Angela Romero has been appointed director of health information management at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. She will oversee the medical center's medical records and is in charge of transcribing and the oncology registry. Romero received a bachelor of science degree in health information management from UL Lafayette in 1991. She is certified as registered health information administrator through the American Health Information Management Association. Romero has been employed at Our Lady of Lourdes since 1993.
Evan "Jim" Shackelford received the associate safety professional designation for successfully completing the safety fundamentals exam offered by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Shackelford has been employed by Safety Management Systems, a subsidiary of Acadian Integrated Solutions, for the past two years. The ASP is the first of two examinations that will lead to the Certified Safety Professional designation.
Cardiovascular Institute of the South and approximately 30 medical centers in North America are participating in the Phase II clinical research study evaluating a new percutaneous heart valve repair system for patients with mitral regurgitation. The Phase II study evaluates a catheter-based procedure that uses the MitraClip device (a small implant) to bring the leaflets of the mitral valve together, helping the valve to close. The percutaneous mitral repair procedure is performed by cardiologists in a catheterization laboratory under general anesthesia. In addition to improving blood flow through the heart, the procedure may relieve severity of fatigue and shortness-of-breath that often affects patients with significant MR. CIS is seeking patients who have moderate to severe or severe MR and may be experiencing symptoms, such as fatigue, chest pain or shortness of breath, or those patients who may be asymptomatic but still have a weakened left ventricle. For more information about CIS, call 1-800-425-2565 or visit www.cardio.com. Also, Dr. Raghotham Patlola of CIS' Lafayette clinic is now board certified in nuclear cardiology. The Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology is a not-for-profit corporation established to develop and administer practice-related examinations in the field of nuclear cardiology.
Women's & Children's Hospital has implemented two key services for its pediatric patients. The first of its kind in Acadiana, a pediatric hospitalist and intensivist program has been established. The intensivist will work closely with the hospital's current team of pediatric specialists, which includes a pediatric surgeon, pediatric pulmonologist, pediatric neurosurgeon, pediatric neurologist, pediatric cardiologists and pediatric gastroenterologist to ensure that patients receive a proactive treatment plan and to facilitate immediate communication between families, referring physicians and hospital staff. A pediatric intensivist, also known as a critical care specialist, is a pediatrician who has completed extensive training in treating and caring for critically ill children. The hospital will also have a pediatric hospitalist who will work closely with primary care physicians of patients admitted to the hospital's pediatric unit.
Amedisys Home Health Care in Lafayette, a provider of home health services, has been named to the 2006 HomeCare Elite, the inaugural compilation of the most successful home care providers in the country. This review names the Medicare-certified agencies whose performance measures in quality, improvement and financial performance are among the top 25 percent of providers nationwide. The 2006 HomeCare Elite is the first performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center have launched Louisiana 2 Step, a statewide public health campaign using advertising and public relations messages to encourage Louisiana residents to take two small daily steps toward better health. The state's largest health insurer and the Baton Rouge-based, world-class research center have joined forces to fight obesity, one of the leading causes of preventable illness in our state. Both companies have strong stakes in this battle: Blue Cross insures one out of every four Louisianians, while the Pennington Center's research programs focus on nutrition and health-related areas including Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, and Health and Performance Enhancement. The Louisiana 2 Step campaign urges participants to take just two daily steps toward better health: eat right and move more. Television and radio advertisements, print ads, outdoor billboards and a Web site at www.Louisiana2Step.com encourage every resident to "Do the 2" in his or her own way.