HJBR Nov/Dec 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  NOV / DEC 2022 61 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com The symptom checker is designed to help parents and guardians decide on the appropri- ate care setting based on their child’s symptoms and special circumstances. The tool is free for everyone and available online. By answering a few quick, confidential questions, parents will be able to use this new resource to determine if they should go to the ER, contact a pediatrician imme- diately, make an appointment with a provider, or seek another type of care. Visit ololchildrens.org/symptom-checker to access the digital symptom checker. Baton Rouge General Welcomes Robotic Surgeon V. Keith Rhynes, MD V. Keith Rhynes, MD, MBA, FACS, recently joined Baton Rouge General’s Advanced Robot- ics Institute, where he uses minimally invasive and advanced robotic surgery platforms to treat a host of diseases and conditions. Rhynes specializes in diseases of the colon, stomach, pancreas, and hepatobiliary system, including both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions. He also has a special interest in treat- ing sports hernias, endocrine and thyroid disor- ders, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and hyper- hidrosis, a condition in which a person sweats excessively. A board-certified general surgeon, Rhynes com- pleted a general surgery residency at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, followed by a fellowship in multi-organ transplantation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He serves as a clinical professor for LSU Health Sciences Center’s Department of General Surgery. Our Lady of the Lake Foundation Receives $150K Contribution fromBASF Our Lady of the Lake Foundation recently received a $150,000 contribution from BASF to expand services at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health. The recent donation will specifically sup- port the expansion of the Child Life Program at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. Child life specialists help guide patients and their families during their stay at the hospital, making it a less scary place. The gift will also support programs at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health Children’s Developmental Center at McMains. “On behalf of our 1,200 employees in Louisi- ana and our families, I am pleased to share BASF’s continued investment in Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital to serve the special needs of children in our community,” said Kristen Pforr, BASF’s vice president of operations, Care Chemi- cals, and Our Lady of the Lake Foundation board member. “In addition to dollars, BASF employee volunteers will also support these crucial children’s programs that touch so many in need and help ensure success in our community’s future.” The child life specialists at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital walk hand-in-hand with patients and their families through each aspect of their visit. These specially trained team members aid in decreasing anxiety associated with visits to the hospital, help educate about the patient’s diagnosis, provide support for patient siblings, prepare the patient and family for procedures, and even participate in normative and therapeu- tic play sessions. This service is an invaluable, non- billable resource that is supported through phi- lanthropy. This philanthropic investment will also allow McMains to grow its medically necessary services such as innovative therapies, family pro- gramming, and compassionate care to children — regardless of a family’s ability to pay. The gift from BASF is a continuation of a long- standing partnership between the chemical com- pany and Our Lady of the Lake Health. BASF pre- viously donated $250,000 for the construction of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, and BASF employees have consistently given of their time and talent volunteering at McMains for many years. Baton Rouge General Adds Cardiothoracic Surgeons Baton Rouge General (BRG) announced that it is expanding its cardiothoracic surgery services with the addition of two surgeons, Azeem Khan, MD, and Imtiaz Khan, MD. Both cardiothoracic surgeons perform adult car- diac and thoracic surgery to treat diseases of the heart, aorta, lungs, and esophagus using state- of-the-art robotic and minimally invasive tech- niques. They offer complete robotic thoracic sur- gical services and specialize in various types of heart valve surgery, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as well as coronary bypass surgery, heart and lung transplants, and the treatment of atrial fibrillation and advanced heart failure. Azeem and Khan both graduated from LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and each completed a general surgery residency at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Khan completed a cardiothoracic surgery fel- lowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and a pediatric cardiothoracic surgery fel- lowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also completed advanced training at The Arizona Heart Institute and The Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany. Khan completed a cardiothoracic surgery fellow- ship at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, as well as a heart/lung transplantation and advanced heart failure/mechanical circulatory support fellowship at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Both surgeons also serve as national proctors for the DaVinci Intuitive Surgical Robotic platform. Baton Rouge General Cardio and Thoracic Sur- gery Associates is located at 2223 Quail Run Drive, Suite E. FranciscanMissionaries of Our Lady Announces Retirement, Transition of Chief Marketing Officer Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health Sys- tem’s (FMOLHS) Chief Marketing Officer Cathe- rine Harrell has announced plans to retire in Jan- uary of 2023. Harrell has supported the system’s marketing and communications efforts for the last 26 years, serving as its first chief marketing offi- cer since 2018. “I’m blessed to have committed so much of my career to this mission and the Sisters who have shaped my perspective and leadership,” said Harrell. “I’m also grateful to incredibly tal- ented mentors and colleagues as we’ve tackled tough healthcare challenges with compassion and authenticity in our service to those most in need. The good work and positive impact of this minis- try is vital and always unfolding,” Janice Lamy has been named chief marketing officer, effective September 12, 2022. Lamy brings