing the more than 1,000 talented nurses who have completed BRG’s program since 1984. The graduates received their diplomas after two years of general education, detailed nurs- ing courses, and hands-on experience with sea- soned practitioners. After receiving their diplo- mas, graduates take the registered nurse license exam (NCLEX-RN) to be licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN). “Our graduates are well prepared to deliver excellent patient care, which often means caring for patients at their most vulnerable moments,” said SON Director Linda Markey, PhD, MSN, RN. “Nursing requires outstanding charac- ter, dedication, and oftentimes sacrifice, and we are very proud to have these new nurses answer the call to serve the community.” During the ceremony, a number of honors were presented to students: • Garnie Belvin Eggars Award: Jacob Oubre • Award for Scholastic Achievement: Abby Hudson • Excellence in Medical-Surgical Nursing I: Mon- ica Doiga • Excellence in Medical-Surgical Nursing II: Allie Kapera • Excellence in Maternal-Child Nursing: Amber Collins • Excellence in Mental Health Nursing: Jennifer Hodges • Excellence in High Acuity Nursing: Lindsey Davis • Florence Nightingale Award: Monique Cole • Award for Student Excellence: Kalleigh Flucke  Most of BRG’s new graduates begin their Woman’s Hospital Becomes First in Louisiana to Join North American Fetal Therapy Network Woman’s has become the first hospital in Louisi- ana to join the North American Fetal Therapy Net- work (NAFTNet). NAFTNet is a voluntary associa- tion of medical centers in the United States and Canada with established expertise in fetal inter- vention and other forms of multidisciplinary care for complex disorders of the fetus. “Women have long looked to Woman’s as a leader in delivering babies, but we also provide some of the most advanced care for babies prior to delivery and following birth,” said R. Clifton Moore, MD, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Woman’s. “Being part of this organization will allow us to better collaborate with other leaders in fetal therapy across North America and pro- vide the best outcomes for our patients using evidence-based practices and leading-edge technologies.” Woman’s provides some of the most advanced diagnosis and fetal interventions available. Medi- cal staff that treat these cases includes maternal- fetal medicine specialists, pediatric cardiologists, pediatric surgeons, obstetrical anesthesiologists, neonatal intensivists, and an entire team of spe- cialized care coordinators. Parents who choose to receive care at Woman’s also have the bene- fit of access to the largest neonatal intensive care unit in the state for post-delivery care, if needed. Birth defects are most often managed with a coordinated medical therapy team during preg- nancy or immediately after birth. Conditions diag- nosed and treated before and after birth at Wom- an’s include: Spina bifida Twin-Twin transfusion syndrome Twin reversed arterial perfusion Lower urinary tract obstruction Congenital pulmonary airway malformation Fetal anemia/non-immune hydrops Cleft lip/Cleft palate Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) Congenital heart block Congenital heart disease Fetal cardiac arrhythmia Hypo-plastic left heart syndrome Fetal chylothorax or hydrothorax Baton Rouge General Awarded Chest Pain Accreditation Baton Rouge General announced that it has earned its Chest Pain Accreditation Certification from The Joint Commission. BRG is the only hos- pital in Baton Rouge to receive the certification. “Every 40 seconds someone in the U.S. has a heart attack, and surviving one depends on how a coordinated intervention is performed by an interdisciplinary team of cardiologists, emer- gency department physicians, nurses and ambu- lance staff,” said Dr. John Jones, an emergency medicine physician at Baton Rouge General. “This certification demonstrates that our team has the highest level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with heart attack symptoms.” The certification evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care. For example, BRG has partnered with local ambulance services to begin patient evaluations upon initial contact. An EKG obtained in the field is transmit- ted straight from the ambulance to the hospital and immediately interpreted by a physician. If the patient meets the criteria for a heart attack, the cardiologist and heart lab team are immediately deployed. That way, upon arrival, the patient can be brought directly to the cardiac catheteriza- tion lab for treatment. “For patients suffering a heart attack, appropri- ate treatment should be administered within 90 minutes for the best chance of survival, according to national guidelines,” Jones added. “Through our team’s identified best practice, our interven- tion times are well below the national standard at about 47 minutes, which vastly improves patient outcomes.” Established in 2002 and awarded for a two-year period, chest pain programs that receive the cer- tification are evaluated on compliance with vari- ous standards including program management, supporting self-management, and delivering and facilitating clinical care. “Chest Pain Accreditation Certification recog- nizes healthcare organizations committed to fos- tering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Cer- tification Operations, and chief nursing executive,