HJBR May/Jun 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  MAY / JUN 2020 47 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com Baton Rouge General Expands FamilyMedicine Services with NewO’Neal Lane Clinic Baton Rouge General (BRG) is expanding its family medicine services with the addition of a new clinic, Baton Rouge General Physicians – O’Neal Lane, led by Dr. Stephen McCulloh. McCulloh will offer telehealth visits, which have helped reduce the number of people coming into clinic waiting rooms and potentially spreading the novel coronavirus. “The reality is that COVID-19 is not the only health issue affecting us,” said McCulloh. “People still have chronic conditions, and while we want to encourage everyone to stay at home, we don’t want you to put your health at risk by putting off your medical care.” Over the last few weeks, telehealth has taken off across health systems to help evaluate whether a patient needs to be tested for COVID-19. How- ever, if a patient has a chronic condition, like dia- betes or hypertension, they may need to be seen face to face. “My goal as a family medicine doctor is to meet my patients where they are, whether they want to see me face to face, talk through their online por- tal or have an appointment through a virtual tele- health visit,” said McCulloh. At all of its clinics, Baton Rouge General has implemented best practices for patient safety, including giving each patient a mask upon arrival and signs directing patients to keep the appropri- ate six-foot distance in the waiting rooms. McCulloh is a graduate of the University of Okla- homa and earned his medical degree from Amer- ican University of the Caribbean School of Medi- cine. He completed a residency in family medicine at Baton Rouge General and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians. Woman’s Hospital Enhances Employee and Patient Safety Due to an increase in acts of violence in health- care settings locally and across the U.S., Wom- an’s Hospital is taking a proactive stance to pro- tect its staff, patients, and visitors. The hospital has hired 13 security response officers (SROs) that will provide 24/7 coverage beginning in March, in addition to the contract security staff which will remain at entrances, visitor check-in, and on mobile patrol. The SROs are all highly trained and skilled secu- rity professionals with backgrounds in law enforce- ment and/or military. They all receive specialized training in the use of both lethal and non-lethal weapons, and must pass intense physical and mental screenings to be eligible for the role. “Our hospital leadership recognizes that the safety of our staff, patients, and visitors is of utmost importance, especially in light of recent acts of violence in hospitals across the country,” said Bill Icenogle, director of emergency manage- ment and security for Woman’s Hospital. “What we’re doing at Woman’s is on the cutting edge, with a hybrid approach to security. We manage our own armed security team, which means we have full control over their training, certifications, and readiness to respond.” In order to best protect its staff, patients, and visitors, Woman’s has contracted with former Baton Rouge police chief Greg Phares, who has more than 40 years of experience in law enforce- ment, to ensure its security measures will both deter and rapidly deescalate any situation that poses a threat to anyone on its campus. “By hiring their own security response officers, Woman’s is showing a commitment to keeping employees safe so they can focus on caring for their patients,” said Phares. “This is a pioneer pro- gram that I believe other hospitals are going to want to follow.” Woman’s also is upgrading additional hospital features and providing employee training to keep its campus safe. A lockdown system for patient care areas has been implemented, and Woman’s is providing Management of Aggressive Behav- ior (MOAB) training to nurses and other staff to help recognize, reduce, and manage violent and aggressive behavior they may encounter. The pro- gram also provides humane and compassionate methods of dealing with aggressive individuals. People of Louisiana Don’t Know Where to Start to Improve Health The majority of Louisianans believe they are able to control their health (86%) and say they are making progress toward improving their health (85%). However, while the study indicates that 94% of Louisianans agree that even small changes in behavior can make a big impact on how a person feels physically and mentally, it also shows that it is not always easy for Louisianans to start healthy habits: • 63% say being healthy means having to make big lifestyle changes • Only a little over half of Louisianans say they eat healthy foods (68%) or exercise (59%) at least a few times a week • Around a third of Louisianans (32%) say when it comes to being healthy, they don’t know where to start • More than two in five (44%) say building even small, positive habits into their lives can be difficult for them • About one-third of Louisianans (32%) say being healthy feels out of reach to them • Lack of personal motivation (33%) is the most commonly reported barrier to Loui- sianans participating in healthy activities “While the survey shows that some Louisianans may not know where to begin improving their own health, that’s where healthcare organizations like ours can step in to partner with people to show that small steps can lead to big changes,” said Vath. Survey Finds Louisiana Residents Optimistic on Improving Individual Health; Struggle with Daily Routine, and Experience Cultural Obstacles A survey commissioned by the Franciscan Mis- sionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS) paints a complicated picture of how Louisiana res- idents view their health and happiness in the con- text of the state’s unique culture. “This is a groundbreaking study of how Loui- siana residents view health and their ability to improve it,” said Richard Vath, MD, chief execu- tive officer of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. “It’s encouraging to see high levels of optimism and personal accountability. The clear opportunity for all of us – whether it be individuals, families, or health organizations like ours – is to create more supportive environments and a better understanding of how to improve everyday health and well-being within our won- derful culture.” The results of the survey conducted online by