HJBR Jan/Feb 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JAN / FEB 2024 47 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com who do not have HIV. In 2018, LDH worked with medical providers and community stakeholders across the state to develop Get Loud Louisiana, the state’s collabor- ative plan to end the HIV epidemic. Key compo- nents of this plan include promoting HIV screen- ing as a part of routine healthcare, various public education efforts, and enhanced linkage to and retention in care programs for people diagnosed with HIV, supporting the achievement of their best possible health outcomes, including dura- ble viral suppression. For information on HIV prevention and services in Louisiana, visit louisianahealthhub.org. Louisiana Healthcare Connections Partners with Louisiana StateMedical Society to Empower Independent Medical Practices In a strategic move to enhance healthcare accessibility and quality for independent medical practices in Louisiana, Louisiana Healthcare Con- nections, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, is joining forces with the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS). This collaborative initiative aims to extend value-based payments and quality incentives to independent practi- tioners, enabling them to harness the benefits of economies of scale. Additionally, a $1 million investment is being made by Louisiana Health- care Connections to enable participating prac- tices to implement electronic medical records. Louisiana Healthcare Connections Chief Med- ical Officer, Stewart T. Gordon, MD, FAAP, said, “As a physician deeply committed to improv- ing the Louisiana system of healthcare, I am excited about the possibilities this collaboration between LSMS and Louisiana Healthcare Con- nections offers to independent medical prac- tices. By pooling together to participate in value- based payment models, independent practices gain opportunities to improve quality outcomes for their patients, at a reduced cost. This impor- tant partnership will strengthen the practice of medicine for those physicians desiring to remain independent. Ultimately, this means better care for Louisiana’s Medicaid members.” The Louisiana State Medical Society’s Health Information Exchange (HIE), HealthSYNC, plays a pivotal role in this collaboration. By partnering with Louisiana Healthcare Connections, the HIE aims to enhance interoperability for indepen- dent primary care practices across the state. This breakthrough initiative enables small indepen- dent practices in Louisiana to participate in value- based payment models for Medicaid members, thus improving healthcare quality and outcomes. “The Louisiana State Medical Society is proud to partner with KONZA National Network, a health information exchange, to develop, imple- ment, and operationalize HealthSYNC state- wide,” said LSMS Director of HealthSYNC, Jer- emy Lapeyrouse, MPH. “This collaboration ensures that our members have a simple, stream- lined solution to access national and state health information exchanges, comply with government quality program measures, gain deeper insights, and utilize powerful analytic tools. This work aligns with our vision of promoting excellence in the practice of medicine.” This partnership between LSMS and Louisiana Healthcare Connections offers independent med- ical providers the opportunity to collaborate with a leading Medicaid provider and participate in value-based payment models. Louisiana Healthcare Connections Vice Presi- dent of Network Development & Engagement Joe Tidwell, added, “This partnership aligns per- fectly with our mission of enhancing healthcare access. We are thrilled to work alongside the Lou- isiana State Medical Society to extend our value- based payment models to independent prac- tices. Together, we can make a substantial impact on healthcare delivery in Louisiana.” LDHReleasesWhole Health Louisiana State Plan The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced the release of the Whole Health Lou- isiana (WHL) State Plan, Louisiana’s first state- wide plan to systematically address the wide- spread issue of childhood adversity and trauma through the integration of trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches in our state’s sys- tems of care and support for children and fami- lies. Addressing this issue benefits the well-being and fulfillment of our state’s children, families, and communities. Whole Health Louisiana’s mission is to transform Louisiana’s cross-system collaboration and com- munity-specific care so that together, the state can effectively prevent, recognize, and treat child- hood adversity and its effects. Through key prior- ity areas of collaboration, awareness, workforce, prevention, and healing, WHL envisions a Louisi- ana in which children, families, and communities are healthy and thriving regardless of who they are or where they live. “The Louisiana Department of Health is extremely proud to have partnered on this effort to develop a comprehensive approach to pre- venting and addressing trauma across child-serv- ing systems. We remain committed to working with our partners from across the state to support the implementation of the Whole Health Louisi- ana State Plan. Building on the community input we have gathered, we will continue to integrate the healing-centered and trauma-informed objec- tives outlined in this plan within our agency and provide support to other state agencies, organi- zations and communities that are working to do the same,” LDH Deputy Secretary Tonya Joiner said. Two years ago, LDH, the Louisiana First Foun- dation, and leaders across the state formed the WHL initiative to prepare Louisiana to better respond to the drivers and impacts of childhood adversity by developing a comprehensive plan. The WHL State Plan is built upon the initial dis- covery phase, which took place from September 2021 through August 2022. During the plan devel- opment phase, public sector leaders, commu- nity members, advocates, and child- and family- serving workforce representatives came together to create a trauma-informed statewide plan with sector-specific strategies, implementation, and evaluation approaches with buy-in across sys- tems. WHL is the only coalition in the state unit- ing all child and family-serving entities across sec- tors and populations. “Through our work to raise awareness about the science of childhood adversity, trauma and resilience, the Bureau of Family Health (BFH) was asked to coordinate the development of the WHL State Plan on behalf of the Department. For us, it was both an honor and a timely call to come together with our partners from all regions of the state to create a plan to provide families, com- munities and service providers with a toolkit to