HJBR Jul/Aug 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JUL / AUG 2023 39 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com officer, Mary Bird Perkins Center. “This move enhances cancer care for patients across our geography, creating pathways to reach more communities with expanded services and sur- rounding patients and their loved ones with sup- portive programs. By regionalizing our resources, more communities in our network will be able to access leading-edge technology and nationally recognized research options.” Houston received a Master of Business Admin- istration with a concentration in Healthcare Man- agement from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. He received a Bachelor of Science in radiologic technology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and an Associate of Science in radiation therapy from Galveston College in Galveston, Texas. “I’m excited to apply my experience and exper- tise to this new role,” said Houston. “Every one of our community locations has built a strong foundation of excellence and high-quality ser- vice. I look forward to working with our dedicated teams to ensure that our sites not only meet these patient expectations, but they continue to drive increased innovation, patient education, and community outreach.” LDHReleases Final Water Grades for 951 LAWater Systems The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) released final water grades for 951 community water systems across the state, a process that creates accountability for water systems and pro- vides transparency for water system customers. The final water grades follow preliminary grades that were published in January. The preliminary grades may not have included data for financial sustainability, customer satisfaction, or bonus points awarded to a water system. The new data included in calculating the final grades will mean letter grade changes for some water systems. Going forward, water system grades will be published annually on May 1. The water grades are enabled under Act 98 of the 2021 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legis- lature, known as the Community Drinking Water Accountability Rule. The grades are calculated using points assigned to seven standards that evaluate the infrastructure, sustainability, and overall water quality. State Sen. Fred Mills authored the legisla- tion as a way to provide residents with a snap- shot of the quality of their community water sys- tems and to encourage water systems to invest in improvements or explore consolidating with another water system to improve sustainabil- ity. Amanda Ames, chief engineer for the Loui- siana Department of Health, led the initiative’s implementation. “Clean drinking water is such a fundamentally important part of our existence. In my 16 years as a state legislator, I have filed nearly 300 bills, and Act 98 is one of the most important because it educates consumers about the quality of their drinking water and holds the operators of those systems accountable,” Mills said. “I am so proud of Amanda Ames and her LDH team for bringing this bill to life. I have never been more pleased with implementation of a legislative concept, and I know that the water system grades will be a valu- able tool for consumers and an incentive for water systems to make their infrastructure a priority.” “Clean, safe drinking water is a basic human need, and drinking water infrastructure is criti- cal to ensuring that Louisianans have reliable access to safe drinking water. Over the past sev- eral years, more state and federal funding has become available to water systems that will allow them to make the improvements that will help raise their letter grade,” Ames said. “We will con- tinue working with water systems to identify the issues contributing to low letter grades and pro- vide systems with a range of options to improve their operations, financial stability and customer satisfaction.” The LDH water grades page can be found at ldh.la.gov/watergrade. LDH Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness of Dangers of Fentanyl The Louisiana Department of Health is launch- ing a statewide campaign to raise awareness about the alarming rates of fatal overdoses involv- ing the powerful opioid fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The campaign is designed to raise awareness about the use of fentanyl in both illicit drugs and in counterfeit pills that are often marketed as legitimate prescription drugs. Counterfeit pills and other illicit substances laced with fentanyl were involved in the deaths of more than 1,000 Louisiana residents in 2022, according to Louisiana Opioid Data and Surveil- lance System data. Fatal fentanyl overdoses have increased sharply in Louisiana since 2019: In 2022, 64.9% of suspected drug-related fatalities in Loui- siana involved fentanyl, according to postmortem toxicology tests. That was up from 41.6% of fatali- ties involving fentanyl in 2019. Fentanyl is potent enough to cause an opi- oid overdose in extremely small quantities: Just two milligrams can trigger a lethal overdose. It is impossible to tell whether an illicit drug or a counterfeit prescription pill contains fentanyl, and more than 40% of pills seized and tested by the Drug Enforcement Agency contained a poten- tially lethal dose of fentanyl. Know the signs of an overdose: Opioid over- dose is life-threatening and requires immedi- ate emergency attention. Look for the following signs if someone appears to be suffering from an overdose: • Face is extremely pale and/or feels clammy to the touch. • Body goes limp. • Fingernails or lips have a purple or blue color. For people with darker skin, their fin- gernails or lips may be gray or paler than usual. • Vomiting or making gurgling noises. • Cannot be awakened or are unable to speak. • Breathing or heartbeat slows or stops. Know what to do if someone is experiencing an overdose: • If you suspect someone is experiencing an overdose, call 911 immediately. (Louisiana’s Good Samaritan Law states that a person in need of medical assistance because of a drug overdose cannot face prosecution or penalty for possession of a controlled sub- stance or paraphernalia.) • If the victim is not breathing adequately, then start rescue breathing (one breath every five seconds) and/or chest compres- sions (100-120 per minute), based on the rescuer’s training. • If available, administer naloxone (Narcan) and stay with the victim.