HJBR May/Jun 2022

46 MAY / JUN 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs fundamental social determinant of health,” Dana Lawson,d MD, Louisiana Healthcare Connections vice president of population health and clinical operations. “According to the USDA, Louisiana has the third-highest rate of food insecurity in the nation, so every effort to reduce it matters. Com- munity partners like the St. Helena Farmers Mar- ket mean we have strong allies with which to build food security and health equity in Louisiana.” SNAP offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low- income individuals and families. In Louisiana, that translates to about one in five people who receive monthly SNAP support. Loaded on their Louisi- ana Purchase card, benefits can be used to pur- chase eligible food items at SNAP-participating retailers. Louisiana Healthcare Connections is a matching partner with five of the seven farmers markets in the state accepting SNAP benefits. “Our mission is to educate, empower, and motivate St. Helena Parish,” noted Marquetta L. Anderson, FCS extension agent and St. Hel- ena Healthy Communities Coalition facilitator. “By providing opportunities to develop a more accessible and healthier lifestyle, we help improve the overall health of our community.” To launch the SNAP-match partnership, St. Hel- ena Farmers Market and Louisiana Healthcare Connections are hosting a special “SNAP IT UP!” celebration at the April 8 market. The event will feature local dignitaries, entertainment, and give- aways and will take place from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the corner of Sitman Street and LA-10 in Greens- burg. For more information about the event, contact Marquetta Anderson at {225) 222-4136 or maanderson@agcenter.lsu.edu. OLOL Physician Group Announces Updated Leadership Structure Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group has announced a major reorganization of its senior leadership team. “Change is happening all around us in healthcare and rather than react to the pressures of our industry, we must lead change in the region to sustain our mission and meet the needs of the patients and communi- ties we serve,” said Franciscan Health Physician President James Craven, MD. “This new leader- ship structure will build on the high-quality care that already exists within our system and drive development, innovation and efficiencies that will have an even greater impact on the health of our community.” Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group has cre- ated a dyad leadership model, in which opera- tional administrators and physician leaders collab- orate under this shared vision. The dyad partners work collaboratively on aligning processes with the goal of improving the patient and teammem- ber experience, quality and patient safety, and financial success. “The new dyad partnership we are pursuing will result in improved decision making, more efficient operations with fewer administrative layers, con- sistent excellence in service delivery, and patient experience, and ultimately, better patient out- comes,” said Craven. In a dyad partnership, physicians assume pri- mary responsibility for the clinical vision for the organization or subspecialty area and administra- tors operationalize that vision. This collaborative structure will build a strong culture with engaged physicians and will help Our Lady of the Lake Phy- sician Group accelerate the integration of new physicians into its group. In this model, physicians provide leadership in developing standards of clinical care, set the tone of company culture, and have a clear voice in the vision for the future. The senior medical directors and their opera- tional partners meet weekly to discuss feedback they hear from providers through regular meet- ings and other touchpoints, and to develop plans to support the growth of the group. These lead- ers are available to listen to ideas and concerns, and to provide support. The senior medical direc- tors for the Baton Rouge market are as follows: Lauren Barfield, MD Lauren Barfield, MD, received a bachelor’s degree from LSU, and then went on to receive a medical degree from the LSU School of Medi- cine in New Orleans. She completed an internal medicine residency at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge. Barfield is a member of the Ameri- can College of Physicians and the Catholic Med- ical Association. She specializes in adult primary care and preventive medicine in an office setting. Karl Leblanc, MD Karl A. LeBlanc, MD, earned a medical degree from LSU Medical School in Shreveport, where he also completed an internship and residency in general surgery. He also received a Master of Business Administration from LSU. He is board- certified in general surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Sur- gery (ASMBS). He is also a member of the Society for Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Sur- geons (SAGES), and is one of the founding mem- bers and past presidents of the Americas Hernia Society (AHS). He is a master surgeon for Laparo- scopic Surgery and has been active in minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgery since its origin. He helped found the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship in Baton Rouge and served as the fel- lowship director from 2004 - 2020. LeBlanc has authored eight textbooks on min- imally invasive, robotic, and hernia surgery and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed medical literature. LeBlanc specializes in hernia and abdominal wall reconstruction surgery. He also has special interest in surgery for weight loss, gastroesophageal reflux, and foregut disease. Daniel Nuss, MD Daniel W. Nuss, MD, a New Orleans native, completed medical education at Louisiana State University. After a six-month residency elective in head and neck surgical oncology at M.D. Ander- son Hospital, he served a two-year fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Cranial Base Surgery. At LSU, he has been professor and chairman of otolaryngology for 20 years, with a joint appointment as professor in the LSU Depart- ment of Neurosurgery. He is a past president of the North American Skull Base Society (2009), and in 2014, he was awarded the inaugural President’s Distinguished Service Award from the NASBS. Currently, Nuss’ clinical practice includes man- agement of skull base tumors using traditional approaches as well as minimally invasive and ste- reotactic techniques, and he has a special inter- est in reconstructive problems of the craniofacial region and skull base. He has to his credit more than 100 scientific publications and has given over 200 scientific presentations on five continents. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolar- yngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American