Baton Rouge Business Report 2016 Trends in Health Care by Baton Rouge Business Report

Trends in

HEALTH CARE 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE

A prescription for HEALTH & WEALTH and

Despite some opposition, the Baton Rouge Health District is moving forward with a big vision for growth under its first executive director.

SPONSORED BY:

APRIL IS NATIONAL HEAD & NECK CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

K N OW M Y C A N C E R IS UNCOMMON, S O I T S T R E AT M E N T N E E D S T O B E E X T R A O R D I N A R Y.

Cancers of the head and neck are uncommon, but they can be dangerous. Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center has the region’s only multidisciplinary care team, renowned for treating cancers of the sinuses, mouth, throat and glands. In fact, our team chair, Dr. Daniel Nuss, is ranked in the top 1% of doctors according to America’s Top Doctors® for Cancer listing. As with any cancer, success rates improve with early detection. So please, talk to your doctor about your risks and if a screening is right for you.

LIVE COURAGEOUSLY

MBPOLOL.ORG/HEADANDNECK

• AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

YOUR BACK

COMES FIRST. Spine Specialists of Louisiana is now open. •

Dr. Jorge Eduardo Isaza has more than 15 years of experience in spine care

•

Fellowship trained in Pediatric and Adult Spine Surgery

•

Board Certified by the American Board of Spine Surgery

Dr. Jorge E Isaza, MD 1029 Hillary Court, Baton Rouge, LA 70810 (225) 769-3993 • info@spinespecialistsofla.com

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

CONTENTS

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Publisher: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr.

EDITORIAL

Editorial director: Penny Font Executive editor: Steve Sanoski Editor: Stephanie Riegel Managing editor: Robert Stewart Online news editor: Alexandria Burris Special projects editor: Jerry Martin Director-Online operations: Brandi Simmons Staff writer: Ryan Broussard Director of research: Sierra Crump Contributing writers: Tom Cook, Jeremy Harper, David Jacobs, April Capochino Myers, Annie Ourso, Maggie Heyn Richardson, Meredith Whitten Contributing photographers: Brian Baiamonte, Charles Breard, Marie Constantin, Don Kadair, Tim Mueller, Collin Richie

Suzy Sonnier, executive director of Baton Rouge Health District

2016 TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE A8 A9 A12

A16 A22 A24 A27 A30

Stat Health care in the Capital Region by the numbers The Cutting Edge A look at some of the Capital Region’s latest medical technology and developments Newsmakers The health care issues and professionals to watch in 2016

A PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTH & WEALTH

Despite some opposition, the Baton Rouge Health District is moving forward with a big vision for growth under its first executive director. Another dimension Mary Bird Perkins and LSU have become national leaders in the use of 3-D printers to fight cancer. In search of a cure LSU researchers are seeking to end Alzheimer’s disease and start a new neurobiotech industry in Louisiana. Popular model Demand, convenience and opportunity are driving rapid growth of urgent care clinics in Baton Rouge. All together now Hospitals in Baton Rouge have turned federally required paperwork into a comprehensive plan for addressing the city’s most pressing health needs. LISTMAKERS

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After-hours and urgent care clinics Outpatient physical therapy clinics Managed care providers Specialty hospitals

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

A36 A37 A38 A39

Hospitals Physical rehabilitation centers Home health care agencies Hospice providers

COLLIN RICHIE

ADVERTISING

Advertising director: Sharon Wright Senior account executives: Marielle LandHoward, Kelly Lewis, Kerrie Richmond Account executives: Sarah Collins Bennett Advertising coordinator: Brittany Nieto SPECIAL PROJECTS Special projects manager: Jennifer Finley Senior account executive: Stacy Kaklis Account executives: J.C. Applewhite, Angie LaPorte Marketing director: Jennifer Guillot Marketing/Special events coordinator: Christie Battaglia Advertising coordinator: Lacie Thibodeaux Community liaison: Jeanne McCollister McNeil

ADMINISTRATION

Chief financial officer: Jonathan Percle Chief innovation officer: Curtis Heroman Business manager: Adam Lagneaux Business associate: Danielle Daly Office coordinator: Debbie Lamonica Courier: Jim Wainwright Receptionist: Cathy Brown

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Production director: Melanie Samaha Art director: Hoa Vu Graphic designers: Tammi deGeneres, Melinda Gonzalez, Rachel Parker, Emily Witt

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Audience development coordinators: Kenna Maranto, Brittany Titone A publication of Louisiana Business Inc. Chairman: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr. President & CEO: Julio A. Melara Executive assistant: Millie Coon Subscriptions/Customer Service 9029 Jefferson Hwy., Suite 300 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-928-1700 • FAX 225-928-5019 BusinessReport.com email: circulation@businessreport.com ©Copyright 2016 by Louisiana Business Incorporated. All rights reserved by LBI. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report cannot be responsible for the return of unsolicited material—manuscripts or photographs, with or without the inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. No information expressed here constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities.

4th Annual Car Seat Giveaway

BUILDING A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys has been part of the Greater Baton Rouge community for over 25 years. In that time, Gordon has built a team of professionals to serve not only the Greater Baton Rouge area, but the entire State of Louisiana.

ALMOST 500 FAMILIES IMPACTED 5656 Hilton Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 | 225.888.8888 | getgordon.com Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

SPONSOR MESSAGES

Trends in

HEALTH CARE 2016

THE HEALTH OF our community is in the spotlight like never before. From a new hospital that will better serve the needs of area children to a partnership between the mayor’s office and area agencies to build HealthyBR.com, we all are looking to make the Capital Region a healthier and safer place to call home. Like many other companies and organizations striving to help our communities become healthier and safer, the Gordon McKernan team is excited about their upcoming event to give residents one of the tools they need to keep their children safe and healthy. The Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys team’s passion is ensuring the safety of our area’s smallest residents. We are thankful for the opportunity to give back to our community through our annual Gordon Gives campaign. Four years ago, we began by giving away car seats in the greater Baton Rouge community. This year, we are helping more families with small children than ever before. Due to the tremendous success of our past events, we are now proud to give back to three of our office location communities: greater Baton Rouge on

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

April 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Shreveport on April 22, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.; and Lafayette on April 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can visit GordonGives.com to enter. At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, we recognize that proper installation and use of car seats is crucial to protecting our smallest passengers in the event of an accident. Our team, with the assistance of certified safety seat instructors, will teach the winning parents the proper installation and use of their new car seats, as well as convey the essential role they play in safe transportation of their little ones. We at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are delighted to give back to these communities by making them healthier, safer places to live. We’re thankful for the confidence our neighbors have placed in us, both as their legal partner and as a caring corporate citizen. God bless,

Gordon McKernan

Owner GORDON MCKERNAN INJURY ATTORNEYS

INTERVENTIONAL PAIN INSTITUTE: “Serving People, Treating Pain.” In recent years, there have been major advances in treatment for chronic pain. Interventional pain specialists have gained a greater understanding of how chronic pain develops and, through research, have developed sophisticated treatments to provide relief to patients. We are proud to support Business Report’s Trends in Health Care because we believe that these avenues to communicate the latest information within each medical specialty are vitally important to health and wellness of our community. Our staff at Interventional Pain Institute continues to research the latest in treatment options in order to provide patients with the utmost in quality care. We understand that chronic pain can originate from back injuries, car accidents, sports injuries and health conditions such as migraines, diabetes, arthritis, shingles and cancer. We aim to create individualized treatments because the sensation of pain occurs differently for each person. The spinal cord and nervous system interact with the brain to create the sensation of pain. We are excited about the new insights into how these pain signals transmit to the brain and how the body responds. The results are new interventional techniques and better medication for treatment and pain relief.

