HJBR Jan/Feb 2021

40 JAN / FEB 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs Lourdes Rodriguez, MD, to it’s endocrinology team. She joins Ivan Gamboa Velez, MD, Robin Kilpatrick, MD, Sheri Ammons, APRN, FNP-BC, and Nicole Miles, APRN, FNP-BC, in the diag- nosis and treatment of gland and hormone dis- eases at Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Endocrinology. Rodriguez received her medical degree from the Universidad del Norte Facultad de Medicina in Barranquilla, Colombia. She completed a resi- dency in internal medicine at Morristown Medi- cal Center in Morristown, N.J., and a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va. Rodriguez is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the Endocrine Society and the American Associ- ation of Clinical Endocrinologists. Rodriguez is fluent in English and Spanish. Rodriguez’s goal for her patients is to restore hormone balance throughout the body. Rodriguez is accepting new patients at Our Lady of the Lake Endocrinology located at 5428 O’Donovan Drive, Suite C, in Baton Rouge. Cardiovascular Institute of the South is First in BR to Use NewAccess Point for Implant Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) inter- ventional cardiologists Niksad Abraham, MD, and Garland Green, MD, are the first in Baton Rouge to perform the first percutaneous Impella implant through a new axillary artery approach near the shoulder. The procedure took place on Nov. 24 at Baton Rouge General Medical Center. Impella, the world’s smallest heart pump, tem- porarily assists with the pumping function of a heart during a high-risk coronary intervention. The difference in this new procedure is that the access point is near the shoulder as opposed to the groin. It is estimated that less than one per- cent of interventional cardiologists have devel- oped the meticulous skill set to use this new access point, which offers many benefits and advantages to the patient. “The Impella is traditionally implanted through the femoral artery of the groin,” explained Abra- ham. “But due to vascular disease the legs, this can be difficult or impossible for some patients, which makes this new access point a break- through for patients who need it.” Louisiana Internal Medicine and Pediatric Associates Joins Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group welcomes Kenyatta Shamlin-Haynes, MD, and Tasha Sham- lin, MD, to its team of providers serving pediat- ric and adult patients in the Baton Rouge area. “We are fortunate to have these two well- respected community physicians joining our team. Their passion for providing and ensuring every patient receives exceptional care aligns per- fectly with our mission in offering the best health- care services across Louisiana and Mississippi,” said LaDonna Butler Green, COO of the system physician group. The providers will continue to serve patients at the current clinic location as Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Louisiana Internal Medicine and Pediatric Associates. Natives of Baton Rouge, Shamlin-Haynes and Shamlin are graduates of Baton Rouge Magnet High School and returned to Baton Rouge after completing their medical training at Baylor Col- lege of Medicine in Houston. Shamlin-Haynes completed a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics and is also a certified bone densitometrist. She is a member of the International Society for Clinical Densitom- etry, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Shamlin completed a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics as well. She is a member of the National Medical Association, the Ameri- can Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Louisiana State Medical Society, Quota International of Baton Rouge, the Ameri- can Society of Cosmetic Surgery, and the Ameri- can Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. The clinic is located at 7444 Picardy Avenue in Baton Rouge. Louisiana Adopts CDC Guidance Allowing Shortened COVIDQuarantine The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recently updated guidance that allows people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to shorten their quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days, or as few as seven days with a negative test. Still, the shorter quarantine periods do come with a risk that a person may be infectious when he or she leaves quarantine, and should be care- fully evaluated when weighing options. Because even a small post-quarantine transmission risk could result in substantial secondary clusters in settings where there is a high risk for transmission, LDH is currently recommending the full 14-day Kenyatta Shamlin-Haynes, MD Tasha Shamlin, MD Lourdes Rodriguez, MD