HJBR May/Jun 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  MAY / JUN 2024 13 department to really highlight and give a different lens to anyone who participates in the simulation — to really look through the eyes of what it's like to live in poverty. We have worked with several companies in the market, includingWalmart, to be able to deliver this education to their leadership. It's just one of the many examples that we're able to provide where we can share what it's like to be in poverty and what the challenges are for accessing healthcare when you live in poverty every day and you have to choose between providing basic care to yourself and your family or paying the light bill or feeding your kids. It's very eye-opening, and I would recommend it to anyone. Editor Louisiana also ranks 5th in the U.S. in maternal deaths, with almost a hundred mothers dying every year. Rebekah Gee, when she was Secretary of Health, surprised us in a pre-Black Lives Matter interview by saying the cause for such high percentage was “racism.” We have since asked a lot of others about this and how racism plays into these deaths. And after the shock of the question, most sadly agree. What are your thoughts? Ragas Unfortunately, there is a higher level of maternal mortality in African-American females. We’ve seen the data, and what we know is that there are many factors that contribute to these outcomes. We work every day to look at ways we can decrease disparities, remove barriers, and improve the health of our patients. Editor Your predecessor, we understand, felt the impact of a major physician realignment that happened during her watch. How has that realignment impacted Woman's? Ragas It actually has not had a big impact on Woman's hospital, and the reason is because we continue to provide a premier experience for providers in our market who focus on women and infants regardless of affiliations by those physician groups. This is still the premier place for physicians to provide care for women and infants in our market, and we don't see any change in that in the future. Editor How has the Dobbs's decision impacted your hospital, the care women receive there, and the liability of the physicians? Ragas Actually, it hasn't affected us in a material way. We abide by all of the laws that Louisiana has in place. We abide by all of the regulations that the Louisiana Department of Health has in place, and we continue to take care of moms and infants and provide the highest quality care that there is in the market. Editor How does your hospital define an abortion? If a pregnant woman is bleeding profusely, believed to be having a miscarriage, is a D&C now considered an abortion? Ragas We follow all state laws as they relate to the definition and treatment of abortions. Editor How does your hospital define an abortion? If a pregnant woman is bleeding profusely, believed to be having a miscarriage, is a D&C now considered an abortion? Ragas We follow all state laws as they relate to the definition and treatment of abortions. Editor Is that patient treated differently by your hospital than they were before 2022? Ragas No, they’re not. A miscarriage is a heartbreaking experience for anyone who experiences this type of loss. Our standard of care for those patients who come to our hospital with a confirmed miscarriage has not changed. Editor I understand an inpatient mental health unit is being set up this fall dedicated to pregnant and postpartum women. Can you share with us the vision for that? Ragas Yes, this is a really exciting initiative that is part of our strategic plan — that aligns with our mission and our prior conversations about improving maternal health in women. One of the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth affecting one in five women is maternal mental health conditions. This is a concerted effort to try to address that. This perinatal mental health unit will be a 10-bed unit that is only focused on women who are expecting or through one year of postpartum. All of the beds will be private, they'll have group activity rooms, there'll be an outdoor patio area, and we are building a top-notch clinical team to be able to care for these very fragile expecting and new moms. This will be the only dedicated unit of this kind in the state of Louisiana, and we are only aware of four others. in the United States that focus only on this care. Editor Cancer rates are high in Louisiana. A lot of women tell me they're frustrated with initial false positives, especially from mammograms, which cause unnecessary anxiety. When given the better second scan, the first test is proven to be a false alarm. The effect of these episodes causes an erosion in trust in the system, and I'm wondering if that's part of our problem in catching breast cancer so late. How can we do better and give these second tests the first time, so we aren't putting women through false positives. Ragas We invest in 3D mammography and the best technology out there that we are aware of, and so we don't see the level of false positives, that I'm aware of, that are significant here. We have specialized radiologists who only read mammography and breast surgeries and are board-certified to do that. Those are some of the reasons why that's just not a material issue for us here.