(225) 769-3993 10629 Hillary Court Baton Rouge, LA 70810 www.spinespecialistsofla.com

SPINE SURGERY HAS seen some major advances in the last 15 years. Over the years I have provided to my patients the latest technology and options available for their unique needs, having participated as lead investigator in many of the clinical trials of the new technology that is now widely available to all. To date, most new technologies have involved reducing postoperative pain and speeding recovery, preserving motion in the spine, and enhancing the fusion process. Newer technologies that seem to be here to stay include: Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement and Lumbar Artificial Disc Replacement for treatment of disc pathology are standing the test of time (with 7 to 10 years of clinical results reported in the US) and emerging as a mainstay alternative to the well-known Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) and the Anterior Lumbar Fusion (ALIF), respectively. Fusion outcomes are also improving over time, with improving fusion rates and less postoperative pain and complications. There are less invasive approaches, more bone graft options, and improved fixation devices and implants which continue to make spinal fusion a very effective treatment for many individuals. Discectomy of a Herniated Disc through a scope, many times marketed as “laser surgery,” is also an outstanding outpatient surgical alternative allowing the patient to go home the same day or early the next day after surgery with

We are excited about brand new interventional treatment options for patients with the same chronic conditions that do not include management through medication. Earlier this year, our team implanted the first Wireless Spinal Cord Stimulator Trial in Baton Rouge. The spinal cord stimulator system uses smart phone and Bluetooth technology to communicate with the stimulator leads, so there is no longer a need for a manually controlled generator pack attached to the leads during the trial period. Whether you or your loved ones are suffering from any chronic condition, know that interventional techniques are available. Our team is dedicated to providing exceptional care and is committed to serving you to the best of our ability.

Barrett Johnston, M.D.

Founder INTERVENTIONAL PAIN INSTITUTE Medical Director ADVANCED PAIN INSTITUTE TREATMENT CENTER Interventional Pain Fellowship HARVARD BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL

a keyhole incision in their back. Sacroiliac joint fusion is still a newer procedure but is gaining more widespread adoption. With newer, less invasive fusion approaches now available, it is a more commonly offered treatment option for those with pain caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction, which many times is incorrectly diagnosed and treated as low back pain. Vertebral augmentation for a painful fractured vertebra has been around for a while and patients now have many options to choose from, including options for vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Before a patient with an osteoporosis compression fracture would pretty much only have nonsurgical treatment options, but vertebral augmentation has now become a mainstay option that offers certain patients a relatively reliable path to pain relief. With the opening of our new clinic, my team and I continue our commitment to provide excellent and compassionate care for our patients. At Spine Specialists of Louisiana we are proud to be able to offer our patients all of these surgical options as well as conservative treatments specifically tailored to their spine conditions.

Jorge E. Isaza, MD

Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon, Pediatric and Adult Spine Surgery SPINE SPECIALISTS OF LOUISIANA

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

NOW

STAT HEALTH CARE IN THE CAPITAL REGION AND LOUISIANA BY THE NUMBERS

PUTTING ON A CLINIC

In 2015, Pennington Biomedical Research Center added 24 new clinical trials, made 5,497 telephone contacts to potential clinical trial participants, saw 2,419 of those individuals in the clinic for screening and enrolled 1,375 of them.

160 Since its founding in 1995, The Angel Award program by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation has recognized 160 Louisiana volunteers who perform extraordinary work for children in need with a $20,000 grant to the state-based charity represented by each honoree.

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has been named Louisiana Hospital of the Year for the fourth year in a row and seventh time since 2008 by the Louisiana Nurses Foundation in the large hospital category.

GRANT HELP $15,000

WOMAN’S HOSPITAL in February received a $15,000 grant from The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation for its Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Prevention Program, which cares for women with HIV and their babies from diagnosis through one year after delivery.

COURTESY SPINE HOSPITAL

ANGELS AMONG US

FANTASTIC FOUR

GROWTH SPURT

27.7million

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana at The NeuroMedical Center plans to start a construction project this year to add one operating room, two pain management procedure rooms and 15 perioperative bays.

NEW DIGS

Officials broke ground in January on a brand new West Feliciana Parish Hospital, a 53,000-squarefoot facility with a new emergency room, imaging department, laboratory space and wellness center. It’s anticipated to open in summer 2017.

8,300

HEAVY CASELOAD Since 2009, Baton Rouge General’s Regional Burn Center has cared for 8,300 patients—2,313 of which came from the Baton Rouge area.

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

10,000 MILESTONE

The cath lab at Lane Regional Medical Center completed its 10,000th heart cath procedure in August.

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

THE CUTTING EDGE A LOOK AT THE CAPITAL REGION’S LATEST MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENTS

STIMULATING

CARE

THE FOOD AND DRUG Administration in February approved expanded use of Medtronic’s Deep Brain Stimulation, or DBS, device for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. As the only medical facility in the Baton Rouge area to offer DBS therapy, The NeuroMedical Center cheered the FDA approval. The therapy involves using a surgically implanted device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas of the brain to reduce some of the disabling motor symptoms related to Parkinson’s. “It is truly remarkable to be able to literally ‘flip a switch’ and see the tremors, stiffness and slowness from years of Parkinson’s instantly melt away,” says Dr. Gerald Calegan, neurologist at The NeuroMedical Center.

COURTESY OLOL

SUSTAINING NUTRITION

BREAK ING

NEW GROUND OUR LADY OF THE LAKE broke ground in February on a freestanding Children’s Hospital that will greatly expand OLOL’s pediatric services. The new hospital will be built on 66 acres of land off Interstate 10 between Essen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard. Plans for the facility, expected to cost some $230 million, include six floors with more than 350,000 square feet of patient care space and 80 beds with potential for expansion to 130. The hospital will include a dedicated emergency department with 21 beds and four triage rooms, advanced imaging with CT scanning and MRI, and a dedicated floor for inpatient and outpatient pediatric cancer treatment. It will be the only St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital affiliate in the state. The hospital is expected to treat some 100,000 patients per year and be completed by fall 2018.

Take a breath

MOBILE

FILE PHOTO

MANIA

LANE REGIONAL MEDICAL Center has launched its Mobile Virtual Critical Care program, which uses wireless technology to deliver care quickly to critically ill patients. Intensivists use a wireless connection and portable audio and video monitoring equipment to virtually examine and talk directly to patients. They are also able to review patient medical records, give orders and provide further instructions to on-site caregivers. Attending physicians can schedule remote consultations with intensivists for additional medical management assistance to proactively monitor a patient’s progress in real time.

