HJBR Mar/Apr 2021

36 MAR / APR 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs informing them if there is a risk that they were exposed to someone who has tested positive for the virus. Use of the technology is completely vol- untary, private, and secure. COVID Defense does not collect the location of a phone or individual to detect exposure, and it does not share a user’s identity. App users must opt in to use the tool and may opt out at any time. No personal information is required to use the app. “In the last few weeks, we’ve seen staggering numbers in terms of deaths and cases and those numbers should give us pause. Last week we also reported our first case of the more contagious UK variant of COVID,” said Gov. Edwards. “Until the majority of the general public has received the COVID vaccine, we cannot let up and will need to lean on every other tool available to us. COVID Defense adds another tool to our toolkit to slow the spread of this dangerous virus.” COVID Defense can be downloaded in the iPhone App Store or Android Google Play Store. When COVID Defense is voluntarily activated, the tool uses Bluetooth technology to exchange random tokens between phones without reveal- ing the user’s identity or location. To help ensure these random tokens can’t be used to identify you or your location, they change every 10-20 minutes. On a daily basis, an individual’s mobile phone Ochsner Announces New Pediatric Super-Clinic Ochsner Baton Rouge announced the expan- sion of Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove to include a pediatric super-clinic. Ochsner will combine pediatric specialty ser- vices, with additional pediatric subspecialties on the horizon, to place them all under one roof. This strategy will help parents avoid the traffic of Baton Rouge for appointments at various loca- tions. In addition, the new super-clinic will pro- vide children with a friendly and welcoming envi- ronment that, as it becomes a familiar space, will help lower anxiety. This super-clinic will encompass nearly the entire fifth floor at The Grove. “Kids are resilient,” stated Eric McMillen, CEO, Ochsner Baton Rouge. “The majority of condi- tions children face can be treated in an outpa- tient clinic setting or at a same-day surgery cen- ter – like what we already have at The Grove.” The Grove’s top floor will transform into a kid- focused area, and the building will offer general pediatrics, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric neurology, pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery, pediatric orthopedics, pediatric urology, pediatric cancer care, pediatric hepatology, pedi- atric ENT (ear, nose & throat), pediatric allergy, pediatric dermatology, pediatric pulmonology, and child and adolescent psychiatry and psychol- ogy, along with EEG, infusion, pulmonary testing and lactation support services for children. There will be 38 exam/treatment rooms on the fifth floor and a dedicated 3,632 square-foot child development center. This area within the super-clinic will feature physical, occupational, speech, and feeding therapy. It is designed to provide personalized, family-centered patient care like Ochsner’s Michael R. Boh Center for Child Development. The project represents a $6.8 million invest- ment, which includes over $700,000 in pediat- ric-specific medical equipment. The total square footage of the expansion is approximately 18,500 square feet, with a dedicated pediatric waiting room of nearly 3,000 square feet. The contractor for the project is The Lemoine Company, and the architect is Grace Hebert Cur- tis Architects. Expected completion of the project is slated for fall of 2021. Louisiana Launches COVID DefenseMobile App Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the launch of COVID Defense, Louisiana’s exposure notifica- tion mobile application for Google and Android phones to slow the spread of COVID-19. Louisianans can now receive notifications Ochsner Baton Rouge announced the expansion of Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove to include a pediatric super-clinic.