HJBR May/Jun 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  MAY / JUN 2021 31 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com personalized therapies. These are all tools that enable clinicians to make more informed treat- ment decisions. Once these deep-learning applications are developed and deployed, physicians and patients will benefit from more personalized and efficient radiation therapy. Medical professionals will also shift their attention from time-consuming and arduous treatment planning procedures to direct patient care. “One of the key elements in helping us launch this AI initiative is data from Gamma Knife Icon treatments, a sophisticated technology for treat- ing cancerous and non-cancerous tumors, as well as other neurological disorders,” said Jonas Fon- tenot, PhD, chief operating officer and chief of medical physics, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “This rich data set will add to the information col- lected from across our network in building better and more sophisticated clinical decision support tools, advancing our mission through this partner- ship with Vysioneer.” Both parties agree that clinical breakthroughs using AI come when the medical community and machine learning experts collaborate closely. Charles Wood, MD, medical director, radiation oncology, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, said this partnership positions the organization for the future of cancer care, as it looks ahead to the next 50 years. “Together, Vysioneer and Mary Bird Perkins will empower us as medical professionals to change the way we practice medicine today and into the future. This year, as we celebrate our 50th anniver- sary, we know in the decades ahead, AI will play a key role in all facets of cancer care,” said Wood. “The collective clinical and technical expertise of the organizations will be harnessed to help provide some of the most accurate treatment plans that will provide patients with an enhanced opportunity to fight their disease.” LDH: Short Delay in Getting Second COVID Vaccine Dose is Fine Residents who miss their second COVID vac- cine dose appointments this week can safely delay the second dose days or weeks if need be, according to the CDC. So, what if your second dose of COVID vaccine is delayed due to vaccine shortages, weather events, or you miss it? What do you do? If you have received the Moderna vaccine, ide- ally your second shot should be given 28 days after your first one. If you get the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose should be given 21 days after the first. Just know, in a pinch, you can safely delay the second dose up to 42 days and likely longer after the first dose if need be, according to the CDC. The CDC guidance states that the second dose should be administered as close to the recom- mended interval as possible, but the shot will still be effective if there is a short delay in get- ting the second dose. There is no need to restart the vaccination series if the second dose must be delayed. A few tips from the Louisiana Department of Health: • Make sure to communicate with the doctor or vaccination site at the time of your first dose to get a second shot appointment. • If the appointment is cancelled due to deliv- ery delays, weather, or you miss it, call the site to be rescheduled. Make sure to let the site know you need your second dose, and what date your first dose was admin- istered on. • Even though it is acceptable to delay the second dose days or weeks if need be, it should still be the goal to get this second dose on time (21 days after a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine or 28 days after a first dose of the Moderna vaccine). NewPrimary Care Provider Joins Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Picardy Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Picardy welcomed Kyle Champagne, MD, to its team of primary care providers. Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Picardy provides evaluation and management of chronic illnesses, care of minor injuries, comprehensive annual wellness exams, college physicals, preventive healthcare, and more. Champagne is a lifelong resident of Louisi- ana, growing up in Houma. He received a medi- cal degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and went on to complete an internal medicine residency with LSU Health Baton Rouge at Our Lady of the Lake where he also served as chief resident. Champagne is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians. He has a particular interest in chronic disease manage- ment and preventative medicine including immu- nizations and cancer screenings. Champagne joins Brian Gremillion, MD, and Bradley Meek, MD, at Our Lady of the Lake Phy- sician Group Picardy located at 8119 Picardy Ave- nue in Baton Rouge. Acadian Ambulance Debuts Airvo Devices Acadian Ambulance’s fleet of units is outfitted with the equipment and supplies typically carried by ambulance services across the nation, as well as several types of specialized units. These units include additional equipment beneficial for trans- porting neonatal, bariatric or critical care patients for interfacility transports. As part of Acadian’s commitment to provide the most advanced medical care available, Acadi- an’s Critical Care Transport (CCT) units have been equipped with new Airvo oxygen devices. The Airvo delivers a high flow of air/oxygen mixtures to patients through a unique interface and are more easily transportable because they contain a built-in flow generator. The device is able to warm and humidify oxy- gen, which is then filtered and delivered via vapor form, not droplet, to prevent the transmission of virus particles and bacteria. In addition to pro- viding better delivery of oxygen, the patient’s Kyle Champagne, MD