INCREASING DEMAND FOR human donor milk in hospital neonatal intensive care units has led the Birth Center of Baton Rouge to open the Mother’s Milk Depot at its Picardy Avenue facility. The depot provides nursing mothers a dropoff location to donate breast milk. Women who are currently breastfeeding infants under 1 year old are eligible to be screened at no charge to become human milk donors. Baton Rouge resident Lauren Reed, a long-time milk donor, spearheaded the opening of the Mothers’ Milk Depot in conjunction with Dr. Ryan Dickerson of the Birth Center of Baton Rouge. Donated milk will be collected and sent to the Mother’s Milk Bank in Austin, Texas, for processing and distribution.

Expanding offerings OCHSNER BATON ROUGE announced plans in March to open a fully integrated cancer center at its campus on O’Neal Lane. The $12.8 million undertaking will make the Ochsner Baton Rouge Cancer Center the first in Baton Rouge to offer a hematology/oncology outpatient clinic with both chemotherapy infusion and radiation oncology services on one floor in the same building. That’s important because it will make treatment more accessible and convenient for patients, Ochsner officials say. The new cancer center, expected to open in October 2016, will create more than 20,000 square feet of expanded oncology space and add 15 personalized and semiprivate patient chemo infusion stations.

FASTLANE URGENT CARE in Zachary is now a certified breath alcohol testing facility. The clinic offers both non-DOT and DOT drug and alcohol testing, as well as eScreen and DISA drug tests. The clinic notes it can perform certified breath alcohol tests for a company’s workforce if the company suspects some employees may be abusing alcohol or other substances. FASTLane says a recent survey by HireRight found approximately 78% of companies reported performing drug and alcohol tests on their workforce.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

Dropping it

CUTTING CRAVINGS

SCIENTISTS AT PENNINGTON Biomedical Research Center are using brain mapping technology to understand a common problem for all adults: food cravings. While in an MRI, volunteers are shown pictures of food—some are sweet, salty or fatty foods, and others are much healthier—allowing researchers to see which parts of the brain respond to different types of food and providing new insight into how the brain’s reward pathways operate. This new information lays the groundwork for future targeted therapies that could help better combat obesity. Issue Date: 7-21-15 Ad proof #1

AS EVIDENCE CONTINUES to point to a skyrocketing increase of opioid painkiller abuse across the country, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and statewide law enforcement agencies have teamed up to install 29 secure drop boxes for unwanted prescriptions. Blue Cross says studies show painkillers are most often stolen from the homes of family members and friends, adding it hopes the drop boxes will help slow the abuse of prescription medicines. “We’re hoping to dispose of 10,000 pounds of pills this year” in Louisiana, says Michael Tipton, president of the Blue Cross Foundation. In the Baton Rouge area, a drop box has been installed at the Denham Springs Police Department headquarters.

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2015. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

• Healthcare • Condominiums • Retail Stores • Commercial • Multi-family/apartments • Hospitality • Education • State of Louisiana 8400 Jefferson Highway Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-924-8050 • www.mjwomack.com

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MATTERS OF

THE HEART

DR. GARLAND GREEN, an interventional cardiologist at Cardiovascular Institute of the South, in November became the first cardiologist in Baton Rouge to perform a new variable procedure to treat pain and reduce a patient’s risk of a heart attack. Using a complicated algorithm, a physician examines the heart and, depending on the severity and location of the blockage, determines the most appropriate treatment method for a patient. Options for treatment include creating new blood vessels that get blood flowing to the heart, or opening the blockage with specialized devices.

SEALING IT UP DRS. SATISH GADI and Deepak Thekkoott, cardiologists at Cardiovascular Institute of the South in Baton Rouge and Zachary, earlier this year became the first in East Baton Rouge Parish to use new VenaSeal technology to treat venous disease. VenaSeal utilizes a medical adhesive to close saphenous veins in the legs. It eliminates the risk of nerve injury when treating the small saphenous vein. The procedure is administered without the use of tumescent anesthesia, meaning only one needle stick is needed to numb the Issue Date: THC needle 4-12-16 area instead of multiple sticks.Ad Gadiproof says #1 • Please respond by e-mail or for fax with approval or minor revisions. the technology provides “an your almost painless • ADto WILL RUNvaricose AS IS unless approval revisions to way treat veins” andorisfinal designed are received by the close of business today. reduce treatment recovery time. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

COURTESY INTUITIVE SURGICAL

RoboticPrecision SURGEONS FROM 12 hospitals across Louisiana and Mississippi gathered in Baton Rouge in early March to learn about and observe the fundamentals of robotic surgery from experts at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. The Robotic Surgery Symposium was the first of its kind to use video streaming of multiple live robotic operations to educate surgeons on robotic surgery. Sixteen surgeons observed five live robotic surgeries that were performed using the da Vinci Xi (pictured above) and da Vinci Si surgical systems. “It helps put the most advanced surgical techniques into the hands of more surgeons,” says OLOL Surgeon Karl LeBlanc, “and as a result, provide more patients with improved surgical experiences and outcomes.”

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

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TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

THE HEALTH CARE

ISSUES

NEW FOCUS

TO WATCH IN 2016

EXPANSION PLAN FILE PHOTO

DISTRICT BATTLE The Baton Rouge Health District—a collaborative between hospitals and other health care facilities in the Essen Lane-Bluebonnet Boulevard corridor—has been lauded by critics at home as an innovative way for Baton Rouge area hospitals to care for local residents and make the city a regional health care destination. But when a request to adopt the health district plan as part of FuturEBR went before the Metro Council in February, residents and community representatives from north Baton Rouge cried foul, citing a lack of medical options in their part of town. The item was pulled from the council’s agenda, setting off a debate about the health care desert north of Florida Boulevard. Community group Together Baton Rouge in March began circulating a petition to create a hospital district in a much wider area of Baton Rouge, including downtown, Mid City and impoverished ZIP codes in north Baton Rouge such as 70805 and 70807. Only time will tell if a hospital with an emergency room ever opens up in north Baton Rouge, but the political focus on the issue is as sharp as ever.

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BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

HEALTHY STATE OF MIND WHEN THE EARL K. LONG charity hospital shuttered in 2013, it left behind a huge void for health care in north Baton Rouge. Among the losses: Law enforcement officers no longer had a place to bring mentally ill individuals accused of committing crimes. Many of those patients now end up in the parish prison, where they sit in jail cells instead of receiving the proper care they need, local law enforcement officials say. As a result, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation commissioned a report to find ways to treat the city-parish’s mentally ill offenders. The 145-page report outlines ways to decriminalize mental illness and steer those patients toward proper treatment. Among the suggestions: Creating a diversion center for the mentally ill, and developing a mobile mental health unit for law enforcement. The report says the program would cost some $5.6 million annually to operate—but it estimates the city-parish could expect to save $3 million in the first year of operating such a facility, $8 million annually in subsequent years and nearly $55 million over a 10-year period. Incarcerating the mentally ill for minor offenses costs way more than getting them the help they need, the report adds.

LL ER

FOR YEARS, FORMER Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to expand Medicaid in Louisiana through the Affordable Care Act, saying the government-run medical insurance program for the poor was a bloated mess that could cost the state upward of $1.7 billion over the first 10 years of implementation. But on his second day in office, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order declaring Louisiana’s intent to grow Medicaid through Obamacare. The measure is expected to provide coverage for some 300,000 people in Louisiana once it’s rolled out. But challenges remain before it can take flight. Medicaid only reimburses doctors so much for care, so finding physicians to accept Medicaid patients will be difficult. The Edwards administration also needs to hire a host of new employees to run the program in the state. And Republicans in the state Legislature might not exactly be willing to grow Medicaid willy nilly—though they seem more receptive to the idea than when Jindal was in office.

