HJBR May/Jun 2021

58 MAY / JUN 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Hospital Rounds Systems, which are located at both Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge and Our Lady of the Lake Ascension in Gonzales. Robotic surgery offers many benefits to patients compared to traditional surgery including shorter hospital stays, shorter recovery time, reduced dis- comfort, less scarring, and lowered risk for infec- tion. Robotic surgery is a more advanced form of other minimally invasive procedures both com- mon and complex. Surgeons use a controlled robotic device with multiple incision points on a patient’s body. These leave minimal scarring but provide the surgeon with additional flexibility to better reach certain areas that may be otherwise hard to get through traditional open procedures. “We’ve seen time and time again that patient outcomes are improved when we use minimally invasive techniques and nothing is more minimally invasive than a robot assisted procedure providing surgeons like myself with additional dexterity we wouldn’t have with traditional open laparoscopic or other open procedures,” said Keith Rhynes, MD, MBA, FACS, general surgeon Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge. “We’ve come a long way in a decade, and we know that there’s more to learn and much more to teach so we can continue being the best stewards of our patients’ health.” Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge hosts an annual robotic surgery training for surgeons from around the United States to learn from experienced surgeons. The Our Lady of the Lake Robotic Institute also trains current and future surgeons. Each year, for the last 10 years, the team hosts a robotic surgery symposium. It uses video streaming technology to educate the surgeons. Surgeons are also able to interact with the operating room while watching the surgeries on screen. In addition to their local work, Our Lady of the Lake’s Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge providers also travel to proctor and teach robotic surgery in other parts of the country. Since 2004, Our Lady of the Lake has also offered a very competitive physician fellowship in minimally invasive and advanced robotic surgi- cal procedures each year giving a year of expert training to physicians in the latest innovative sur- gical techniques. On top of the fellowship, each surgical resident on Our Lady of the Lake’s campus has the opportunity to get hands-on experience in robotic surgery and a majority who graduate receive robotic certification and go on to com- plete a fellowship in robotic surgery. Woman’s Hospital Adds Three General Surgeons Woman’s Hospital has added three general sur- geons to its campus. James Williams, MD, Ste- phen Manale, MD, and William Kimbrough, III, MD, join Alec Hirsch, MD, to provide minimally invasive surgical technology at Woman’s Hospital. “Woman’s is nationally recognized for both our surgical care and patient experience, and coupled with the advanced technology we provide, makes the hospital a top choice for surgery for both men and women,” said Barbara Griffith, MD, president and CEO of Woman’s Hospital. “And with three new surgeons on our staff we are able to perform more procedures and help more patients improve their quality of life.” Common surgeries offered at Woman’s Hospi- tal for both men and women include: • Appendectomy. • Gallbladder removal. • Colorectal surgery. • Surgical treatment for acid reflux. • Hernia repair. • Breast surgery. • Cosmetic surgery. • Urologic surgery for incontinence, kidney stones, polyps and tumors. These are in addition to breast and gynecologic cancer surgeries and weight loss surgery options for women. Health Leaders Medicare ACONetwork Achieves $16.6 Million in Shared Savings Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network, a sub- sidiary of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, achieved $16.6 million in shared savings in performance year 2019 as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS’s) accountable care organization (ACO) ini- tiative called the Next Generation ACO Model. “As the only Next Generation ACO in the state of Louisiana, we are excited to see the progress made after just two years to advance the care we provide to Medicare beneficiaries,” said Richard Vath, MD, chief executive officer of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. “In year one we saw savings of $4.9 million, so to jump so much in just one year is incredible and a testa- ment to the dedication our team has put behind this program.” The Next Generation ACO Model, in its fourth year, allows for setting more predictable finan- cial targets, gives patients more opportunities to manage their own health through technology and enables providers to better coordinate care across the entire continuum. Health Leaders Medicare ACONetwork is comprised of Franciscan Mission- aries of Our Lady Health System and Baton Rouge Clinic providers. “The goal of coordinated care through an ACO is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoid- ing unnecessary duplication of services and pre- venting medical errors,” said Christopher Funes, MD, president of Health Leaders Network. “We’ve seen first-hand how this Model achieves those goals and provides more flexibility to improve the patient experience, improve outcomes and control escalating costs of healthcare. It’s a win for everyone involved — patients, providers and payors.” In performance year 2019, Health Leaders Medi- care ACONetwork received a 97.75% overall qual- ity performance score. The organization’s quality and total cost of care results put Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network in the top quartile of all organizations participating in the Next Genera- tion ACO model across the country. “As we continue to innovate and make prog- ress on our value-based care journey, improving outcomes and increasing the quality of care for seniors is most important to us and the patients we serve,” Vath said. “I am proud of the collabo- ration and progress on behalf of the State of Loui- siana and the 21,000 lives covered by this Model.” Medicare ACO are comprised of groups of doc- tors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers and suppliers who come together voluntarily to pro- vide coordinated, high-quality care at lower costs to their Original Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare patients. Health Leaders Medicare ACO Net- work manages the health of approximately 21,000 Medicare beneficiaries. The Next Generation ACO Model advances CMS’s goals , announced in 2015, to move an