HJBR May/Jun 2021

60 MAY / JUN 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Hospital Rounds AHA’s Section for Metropolitan Hospitals Coun- cil and AHA Leadership Pool. Wester is a former chair of the Louisiana Hospital Association Board of Trustees and currently serves as an ex-officio member of the LHA Board and is a member of the Association’s Executive Committee. He is a mem- ber of the Vizient Gulf States Board, has served as chair of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Com- merce, the Catholic Health Association Awards and Century Committee, and is an active member on several local community boards. Woman’s Hospital Receives Cancer Reaccreditations as Leader in Breast &GYNCancer Care After recently being named one of the World’s Best Specialty Hospitals for cancer care by News- week, Woman’s Hospital has again received reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer (CoC) for setting the standard for women’s cancer care in the region. “Being accredited by trusted organizations like NAPBC and CoC tells our patients that they are receiving world-class care when they choose our experts,” said Cynthia Rabalais, executive direc- tor, Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion at Woman’s Hospital. “More than that, this accreditation also recognizes the patient-centered care we provide. The quality of care, along with exceptional patient experience, is what sets Woman’s apart.” The Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion, a partner- ship with Mary Bird Perkins - Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center, enables women to receive state- of-the-art care close to home from three trusted local organizations. The Pavilion has delivered more than 55,000 services since opening in 2018 to women across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Woman’s received a three-year full accreditation by the NAPBC. To maintain accreditation, Wom- an’s must undergo a rigorous on-site evaluation and review of its quality care every three years. The hospital was initially accredited by the NAPBC in May 2011 and has been reaccredited in 2014, 2017, and now 2021. Woman’s also has received a three-year full reac- creditation by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. The Commission on Can- cer encourages hospitals to improve their quality of patient care through cancer-related programs focused on the full continuum of care from pre- vention through end-of-life or survivorship. To maintain this accreditation, a facility must also undergo an on-site evaluation every three years and comply with standards throughout all areas of their cancer program. Baton Rouge General Announces New Initiatives at Mid City Baton Rouge General (BRG) celebrates the one- year anniversary of re-opening the acute care part of its Mid City hospital. BRG also announced new initiatives that will continue to build on Mid City’s resurgence. “Today we’re celebrating one year since we reopened acute care at Mid City, and I’m proud of all that our team has accomplished here,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, CEO of Baton Rouge General. “We’ve since been able to re-open the emer- gency room, helping close a gap in access to care, and are re-investing back into the campus in a big way.” In 2020, over 26,000 patients were treated at BRG’s Mid City campus, an increase of 33% from 2019. In addition to caring for patients with COVID, the team at Mid City treated patients at primary care visits, radiation oncology, rehab, and imaging, among many other services. “With more people coming through our doors here, a new vision started to unfold,” said Tri- sha Guidry, chief operating officer at Mid City. “We’re excited about the plans to give our cam- pus a major facelift and feel confident that we will continue to be a beacon of hope for the Mid City community.” Plans for a new front entrance of the hospi- tal will add green space and make the hospital even more a part of the community. Plans include removing the fence and staff parking lot facing Florida Boulevard, opening up a large park-like space with a plaza and seating. The new area could also be host to future events like BRG’s Pop- up Pink Pumpkin Patch, screening events and Hol- iday Lights display, as well as other community- driven events in Mid City. In a collaboration with The Walls Project, BRG has also commissioned an 800-square-foot mural for the side of the hospi- tal. Work is set to begin soon, with an anticipated June completion date. Also, part of the one-year anniversary is the announcement of a new initiative from the Baton Rouge General Foundation that addresses health inequity and barriers to care among the hospi- tal’s patient base at Mid City. The CARE Initiative (Community, Access, Resources, and Education) tackles some of the most common issues keeping patients from achieving full health, including trans- portation, medical equipment, and food insecu- rity. Many patients struggle to even get to the hospital for radiation or other important visits, and 20% of those who leave our skilled nursing unit need an at-home ramp but can’t afford one. After a short application and CARE committee review, patients can be granted up to $500 in assistance. BRG has cultivated relationships with commu- nity partners that may be connected with patients depending on their needs. For example, Rebuild- ing Together Baton Rouge is on tap to help with installing wheelchair ramps, and Top Box to help with the proper nutrition to supplement a patient’s treatment. The initiative also means growing exist- ing partnerships with Yellow Cab, Uber, and Lyft, which the hospital uses currently to provide free transportation for Pennington Cancer Center patients. “Mid City’s impact on our community over the past year confirmed what we knew — there was a gap in access to care in the zip codes surround- ing Mid City,” said Erik Showalter, president of the BRG Foundation. “And COVID has made access to care, along with other disparities, even clearer. Through our new CARE Initiative we plan to help close some of those gaps, but there’s still much work to be done, and we look forward to helping lead the way.” n Scott Wester