AP PHOTO

Baton Rouge General Medical Center began 2015 by shocking many in the parish with a plan to shutter the emergency room at its Mid City campus, citing losses of some $2 million per month. But several months after the closure last March, the General unveiled a long-term vision that includes ambitious plans for both its Florida Boulevard and Bluebonnet Boulevard hospitals. The Mid City campus will be reimagined as a specialty hospital, while the plan on Bluebonnet includes developing some 62 vacant acres for uses ranging from medical to retail. More big news for the General came in March of this year, when officials announced a new joint management agreement with Ochsner Health System of New Orleans to create a network with more than 30 local clinics, five acute care and specialty hospitals, and 5,000 employees. Officials with both institutions stressed that the deal is not a merger or acquisition by either hospital. But the partnership will be a close one, creating a “combined integrated system that includes joint governance, management and financial integration,” according to a news release. “This partnership is the next step in transforming health care in Baton Rouge,” says Mark Slyter, president and CEO of General Health System/Baton Rouge General.

M TI

Issue Date: 4-12-16 Ad proof #3

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

SHAKY FOUNDATION

Our Baton Rouge Chapter is Growing…

GBR SHRM today!

FILE PHOTO

What is GBR SHRM? FACING STEEP cuts in state funding, officials from the state’s privatized safety net hospitals suggested in February that they might cancel their indigent care contracts with the state should the money vanish. In March, Department of Health and Hospitals Undersecretary Jeff Reynolds said the state didn’t have enough money to fund all of its partnerships, including one with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. In response, OLOL CEO Scott Wester suggested the hospitals’ deals would be automatically terminated should the cuts be realized. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says the state wants to work with OLOL to keep it under contract— though the terms of the deal will have to be renegotiated. Deals with some other safety net hospitals, Dardenne says, aren’t as likely to continue.

The Baton Rouge Chapter is the local affiliate of SHRM, the largest association for HR professionals, representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries.

Proud recipients of these prestigious national awards

SNUFFED OUT?

Be a part of this growing chapter of HR Professionals

www.gbrshrm.org SMOKING HAS BEEN BANNED at restaurants in Louisiana since 2007, but bars and casinos were exempt from the law. That may change. New Orleans passed a smoking ban for bars and casinos in 2015, and Baton Rouge appears to be following suit. A new movement called Smoke-free East Baton Rouge has popped up, and it’s calling for city-parish ordinances to be amended to outlaw smoking in bars and casinos here. The movement’s leaders commissioned a study that says some 70% of East Baton Rouge voters support the measure. Critics of the proposed change, including the parent company of L’Auberge Casino & Hotel, say their business will be negatively impacted if they are no longer exempt from the law—possibly leading to lower city-parish sales tax collections. Harrah’s in New Orleans has already cited that city’s new ban as a reason for a sharp drop in revenue. The Metro Council will take up the controversial measure in mid-April.

COMING IN

JULY!

BUSINESS REPORT’S HOTTEST ISSUE

OF THE YEAR

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WAITING GAME LOUISIANA’S RESTRICTIVE ABORTION law is unenforceable—for now. The federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld Louisiana’s law—which requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals—saying the plaintiffs in the case did not demonstrate that the law placed an undue burden on a large percentage of women in the state. But in early March, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the law temporarily after the court had taken a similar action in a pending Texas case over an abortion law there. Louisiana and Texas are in the same federal appeals court circuit, so the ruling in the Texas case—which should be handed down later this year—should directly affect the Louisiana case. Critics of the Louisiana law, passed in 2014, say it would have reduced Louisiana’s number of abortion clinics from four to one. Proponents say the law is directed at protecting the health and well-being of women.

THE LONG VIEW

ZIDING LIU/COURTESY LSU

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

The former Earl K. Long charity hospital has now sat vacant for three years, but efforts to revive the former Airline Highway campus advanced last year. Armed with ideas taken from a community meeting held in March 2015 on what to do with the site, LSU students drew up two plans over the summer and presented their conceptual renderings to local politicians and residents at another meeting held in November. The plans call for a mixed-use development, including restaurants, retail and grocery stores, as well as a community center, child care center and medical facility to surround a park in the middle of the tract. Renderings of the plans show a park with a playground, outdoor fitness area and ample green space with several trees providing shade. Surveys collected from those who attended the meetings are being reviewed, which could lead to some alteration in the plans presented, while a steering committee is sharing the concepts with developers. Developers are also being sought by the committee to lay out their vision for the 14.25-acre plot. The property is owned by the East Baton Rouge Housing Authority, and there is currently no timeline for completion.

Exceptional

CARE

Delivering the highest quality, compassionate health care for you and your family is at the heart of what we do every day. You drive our tireless quest to provide the best care. When you need great care with unparalleled treatment, look to St. Elizabeth Hospital and St. Elizabeth Physicians.

Exceptional Physicians. Exceptional Hospital. Exceptional Care. . . Right where you need it. A14

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225 647-5000

steh.com

225 647-8511

stepdocs.com

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

PEOPLE TO WATCH THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TO KEEP AN EYE ON IN 2016

DR. KENNETH COLE

DR. REBEKAH GEE

Secretary, Department of Health and Hospitals GEE HAS BEEN tapped by new Gov. John Bel Edwards to lead the state Department of Health and Hospitals at a time when Louisiana is low on health care dollars but is planning to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. Gee’s first order of business: developing the road map DHH will use to grow Medicaid in the state. Gee formerly worked as an assistant professor at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and the Medicaid medical director for the state.

COLE HAS BROUGHT a data-driven approach to Baton Rouge General since being named the hospital’s first chief clinical transformation officer in April 2015. His plans for the General call for combining finance, decision support, quality and market intelligence to better understand health care trends in real-time. The end result, Cole and hospital officials hope, is a health care model driven by patient care value rather than sheer volume, which should lead to lower costs for hospitals and patients alike.

DON KADAIR

CHERYL GERBER

Chief clinical transformation officer, Baton Rouge General Medical Center

DR. I. STEVEN UDVARHELYI

DR. DRAKE BELLANGER

DR. JON OLSON

UDVARHELYI TOOK OVER as president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana in February, succeeding Mike Reitz, who is planning to retire in June after a 40-year career with Blue Cross. Udvarhelyi comes to Baton Rouge after spending nearly 20 years at Independence Blue Cross, headquartered in Philadelphia, where he served in a variety of roles. An internist and academic medicine physician by training, Udvarhelyi began his career working with health insurance companies, so he could help implement changes in health care rather than just studying them.

BELLANGER IN FEBRUARY became the first Baton Rouge doctor to perform the ReShape Stomach Balloon Procedure, which places a dual balloon system within the stomach in an effort to achieve significant and lasting weight loss. Previously, Bellanger was also the first surgeon in Baton Rouge to perform a laparoscopic bariatric operation and was one of 10 U.S. bariatric surgeons invited to join the International Consensus Conference for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, the most common weight loss procedure performed in the U.S. today.

