HJBR Sep/Oct 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2024 55 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalBR.com from the comfort of home. Patients are able to digitally send blood pressure readings to their medical team, allowing them to monitor their health between visits. “We are grateful to be recognized by the HHS Office on Women’s Health with this award for our Connected MOM program,” said Veronica Gil- lispie Bell, MD, senior site lead for women’s ser- vices at Ochsner Health Kenner and director of quality for Women’s Services for Ochsner Health. “Telehealth has been a pivotal innovation, allow- ing us to bring care to patients and remove bar- riers that many mothers face in accessing neces- sary healthcare. This award will broaden the reach of this program, ensuring that even more moth- ers can experience the benefits of comprehensive, compassionate, and convenient care.” The HHS competition evaluated the effective- ness of Ochsner Connected MOM in increas- ing blood pressure monitoring during pregnancy and the postpartum period, specifically for Black patients and those in the rural population. This program saw a statistically significant increase in blood pressure measurements during pregnancy and the postpartum period among patients, and the Connected MOM platform is in use by more than 100 Ochsner providers in Louisiana and reached a total of over 2,000 patients last year. “By recognizing innovative programs address- ing hypertension during pregnancy and maternal health disparities across the nation, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring nationwide maternal health excellence and equity,” said Admiral Rachel Levine, MD, assistant secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Community-tailored solutions increasing access and coverage of comprehensive maternal health care are critical in achieving health equity.” Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Launches First ECMOProgram in the Region Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center recently implemented an extracorporeal mem- brane oxygenation (ECMO) program to provide life support for patients with respiratory or heart failure. The hospital is only one of four in Louisi- ana with this lifesaving adult program. “The ECMO program is transformative in how we’re saving lives in the Baton Rouge community and beyond,” said Owen Stell, MD, medical direc- tor of the ECMO program at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “This advanced technol- ogy provides critical support to patients in respira- tory or cardiac failure, offering hope and improved outcomes.” ECMO is a complex medical therapy that allows the heart and/or lungs to rest when the body does not respond to conventional medical treatment, and the organs are too sick to properly support normal body functions. ECMO does not heal the body but allows it to rest while the illness or injury improves. Patients placed on ECMO have an acute and reversible injury or illness. Examples of this include shock, ARDS, respiratory failure, severe respira- tory viruses, sepsis, inhalation injury, and trauma. Once the X-rays, labs, and other vital aspects show improvement, the ECMO support is gradu- ally weaned. The patient is then removed from the ECMO machine, and their heart and lungs return to working on their own. The qualified ECMO team at Our Lady of the Lake has more than 30 years of experience with ECMO management and transport, as well as close affiliations with the Extracorporeal Life Sup- port Organization and the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology. Ochsner Medical Center BR Performs Robotic- Assisted Lung Biopsy Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge now offers robotic-assisted bronchoscopy using the Ion robotic platform, a new, minimally invasive option for lung biopsy. With bronchoscopy, doctors insert a long, thin tube with a camera to examine lung tissue and retrieve a biopsy sample. The Ion robot enables doctors to perform a biopsy quicker and safer than ever before. These advancements are especially critical for treating lung cancer, since early detection is key to achieving the best outcome. Every six weeks of delayed treatment lowers a lung cancer patient’s five-year survival rate by 14%. The Ion system enables physicians to reach very small nodules within the lung that would be dif- ficult and risky to reach with traditional biopsy methods. Robot-assisted biopsies are also significantly safer for patients. Traditional biopsy methods have a complication rate of 20-25% com- pared to 1-3% with robotic procedures. “The Ion robot gives us state-of-the-art capabil- ity to access lung nodules of both size and loca- tion that were previously difficult or impossible to access through the airways,” says Alexander Mulamula, MD, who performed the first Ion pro- cedure at OMC-Baton Rouge. “Safety, reliability, and diagnostic accuracy are always a premium, and the Ion delivers on all accounts.” Woman’s Hospital Named One of America’s Best Cancer Hospitals by Newsweek Woman’s Hospital has been named one of America’s Best Cancer Hospitals 2024 by News- week . Woman’s is one of only three Louisiana hos- pitals to be recognized for this award. “We are grateful to Newsweek for recogniz- ing our team’s dedication to providing the best and highest quality care for our patients from the time they are diagnosed with cancer and through- out their treatment and recovery,” said Rene Ragas, president and CEO of Woman’s Hospital. “Patients come to us during one of the most vul- nerable times in their lives, which is why we take seriously the trust they and their families place in us as their journey to healing begins.” Newsweek ’s America’s Best Cancer Hospitals 2024 ranking was created to provide patients and family members with a comprehensive resource for informed decision-making, showcasing hos- pitals that provide benchmark-leading care and excellent services for cancer patients. Presented annually by Newsweek , awards are determined using data from three primary sources including a national online survey of healthcare professionals, hospital quality metrics, and results from patient surveys. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Offering Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) System to Treat Atrial Fibrillation Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center now offers the pulsed field ablation (PFA) system for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AFib). This cutting-edge technology represents a significant advancement in cardiac care, offering patients an