HJBR May/Jun 2022

40 MAY / JUN 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs Baton Rouge. An initial gift of $500,000 toward their commitment to donate $2.25 million for building construction was made during a check presentation on Feb. 10 at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. The Hogs House will serve as on-campus hous- ing for families who have a child receiving ongo- ing healthcare treatment at the children’s hospital. Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital serves children from every parish in Louisiana, as well as many fromMississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and other states. The average length of stay in the hospital is four days, with many children visiting routinely due to complex medical conditions. The first Hogs House was built in New Orleans in 2017. “Our New Orleans Hogs House has been at full capacity since we opened the doors,” said Becker Hall, co-founder and chief executive offi- cer of Hogs for the Cause. “It definitely proves there is a great need for this type of housing. The beneficial impact a Hogs House has on families is the greatest incentive we have for fundraising. We’ve made a good start, but we have a long way to go.” Hogs for the Cause is currently raising funds in Baton Rouge. “It’s important to know that all money raised through fundraising in the Baton Rouge area stays in the Baton Rouge area,” said Katie Bliss, Hogs development director. “We are primarily concentrating on funding the Hogs House.” Hogs for the Cause was founded in New Orleans but is active across the country. Hogs teams from coast to coast raise money through- out the year, and financial grants are dispensed to families in need regardless of where they live. “Getting outside of the hospital setting allows families to connect with other families who share the same situation,” said Trey Dunbar, MD, pres- ident of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health. “This family residence will lift more than the finan- cial burden from these families; it will provide a place of emotional healing, as well.” The layout of the Hogs House has been thoughtfully designed, including community rooms that allow for social- izing and fellowship. Hogs for the Cause, which began as a pig roast with a few friends hoping to raise money for a young boy with pediatric brain cancer in 2009, has grown into an acclaimed barbeque com- petitions and music festival. The funds from the festival allow the organization to help thousands of families through direct grants and funding pro- gramming at children’s hospitals. Since its incep- tion, the organization has made grants totaling $1.8 million in direct grants to families battling pediatric brain cancer and $4 million to hospital programs and other public charities. For more information about Hogs for the Cause and its events, fundraising, grants, and charitable contributions, visit www.hogsforthecause.com . Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute Launches Minimally Invasive Robotic-Assisted Lung Biopsy Procedure Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute is now offering patients a new, minimally invasive option for lung biopsy. The Ion endoluminal system, manufactured by Intuitive, allows for advanced maneuverability and navigation through narrow airways to nodules far into the peripheral lung. Abdulla Majid-Moosa, MD, performed the first case on Feb.15. “The addition of the Ion system to our inciden- tal lung nodule program will enable us to visual- ize and precisely biopsy lung nodules,” said Emily Cassidy, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “We will now be able to diagnose lung cancer earlier and start treatment earlier, providing more opportunity for a successful outcome.” At Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute, an incidental lung nodule program helps to identify more patients with lung cancer at earlier stages before they have symptoms. The program is led by Cassidy and a multidisciplinary team formed with subject matter experts who gather every week to review CT scans of lung nodules that were taken in other departments. “The Ion system revolutionizes how we approach lung nodules,” said Abdulla Majid- Moosa, DO, a pulmonologist at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “Unlike com- mon diagnostic methods where a biopsy nee- dle passes through the chest wall and pierces the lung, this robotic-assisted technology is per- formed from within the patient’s airways.” “Lung nodules are often found in difficult-to- access locations,” said Nicholas LeBlanc, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “The equipment affords us the opportunity to potentially diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage permitting earlier therapeu- tics and increasing the chances for a successful outcome. I am excited about the benefits for our lung nodule patients here in Baton Rouge and south Louisiana.” During the procedure, the clinical team utilizes the Ion system in combination with Philips Allura Cone-Beam computed tomography (CT) technol- ogy and augmented fluoroscopy to navigate a thin catheter down the patient’s trachea and into the peripheral lung. The cone-beam CT and aug- mented fluoroscopy provide real-time imaging of the airway throughout the procedure. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among people in the United States. In 2022, an estimated 237,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed. For those most at risk, annual lung cancer screenings improve a patient’s lung cancer survival rate. With the new Ion tech- nology, patients who choose Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute for their care can benefit from this minimally invasive approach of diag- nosis and staging lung cancer while reducing complications. “Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Institute takes cancer services to the next level of treatment and effectiveness. We are committed to pro- viding patient-focused and quality driven care,” said Linda Lee, LCSW, vice president of cancer services. “Ion demonstrates our commitment to high-quality care and will help our physicians eval- uate patients more quickly.” Louisiana Healthcare Connections Offers Peer-to- Peer Provider Continuing Education Series Louisiana Healthcare Connections is offering their spring provider educational series featur- ing webinars with healthcare experts from across Louisiana. In partnership with Louisiana Academy of Fam- ily Physicians (LAFP), Louisiana Chapter of Amer- ican Academy of Pediatrics (LA AAP), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Loui- siana, each session in the seven-topic series will focus on a challenging health issues confronting healthcare providers in Louisiana. A peer expert