OLSON IS THE FIRST and only physician in the Baton Rouge area to become certified to prescribe a new brain tumor therapy called Optune to treat glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer that affects 12,500 Americans each year. The therapy utilizes a device that places four transducer arrays directly on the scalp to target the brain tumors. Optune is the first Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy in more than a decade to demonstrate statistically significant extension of survival in GBM patients.

President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

Bariatric surgeon, Weight Loss Surgical Center of Louisiana

Neurologist/neuro-oncologist, The NeuroMedical Center

ANN WILDER

Executive director of behavioral health services, Baton Rouge General Medical Center WILDER WILL LEAD the expansion of Baton Rouge General’s psychiatric service line at its Mid City campus. The expansion comes as the hospital refocuses the mission of its Florida Boulevard campus from an acute care facility to a specialty hospital, with a particular focus on behavioral health. In her role, Wilder will serve as the program coordinator for inpatient psychiatric and outpatient behavioral wellness. Before coming to Baton Rouge General, she served as assistant administrator of Anchor Hospital in Atlanta.

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COVER STORY

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

A prescription for HEALTH & WEALTH Despite some opposition, the Baton Rouge Health District is moving forward with a big vision for growth under its first executive director.

BY DAVID JACOBS

COLLIN RICHIE

AT THE HELM: Suzy Sonnier, who formerly served as secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, was hired in March as the first executive director of the Baton Rouge Health District.

ALTHOUGH IT’S BEEN in the works for several years, there’s still a lot of confusion, even fear, about what the Baton Rouge Health District is and what it will do. Is it supposed to make us healthier? Bring in medical tourists? Siphon resources that might otherwise go to more important efforts, like attracting a hospital to north Baton Rouge? Business Report sat down Suzy Sonnier just weeks into her new job as the district’s executive director and asked her whether the district effort is about health care or economic development. “That sounds like a trick question,” she says, laughing. It is sort of a trick question, because the collective answer given by district leaders and supporters is “both.” There’s nothing in the district master plan about the emergency care gap in the northern part of the parish, which disappoints many advocates for north Baton Rouge— some of whom opposed formation of the Baton Rouge Health District and are now calling for a similar district specifically for the northern part of the city. But district leaders say it could alleviate some of the entire region’s most pressing and expensive health care issues. And the health care business is already booming along the Bluebonnet Boulevard and Essen Lane corridors, judging by all the new construction. But by working together, the district’s big providers hope to leverage their resources to deliver a bigger economic impact. THE MISSION The various health districts across the country have differing goals. Generally speaking, health districts are communities within a city where health care providers work together to improve care, reduce costs, increase research, and improve quality of life for people

who live and work in the district. Organizing the providers on Bluebonnet and Essen into a health district is called for by FuturEBR, the master plan approved unanimously by the Metro Council in 2011. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation was asked by the FuturEBR implementation team to kick off the health district project. The foundation spent $700,000 hiring consultants to develop a master plan, now available at brhealthdistrict. org. BRAF Executive Vice President John Spain says that while FuturEBR primarily is concerned with improving transportation in the Essen/Bluebonnet health care corridor, the foundation broadened the focus. “We looked at walking paths, creating new green spaces, connecting spaces,” Spain says. “But we also wanted to position all of these fantastic parts in a way that was greater than the individual parts.” Contrary to popular opinion, BRAF isn’t really in charge of the Health District, says Mark Slyter, president and CEO of Baton Rouge General Medical Center, who adds that BRAF was vital in getting the initiative started. “The folks around the table are the key providers in the Baton Rouge area,” Slyter says. “It was BRAF’s intention all along to help with that and then pass it on to the experts.” Nonetheless, BRAF might be represented on certain district committees, he says. Mayor Kip Holden has promised Green Light Plan money for a Dijon Drive extension between Bluebonnet and Essen. Officials are fast-tracking the nearly $23 million project, which will create a boulevard-style, four-lane roadway. It’s currently in the preliminary design phase and also under environmental review by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. But there

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COVER STORY

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are many more unfunded traffic improvements called for by the district plan, including a Midway Boulevard to connect the Interstate 10 frontage road and Perkins Road. Baton Rouge General officials certainly hope for traffic relief, because it would help their efforts to develop 62 vacant acres at the hospital’s Bluebonnet campus. For now, they’re focusing on a 10- to 15-acre tract that fronts Bluebonnet. Hospital officials have been A18

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

meeting with potential developers, Slyter says, looking for a compelling business case that aligns with the General’s vision of a mixed-use project with housing, retail, healthy food and ample opportunities for exercise. Which raises a question: What does real estate development have to do with health care? “Our mission is not just healing; it’s health and healing,” Slyter says. So if people come to the cam-

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pus to exercise, purchase healthy food or live in an area that encourages a healthy lifestyle, that’s all part of the General’s mission, he says. In fact, promoting a culture of health for people who live and work in the district is one of the stated goals of the district itself. MAJOR PROJECTS Creating the Baton Rouge Diabetes and Obesity Center is another major initiative in the health

FUN PLACES FOR STUDENTS TO LIVE

district master plan. The Baton Rouge area spends $1.5 billion annually on diabetes- and obesity-related issues, according to the health district master plan, and a 2% reduction in the prevalence of those conditions could lead to $30 million in annual savings. A business plan for the BRDOC has not yet been created, but in a public presentation Spain suggested it might take four or five years to set up and cost about $4

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million, which could be raised through grants and donations. The district plan suggests operations could be funded by capturing the potential savings mentioned above. “The BRDOC will offer innovative, holistic care while encouraging strong collaboration from institutions typically seen as competitors,” the district plan says. “Progress will be measured by decreases in the incidence and prevalence of diabetes and obesity, over-utilization of in-

THE BIG PICTURE: An aerial rendering from the Baton Rouge Health District master plan shows the long-term vision for the Bluebonnet Boulevard, Essen Lane and Perkins Road areas within the district.

patient services, unnecessary emergency room visits, and readmission rates.” The location of the BRDOC has not been chosen, but Pennington Biomedical Research Center, which already hosts world-class obesity-related research, seems like a logical home. Providers throughout the region might refer patients to the center, and some services might be developed there and delivered remotely.

“Diabetes and obesity are really huge problems in this state and region,” says Pennington Executive Director Dr. William Cefalu. “We have to start somewhere and change the paradigm.” Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp points to Birmingham, Alabama, a similar mid-size city, where health care is a pillar of the economy like the petrochemical industry is here. “Largely, the health district is

COURTESY BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION

NEW LINEAR PARK AND BOULEVARD

an economic development strategy,” Knapp says. The conversation about health care needs in north Baton Rouge is an important one, he says, but it’s a separate conversation. The district shares an ambitious goal with BRAC’s five-year strategic plan: a four-year medical school. Successful districts often feature medical schools, which Knapp says are a key aspect of developing research, offering new skills and Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

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ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION

The health district is to be a pedestrian friendly area with plenty of parks.

