Healthy Lifestyle Coalition member and licensed dietitian Dorian Driscoll has launched a Web site to provide tools for weight management for individuals, children and adults. Driscoll’s site, www.nutritioninnovators.com, has information on Trim Kids, a successful program for children and adolescents from a book by Melinda Sothern, Ph.D. Trim Kids is a scientifically-proven method of helping control weight through behavior modification, exercise and nutrition. Nutrition Innovators will provide a one-week summer overnight camp program for kids 6–18 years old from June 22 – 27 at Bunkie’s Louisiana Youth Educational and Recreational Center, which is part of the Louisiana Department of Education. Only 200 campers will be accepted for the program. Parents may go online to register and pay fees. For more information, visit the Web site or call Driscoll at (337) 654-9528.
The Lourdes Foundation recently hosted its annual grant awards reception, handing out $50,000 in grants to local non-profit agencies. FoodNet, Lafayette Breakfast Sertoma, SMILE Head Start, Louisiana Special Olympics, Junior League of Lafayette Care Bus, Congregational Health Services, Northside High School Health Clinic, St. Bernadette Community Clinic, Faith House, Lafayette Noon Lions Club and Community Pharmacy at Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic.
Camp Bon Coeur, a summer camp for children with heart defects, is accepting applications for its July 2008 session. The camp is an opportunity for kids with heart problems to experience the fun and friendships of summer camp in a safe and protective environment. Children ages 8-16 from all parts of the country are invited to attend the 24th summer camp session. For 12 fun-filled days, campers can participate in traditional activities such as canoeing, swimming, art and archery, as well as in educational “heart classes” where they learn more about the heart and how to cope with their condition. Camp dates are July 21-Aug. 1, and first time campers may be able to attend free of charge if sufficient funds are available. Camp is held at the Acadian Baptist Center in Richard, La., which has a large pool, air conditioned dorms and plenty of outdoor space. Staff, nurse and volunteer applications are now being accepted for this year’s camp. Set up in 1985 by Lafayette General Medical Center and Mended Hearts Inc., a national support group for people with heart disease, Camp Bon Coeur is accredited by the American Camping Association. For more information visit www.heartcamp.com or call the camp office at 233-8437.
Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center’s HeaRTS program (Healthcare Recovery Training System) has won the National AHEC Organization’s Award for Excellence in the Health Professions Student Training category. SWLAHEC CEO Jeanne Solis and HeaRTS Program Director Bootsie Durand accepted the award last month on behalf of the agency at the 2008 National AHEC Organization’s conference in Denver. The award is given to an organization that exemplifies community and university partnerships, responsiveness to communities needs, and is based on the degree to which the program has had a significant impact on improving access to health care for the residents in its state. The HeaRTS program is funded through a Community Development Block Grant program known as the Recovery Workforce Training Program. The RWTP was established by the Louisiana Recovery Authority, in collaboration with the State Office of Community Development’s Disaster Recovery Unit and the Louisiana Workforce Commission. SWLAHEC serves as a fiscal agent and intermediary for HeaRTS.
Opelousas General Health System is accepting applications for Camp Azzie, a 24-year-old summer camp for children with asthma. A complete program of asthma education, exercise, nutritional information and maintenance will be offered to children 6-13 years old. The camp is held at Chicot State Park near Ville Platte from July 13-17 and costs $85. To register, call Felicia Fontenot at 948-5186.
Nursing Specialties has received a 2007 Louisiana Home Health Agency Gold Quality Award from Louisiana Health Care Review Inc., the Medicare quality improvement organization for Louisiana. The award was presented at the first Louisiana Health Care Quality Summit hosted by LHCR in Baton Rouge. Nursing Specialties has been recognized as achieving gold status for consistently reducing avoidable hospitalizations or improving patient outcomes on one of a variety of publicly reported measures of care, including bathing, urinary incontinence, dyspnea and pain between August 2006 and August 2007.
New Iberia’s Headache & Pain Center has moved into its new 18,000-square-foot facility at 531 Jefferson Terrace Blvd. For nearly 14 years, its board certified pain specialists have been diagnosing and treating patients in New Iberia, usually without surgery or habit-forming narcotics. The new state-of-the-art facility includes high-tech diagnostic equipment featuring an open MRI, bone density scanner and X-Ray. Headache & Pain Center accepts most private insurances and Medicare. The New Iberia facility is the practice’s second Louisiana location; it also has a location in Gray — between Houma, Thibodaux, Morgan City and Raceland,
Lorie Lavergne, a surgical technology instructor at Louisiana Technical College’s Lafayette campus, received the New Instructor of the Year Award and the Fellow of the Association of Surgical Technologists designation during the Association of Surgical Technologists National Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. The AST was established in 1969 by members of the American College of Surgeons, the American Hospital Association and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. AST’s primary purpose is to ensure that surgical technologists and surgical assistants have the knowledge and skills to administer high quality patient care. The Foundation of Surgical Technology initiated the New Instructor of the Year Award, honoring those who have accepted the challenge to make the difficult transition from the operating room to the classroom. To be eligible for this award, instructors must be employed in an accredited full-time surgical technology program for more than two years, but less than five years, and nominated by a peer. The FAST designation recognizes those individuals who have upheld the highest standards and traditions of the profession.