HJBR May/Jun 2022

44 MAY / JUN 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs GM104940. The content is solely the responsibil- ity of the authors and does not necessarily rep- resent the official views of the sponsors or the National Institutes of Health. LDH Launches COVID-19 Community Support Hotline The Louisiana Department of Health has launched its new COVID-19 Community Sup- port Hotline, which merges the former contact tracing hotline and the COVID-19 vaccine hot- line to provide the general public one convenient resource to get their COVID-19 and vaccine ques- tions answered. Residents can call the new COVID-19 Commu- nity Support Hotline at 1-855-453-0774 to: • Schedule vaccine and booster appointments • Schedule a homebound vaccination appointment • Speak to a medical professional • Get their questions answered on what to do next after becoming COVID positive or exposed • Get connected to resources while in isola- tion or quarantine (assuming eligibility and availability) If you test positive for COVID-19, you may receive a text message with general information on isolation and quarantine guidance. If you test positive or suspect you have been exposed to COVID-19 and have questions, you may call the COVID-19 Community Support Hotline at (855) 453-0774. All calls are confidential and phone menu options are listed in both English and Spanish. The hotline is available Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and on Sunday from 12 p.m.-8 p.m. NewBariatric Institute Opens on Pennington Biomedical Campus Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Loui- siana Economic Development (LED), LSU Health New Orleans and the Office of the Governor joined forces in 2019 to establish the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute, now the Metamor™ Institute at Pennington. “Metamor is our obesity ‘moonshot,’” said Pennington Biomedical Research Center Executive Director John Kirwan, PhD. “We’ve united researchers, scientists, nutrition experts, psychologists, exercise physiologists, and more under one roof so as to transform the understand- ing and treatment of obesity. Metamor leverages Pennington Biomedical’s more than 30 years of research into weight-loss treatments and reduc- ing obesity rates in children and adults.” “The obesity epidemic is a public health crisis that threatens the quality of life and economic health of Louisiana and its residents,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “Metamor’s bold response to that challenge will improve the health of our res- idents, reduce Louisiana’s collective healthcare burden and expand the state’s fast-growing life sciences sector. Pennington’s groundbreaking research has been a source of pride for Louisi- ana for more than 30 years, and this new facility ensures it will remain on the cutting edge of bio- science innovation for years to come.” The combined facilities at Pennington Biomed- ical and Our Lady of the Lake are expected to contribute more than $100 million in economic returns, according to LSU economists, through a combination of research grant revenue, destina- tion medical care, new surgical procedures, tech- nology development, and lowering the state’s health care burden. “Our Lady of the Lake and Pennington have long partnered to impact the overall health of our community,” said Scott Wester, Franciscan Mis- sionaries of Our Lady Health System EVP of Advo- cacy and Strategic Partnerships. “The collabora- tion on this initiative demonstrates that we can build destination programs right here in Baton Rouge, La. We can care for patients here at home and attract those from abroad.” Metamor, originally known as the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, was announced in October 2019. A public-private partnership of Penning- ton Biomedical, Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, Our Lady of the Lake, LSU Health New Orleans, Louisiana Economic Develop- ment, and the Office of the Governor of Louisi- ana funded the project and recruited Dr. Schauer to head the institute. “We created a new brand for the institute because the facility, the services, and the commu- nity outreach and advocacy we offer are unique. We wanted a name that reflects that,” Metamor Director Philip Schauer, MD. said. “Metamor stands for the metamorphosis our patients expe- rience, from chronic illness to health. The name also combines metabolic and more. The new state-of-the art facility includes roughly 10,000 square feet of space, with 12 exam rooms and 10 consultation rooms on the first floor. The work involved demolishing existing space and adding customized exam and consultation rooms. The $2 million project took around 10 months to complete. The project includes an outpatient clinic on the campus of Pennington Biomedical as well as sur- gical and office facilities at Our Lady of the Lake. Officials expect the facilities will be a key asset within the Baton Rouge Health District, which encompasses major health care employers span- ning Interstate 10 and Perkins Road to the north and south, and Bluebonnet Boulevard and Essen Lane on the east and west. Capital Area HeartWalk Held in Downtown Baton Rouge The Capital Area Heart Walk, held March 26 in Downtown Baton Rouge, brought the event back after two years. The American Heart Association’s Heart Challenge is a suite of activities and initiatives designed to help companies positively impact employee overall health and well-being. The program is anchored in a series of customizable workplace events that inspires employees to be more engaged, reconnect with colleagues, get in their physical activity, support a great cause, and have a lot of fun doing it. “It was a true honor to serve as chair for this year’s Capital Area Heart Walk,” said 2022 Chair Trey Dunbar, MD, president of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health. “The past year and a half has been difficult on everyone, but it has also served to focus us all on healthy living. I look for- ward to leading the charge to raise funds to fur- ther the mission of the American Heart Associa- tion, but also to creating lasting change both at the corporate and community level”. The Capital Area Heart Walk has been around for more than 30 years now. Walkers enjoyed cruising along the levee in the beautiful weather and hands on activities like a Kids Zone, CPR training, and more.