Green spaces and walking paths, as envisioned in the health district master plan.

training the doctors that will be needed as the baby boomers retire. Discussing a new LSU medical school branch may seem silly, given the state’s budget crisis. But planning a school is a multiyear process, and consultant Tripp Umbach is working on a feasibility study now so if and when a plan is agreed to, LSU’s budget situation might be very different. Meanwhile, Sonnier says a request for proposals to develop the BRDOC has already been drafted and she’s currently exploring whether or not it can be released before a board of directors is assembled for the district. FIRST STEPS Setting up district governance is the first priority for Sonnier. Health districts usually are governed by a board made up of the major players. Sonnier says she hopes to have a board in place within her first 90 days on the job. She’s not entirely sure who will be represented on the board, but at a minimum it will likely include appointees from the four hospitals that have already committed funding to the health district: Baton Rouge General, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Woman’s Hospital and

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Mixed-use developments are a key part of the health district master plan.

17 years of service.

Quality care. Close to home.

Ochsner Health System. The board will also likely include other stakeholders, she says. Sonnier also expects to form committees or task forces for specific initiatives. Collaboration protocols must be created, with the understanding that not every member will participate in every joint effort. Decisions will be made in a transparent manner, she says. Health district members routinely pool resources on all sorts of things, including stuff like parking and laundry, that everyone needs but are not necessarily part of any single member’s core mission. Sonnier says the Baton Rouge Health District might get involved in such ancillary services in an attempt to find ways to reduce costs for all members through purchasing collaborations. More importantly for economic purposes, officials hope district collaboration helps land more large clinical trials, which in turn could generate revenue. Research for a new diabetes drug might happen at Pennington, for example, with patients drawn from Our Lady of the Lake and the General. The district doesn’t have a budget yet. Health districts often start out relying on dues paid by member institutions, but OLOL CEO Scott Wester hopes the Baton Rouge Health District is on a self-sustaining path within two years. Sonnier doesn’t rule out asking for some sort of taxing district, adding there’s been no significant discussions on that option just yet. But she echoes what officials with district institutions have said, which is that money for the district will be

raised within the district, while outside grants will be pursued. “At this point, the investment in the Baton Rouge Health District [is from] the partners themselves,” says Sonnier, whose previous experience includes serving as secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services under former Gov. Bobby Jindal and chief operating officer at the Louisiana Workforce Commission. She declines to discuss specific investments by the four hospitals thus far, but says each has committed some level of funding for two years. During her first few weeks on the job, Sonnier has been busy meeting with all of the stakeholders in the district. “And over and over again I hear that we need to increase economic development and make Baton Rouge a health care destination,” she says. That means another big part of Sonnier’s job right now is getting the word out about what the district is and what it has to offer. About 93% of patients discharged from Baton Rouge hospitals are local residents, compared to 48% from the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, and local hospitals want to attract more out-of-town patients. When meeting with local health care leaders, Sonnier is finding out what they think are their greatest strengths as she begins her work to make Baton Rouge a regional destination for health care. “We can absolutely be a destination for health care,” she says. “We just need to promote ourselves so that people think first about coming to Baton Rouge.”

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TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

TECHNOLOGY

MAKING IT: Dr. Jonas Fontenot, left, and Dr. Wayne Newhauser create a phantom on a 3-D printer.

COLLIN RICHIE

Another dimension THE USE OF 3-D printers to fight cancer is a relatively new phenomenon, but researchers at Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center and LSU began heading in that direction a decade ago. The work started back in 2006, when a medical physics graduate student at LSU started a project exploring ways to use technology to more strategically plan cancer treatments, says Dr. Jonas Fontenot, chief of physics at Mary Bird Perkins. The following year, another student’s project focused on whether doctors could integrate the improved plans with computer systems and treatment machines. And every year since, doctors, researchers and students have continuously built upon the work to enhance the techniques used by oncologists at Mary Bird Perkins. Within the past year, the innovations have positioned the group as one of the nation’s leading research A22

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

teams using 3-D printing—which is still in its infancy in terms of potential—to assist in cancer treatment. Oncologists at Mary Bird Perkins and LSU researchers have begun using 3-D printers to create realistic mannequins, or phantoms, of patients undergoing radiation to better target cancerous tumors. The models help doctors decide how to best approach the radiation therapy by giving them a clearer picture of the best angles of attack. “If you’re doing sharpshooting, you need to have an accurate target nailed up on the tree to do your target shooting,” says Dr. Wayne Newhauser, director of the LSU Medical Physics and Health Physics program. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have published research on the use of 3-D printers to create phantoms, but Newhauser says LSU and Mary Bird Perkins are among the first— if not the first—to actually create a

phantom using a 3-D printer in the United States. Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research in London began creating phantoms using 3-D printers in late 2014. “The ability to do 3-D printed phantoms is fairly new,” Fontenot says. The 3-D printer project is one of several collaborative projects between oncologists at Mary Bird Perkins and LSU researchers at the university’s medical physics program in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The resources of each program augment one another, creating a symbiotic relationship. “The physicists sort of work together and participate in this partnership that leverages the resources of the university to do research that benefits cancer care ostensibly for patients in our community,” Fontenot says. The partnership has led researchers to zero in on what Newhauser

COLLIN RICHIE

Mary Bird Perkins and LSU have become national leaders in the use of 3-D printers to fight cancer. BY RYAN BROUSSARD

THE FINAL PRODUCT: A pair of completed phantoms. says is a problem “as old as the hills” with radiation therapy: how to keep it from spreading to healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. PRACTICAL PRECISION Radiation causes cancerous cells to deteriorate over time, but it also damages surrounding healthy tissue, which doctors must take into account when devising a plan for at-

COLLIN RICHIE

tacking a tumor. That’s because radiation causes cancer to re-emerge in about 6% to 12% of patients each year, though it may not resurface for 20 to 30 years following treatment. That may mean cancer returns very late in the life of a patient who was first treated as an adult. But for one of the estimated 16,000 children who are diagnosed with cancer every year, it can mean cancer re-emerges during the prime years of their life, notes Mary Bird Perkins radiation oncologist Dr. Brian Wood. “That’s the scary part,” he says. By using phantoms, doctors can better understand how shooting radiation into the body at different angles will affect healthy cells surrounding a tumor, while instruments measure the amount of excess raA LOOK INSIDE: A radiation room at the Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center. diation that could damage healthy cells. very expensive to buy from outside 3-D printing equipment to make a The process has been used only sources. The website medicaldefinely detailed model of a human sparingly so far. Newhauser estivicedepot.com sells a skull phanhead. mates a phantom is created for tom for $5,627. A sectional torso The impetus for creating the only one out of every 100 patients, phantom is on sale for $20,590. phantoms in house at Mary Bird noting it is not applicable for ev“You quickly realize that these Perkins is twofold. First, the hospiery patient. But Newhauser hopes standard phantoms, they’re really tal can buy one-size-fits-all modto increase the scope of the projIssue Date: 4/12/16 Ad proof different from most patients,” Neect as 3-D printing technology ad- #1els, but the human body rarely • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval whauser says. fitsrevisions. into the one-size-fits-all catevances and becomes easier to use, or minor • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions But creating phantoms isn’t the gory. Second, the phantoms can be noting it took for today. low-end are received by thetwo closeyears of business

only use 3-D printers offer. Another application is to create a bolus, which is a material with properties similar to human tissue when hit with radiation. A bolus is placed around parts of the body that are cancerous but can be tricky to precisely treat, such as a finger or the piece of skin where the nose meets the cheek, says Wood. It can help focus the radiation beam onto the exact spot where it can hit the tumor hardest. Another research breakthrough gained through the Mary Bird Perkins-LSU partnership that is improving patient care is the so-called breath-hold technique used for treating breast cancer, Wood says. In patients who have cancer in the left breast, radiation treatments have been shown to harm the heart, Wood says. By tracking breathing patterns, doctors are able to precisely time the radiation blasts to occur during the few seconds when the breast is furthest away from the heart. “It’s these baby steps, one after the other, that when you add them together give us a significant stride forward,” Wood says.

