HJBR Mar/Apr 2023

38 MAR / APR 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs “This is a truly gratifying day,” Sebastian Alva- rez said. “This is what my father envisioned and to see that 200th bike go out the door is more than I think even he could have imagined.” Wheels to Succeed gained a significant boost in 2008 when the late businessman and philan- thropist Jairo Alvarez founded the No Such Thing as Impossible (NSTAI) bike ride fundraiser. It was Alvarez’s hope that children of all ages and abili- ties would know the joy and freedom of riding a bike. Since its founding, NSTAI has continued to provide financial support for the adapted bike program. The 2022 fundraiser raised more than $70,000, a record amount. Since Alvarez’s passing, his son, Sebastian, has taken over the planning of the bike ride fundraiser. “Seeing the smile on the face of a child who may otherwise never have the opportunity to ride a bike along with all the therapy gains we see every day is why we do what we do,” said Anne Hindrichs, operations director for Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health Children’s Developmental Center at McMains. “This is truly a wonderful day and a fitting way to honor the faithfulness and vision of the Alvarez family including Jairo and his wife, Ms. Anita.” Founded in 1954, McMains Children’s Develop- mental Center has offered speech, physical, occu- pational, and educational therapies to children with developmental delays and disabilities in the Greater Baton Rouge area as well as providing assistive technology and family programming so children can live full, independent lives. In 2022, the center joined with Our Lady of the Lake Chil- dren’s Health to expand its services in the Baton Rouge Area and, eventually, more regionally. Each year, the center sees more than 600 children, pro- viding nearly 15,000 therapy sessions. Ochsner Baton RougeWelcomes NewMedical StaffMembers Ochsner Baton Rouge recently welcomed the several medical staff members: Jeff Redmond, MD, is a radiologist at Och- sner Medical Center – Baton Rouge. Redmond earned a medical degree from the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. He completed a residency in radiology at the University of Ten- nessee in Knoxville and a musculoskeletal fellow- ship at the University of Florida in Gainesville. AIDSMemorial Quilt Exhibits Open in NewOrleans and Baton Rouge with an Outpouring of Love and Support The AIDS Memorial Quilt exhibits in New Orleans and Baton Rouge opened with an out- pouring of love and support Tuesday. The world’s largest community arts project is a catalyst to highlight Louisiana’s high HIV rates and to intro- duce “Change the Pattern,” a national initiative to end HIV and AIDS in Black, Brown, and mar- ginalized communities across the Southern U.S. Through Sat., Feb. 11, the National AIDS Memorial, Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC), and Gilead Sciences showcased displays of the AIDS Quilt at two Historically Black College and Uni- versity (HBCU) campuses — Dillard University in New Orleans and Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge. The five-day AIDS Quilt displays opened with a breakfast in New Orleans and an afternoon welcome reception in Baton Rouge. Students, administrators, and community members at both events honored loved ones lost to HIV/AIDS by making new quilts. Attendees also learned how they can “Change the Pattern” in the fight to end HIV in Louisiana. The HIV epidemic continues to disproportion- ately affect communities of color and marginal- ized populations. According to AIDSVu, Louisiana ranks 4th in the nation for the highest diagnoses rates, with over 27% occurring in New Orleans and nearly 20% in Baton Rouge. Of those new diagnoses living with HIV in the state, 78.5% are Black or Hispanic. Nearly 60% of new HIV diag- noses are under the age of 34. Both exhibits are free to the public and include quilting workshops, educational forums, and stu- dent events. For more information about Quilt locations, event times, Quilt stories, and special programming, visit changethepattern.org/LA. Louisiana Healthcare Connections Honors Local Providers for Commitment to Clinical Excellence Louisiana Healthcare Connections recently hon- ored six healthcare providers with Physician Sum- mit Awards for clinical excellence in their local communities. Physician Summit Awards are given annually to outstanding healthcare providers who achieve the highest scores in key Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality mea- sures across the health plan’s network. Award recipients represent a wide variety of medical disciplines and areas of service through- out Louisiana. Practice Awards: • Collins Family Clinic (Jamie Collins, MD), Sunset. • Pediatric Associates (Michael Quinn, MD, and Kathryn Elkins, MD), Plaquemine. Individual Awards: • Luis Apellaniz, MD, Jennings. • Joni Nickens FNP, Baton Rouge. • Evelyn Pryor, MD, Shreveport. • Michael Haydel MD, Marrero. These healthcare providers scored the highest among Louisiana Healthcare Connections’ net- work of nearly 40,000 providers in measures such as immunizations, well-care visits, and follow-up with patients. “We appreciate these medical practices and physicians for sharing our commitment to pro- viding excellent care for Louisiana families,” said Stewart Gordon, MD, Louisiana Healthcare Connections’ chief medical officer. “The Physi- cian Summit Awards acknowledge their efforts to make our communities healthier, and we are pleased to recognize them for their dedication to our members.” Our Lady of the Lake’sWheels to Succeed Gives Away 200th Bike The Wheels to Succeed adapted bike program gifted its 200th bike on Dec. 9. Wheels to Suc- ceed is a program of Our Lady of the Lake Chil- dren’s Health Children’s Developmental Center at McMains. The program began in 2007 when physical ther- apist Ashley Leach and her husband, Darron, began evaluating children receiving therapy at the children’s developmental center for their suit- ability to use adapted bikes to aid their therapy. These bikes can cost between $3,200 and $8,000 depending on the needs of the child, often mak- ing them cost-prohibitive for families. Through Wheels to Succeed, the cost of the bike is cov- ered by donations and fundraisers.