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TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

RESEARCH

In search of a cure LSU researchers are seeking to end Alzheimer’s disease and start a new neurobiotech industry in Louisiana. BY MEREDITH WHITTEN OFF THE SHORES of Waikiki in Hawaii, the invasive species Bugula neritina—a colonial animal that grows in bushy tufts and is often mistaken for seaweed—has taken hold, just as it has along the Pacific Coast, Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast. Despite the environmental havoc the pest species brings, the pervasiveness of this sea moss could provide a breakthrough in the treatment of one of the most devastating and costly diseases of modern times, says J. Steven Alexander, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Alexander and his colleagues have discovered that a byproduct of Bugula neritina may hold a key to developing a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent form of dementia. It’s a devastating affliction that affects memory and cognition, and “robs people of their identity and their personality,” as Alexander puts it. Working with Boston-based Aphios Corp., Alexander’s research has found that an oral form of the drug, Bryostatin-1, originally designed to treat cancer, seems to reverse Alzheimer’s in mice. Although Bryostatin-1 was not an effective cancer drug, it has a positive effect on cognition. The drug acts on neurons as well as blood vessels. “It stabilizes the vascular system against the inappropriate penetration of the brain by inflammatory immune cells,” explains Alexander, who adds that disturbances of the neurovascular system contribute to brain diseases beyond Alzheimer’s, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. “There are a lot of related conditions that experience a disturbance of blood vessels in the brain,” Alexander says. “There are two important things going on. One is the mechanism through which the amyloid formed is blocked, and second, the blood-brain barrier that prevents inflammatory immune cell penetration into the brain is destabilized, and that’s a big problem.” A24

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

Although Bryostatin-1 could likely be translated to clinical trials quickly, he says the cost remains prohibitive, as divers must collect the sea moss and large quantities are needed. Developing an affordable form of the drug is paramount, he adds. Yet Alexander is optimistic about the drug’s future. “It’s a terrible invasive species, but maybe it can be put to good use,” he says. “We are trying to clean up the environment and simultaneously develop source material for Alzheimer’s.” EYEING THE CAUSE Alexander is one of several LSU scientists working on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. At the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Nicolas Bazan, director of the Neuroscience Center for Excellence, studies fundamental cellular and molecular lipid signaling taking place in early stages of neurodegenerations and other brain and retinal dysfunctions. Bazan and his colleagues have discovered neuroprotectin D1, or NPD1, a protective mediator made in the brain after injury or at the onset of seizures or neurodegenerations, including Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to the brain, NPD1—which derives from an essential omega-3 fatty acid—is also made in the eye, so Bazan’s research focuses on the brain as well as the retina. Using samples from donors both with and without the disease, Bazan examined the areas of the brain that are involved in cognition and memory. He found there was a dramatic shortage of NPD1 in the brain memory areas of donors who were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. “There is a relationship of disease in the retina to Alzheimer’s disease, and we are trying to understand this,” Bazan says. “Neuroprotectin D1 comes from a component of our brain and eyes that derives from diet. We need the precursor of NPD1 in our diet.” After we digest omega-3 fatty acid, Bazan says, it ends up in our brain and retinas more than any

other part of the body and is stored in cell membranes. “When a defense mechanism is needed, it releases part of it and makes more of the protective mediator—it’s made on demand,” he explains. “We just discovered the necessary protein for the retention of these fatty acids in cells, and we began uncovering the molecular principles of how it elicits its protective functions. These have given rise to intellectual properties that will be developed to move the basic science into clinical applications.” Yet simply adding more omega-3 to our diet is not the answer. “As we age, the amount of omega-3 fatty acid we have goes down, even if we keep eating it,” Bazan says, adding scientists are just beginning to understand why the brain and retina

are rich in omega-3 fatty acid. “But we don’t understand what happens when we inject or eat omega-3 and what happens from there to the brain or eye,” he says. “My lab discovered that it has to go through the liver before getting to the brain or retina, so the liver is a key portal gate.” In clinical trials where omega-3 is given to patients with Alzheimer’s, the results are not clear. “The reason is we don’t understand the significance of the gastrointestinal tract microbiome and the route of our liver to blood circulation,” Bazan says. “We are trying to understand the black boxes between the liver and the brain.” PUSHING FOR PREVENTION At LSU’s Pennington Biomedical

JEFFREY KELLER, founder and director, Institute of Dementia Research & Prevention

Research Center, Jeffrey Keller focuses on research that will prevent Alzheimer’s disease from developing in the first place. As founder and director of the Institute of Dementia Research & Prevention, Keller oversees multiple clinical trials and studies designed to identify the risk factors for Alzheimer’s and dementia, more effectively detect and monitor early stages of the disease and, ultimately, develop therapeutic interventions that will prevent Alzheimer’s from developing. “Prevention is different than treatment,” Keller says. “Not to discount effective treatment, but it is essential that we have ways to prevent, not just treat, Alzheimer’s. Even if we can treat it, the number of people who will develop the

disease will still be devastating unless we can find ways to prevent the disease from occurring.” In 2014, the IDRP was recognized by the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study as an Alzheimer’s Disease Coordinating Site by the National Institutes of Health. People come from hundreds of miles away to participate in the institute’s trials and studies. IDRP’s trials, which include participation of more than 1,600 Louisianans in the Louisiana Aging Brain Study, have contributed to the evolving understanding of Alzheimer’s. For example, Keller says, it is now recognized that Alzheimer’s is not one uniform disease, but rather many different types of disease that vary based on pathologies in the brain and other existing diseases

COLLIN RICHIE

“In the 1950s and ’60s, cancer research was based on the thought that all cancer was the same and had the same cause, whether it was breast cancer or pancreatic cancer. We look back now and see that was such a simplified concept. That’s where we are now with Alzheimer’s.”

and conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension, that a person may have. Keller compares this evolving understanding to how our understanding of cancer has changed. “In the 1950s and ’60s, cancer research was based on the thought that all cancer was the same and had the same cause, whether it was breast cancer or pancreatic cancer,” he says. “We look back now and see that was such a simplified concept. That’s where we are now with Alzheimer’s.” Keller says IDRP is making progress toward preventing Alzheimer’s, in part, because of partnerships with the medical community and other partners. “Our medical community has been really responsive,” he says. “Our work at IDRP is a very complementary approach to the primary care physician.” Preventing and developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has never been more urgent. “In the next 24 years, we’re going to see triple the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease,” Keller says. “At the same time, the number of caregivers will be reduced by 40 percent because the population is aging. The impact this is going to have on families, businesses and government support is a tsunami headed our way.” CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY An estimated 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s, according to the U.S. National Institute on Aging. That number is expected to increase dramatically to 13.8 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. In Louisiana, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is predicted to rise 34% between 2015 and 2025. An estimated 110,000 Louisianans will be diagnosed with the disease in 2025, the organization predicts. Although the disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the only cause of death in the top 10 that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured. Between 2000 and 2013, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease rose 71%. “I call it the challenge of civilization,” Bazan says. “This is going to wreck the health care system.” As more people are diagnosed with the disease, the economic impact of caring for patients will skyrocket. In 2015, Alzheimer’s and other dementias cost the U.S. $226 billion. That figure is predicted to

increase to $1.1 trillion by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. In Louisiana, the economic value of unpaid care for Alzheimer’s and dementia was almost $3.2 billion in 2013, according to the association. Almost 4% of all nursing home beds were designated for Alzheimer’s care in the state in 2014. As the population ages, the demand for memory care facilities will rise, too. “The cost to society for keeping people with Alzheimer’s comfortable is unimaginable,” Alexander says. “As we live longer lives, we’re sitting on a ticking time bomb of Alzheimer’s cases that will appear.” Advancements toward preventing or treating Alzheimer’s could revolutionize patient health. At the same time, this could have a tremendous impact on state and regional economic development. The innovative research that scientists such as Alexander, Bazan and Keller are doing could attract new firms and high-skilled workers. Several patents—a sign of innovation—already have resulted from research taking place in Louisiana. Bazan says applying patents and fostering entrepreneurship to create new companies could lead to what he calls “neurobiotech of Louisiana.” “Developing startups and attracting branches of big pharma would bring economic development to the region. We need to enhance the presence of academic research in the private sector as translational avenues of knowledge,” he says. Bazan—whose novel, Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mind, about a New Orleans street performer with Alzheimer’s was adapted into a movie this year—envisions south Louisiana becoming a destination for research and treatment related to brain diseases, similar to how MD Anderson in Houston is for cancer research and treatment. “We can’t become No. 1 in every area of medicine in our region, but we can make neurodegenerative and brain diseases a priority,” he says. “This would attract top companies to the region and, with clinical trials, we could attract doctors and researchers and patients from all over the world. Developing a new domain of knowledge and all the traffic that would generate could have an economic impact on the region and the state, as well as having a huge impact on the well-being of our people.”

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URGENT CARE

DON KADAIR

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

SEEING POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH: Point of Care Health Group co-CEO and chief medical officer Dr. Rubin Patel, left, with co-CEO and chief operating officer Vishal Vasanji in front of the Patient Plus Urgent Care Clinic in Mid City.

Popular model Demand, convenience and opportunity are driving rapid growth of urgent care clinics in Baton Rouge. BY GABRIELLE BRAUD ON ANY TYPICAL day, a steady stream of patients can be seen trickling in and out of Patient Plus Urgent Care on Florida Boulevard by foot, bike and car. Located just seven blocks from Baton Rouge General’s Mid City campus, the clinic opened in November in an attempt to help fill the health care void left by the shuttering of the hospital’s emergency room last spring. With a fresh façade and bright new branding on its building, the clinic’s arrival in the neighborhood has sparked new optimism for surrounding residents and businesses owners, says Vishal Vasanji, coCEO and chief operating officer of Point of Care Health Group, parent company of the clinic. For example, Vasanji says, the automotive repair shop across the street from the clinic is planning renovations to en-

hance their curb appeal and the overall appearance of the block. Investing in the community was precisely the idea Vasanji and Dr. Rubin Patel, formerly the head of Ochsner Baton Rouge’s urgent care department, had in mind when they decided to establish their flagship clinic. The two weren’t initially looking at Mid City as a place to open their first clinic—which is one of many that have popped up in Baton Rouge in recent years, in line with a national trend for the rapidly growing industry. But when market conditions changed, so did their plans. “I was a resident at Earl K. Long [charity hospital] and also did shifts at Baton Rouge General, so when the ER shut down, I felt like there was a void,” says Patel, Point of Care co-CEO and chief medical officer. “Realizing that ER visits are

mostly primary care or urgent care related, we thought this would be a great start.” With both their families involved in the hotel industry, the friends teamed up to form Point of Care Health Group in November 2014. Their aim was to combine their collective hospitality experience with Vasanji’s knowledge of the financial world—having run several other successful businesses—and Patel’s background managing urgent care clinics to create a patient-driven business model. With a focus on hotel-like hospitality in every aspect of their business, from the way people are greeted at the reception desk to the patient experience in an examination room, the two want Point of Care to break the mold of what people have come to expect from urgent care clinics.

Standing out may be key in a market with ever-growing competition among urgent care clinics. COMPETING TO PROVIDE CARE For more than a decade, Baton Rouge has seen the proliferation of urgent care clinics driven by a constantly changing health care environment. Urgent care clinics have increasingly become an attractive option for patients and physicians alike, locally and nationally, as each struggles to navigate the complexities of high deductible health care plans as well as the increasing size and scope of hospital groups. For example, General Health System, which owns Baton Rouge General Medical Center, and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System announced in March that they had formed a new strategic Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

A27

Issue Date: 4.12 Ad proof #5

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

URGENT CARE

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DON KADAIR

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IN THE CLINIC: Premier Health co-owners Dr. Kevin DiBenedetto, from left, and Dr. Graham Tujague look over some data with company CEO Steve Sellars.

• By high-quality, board-certiﬁed professionals. • Appointments: Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-5:00pm. • Medicare and most other commercial insurances accepted.

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Choices Family Medical Clinics E-Visits with a provider coming in April!

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6681 Sullivan Road | Greenwell Springs, LA 70739 www.choicesfamilymc.com | info@choicesfamilymc.com

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

partnership that they say will create a “combined integrated system that includes joint governance, management and financial integration.” “In Texas, every corner has an urgent care clinic,” Vasanji says. “It hasn’t come to Louisiana and Baton Rouge at that rate yet, so we saw an opportunity for us to get in and establish a presence really quickly, and we were confident in our ability to do it. We also saw people were getting tired of the same old options.” Seventeen years ago, a pair of emergency room physicians at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center had a similar idea. Dr. Kevin DiBenedetto and Dr. Graham Tujague began to wonder what could be done to relieve the hospital’s crowded emergency room and treat patients more efficiently. They saw a need for a clinic that specialized in illnesses and injuries that may not be serious enough for the emergency room but couldn’t wait for a trip to a family doctor. Back then, the idea of urgent care medicine was a relatively new concept. The co-founders formed Premier Health and launched Lake After Hours in 1999 with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center at Siegen Lane and Perkins Road. “We feel like we were a pioneer in the industry in terms of joint venture partnerships with hospitals,” says Premier Health CEO Steve Sellars. “And so we’ve taken that model and repeated it in other markets.” Lake After Hours now has nearly 18 clinics in the Capital Region and sees approximately 120,000 patients

a year. Nationally, Premier Health manages 40 affiliated clinics with 600 employees. And more growth is in the works, with potential for partnerships to open more clinics in New Orleans, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee and Puerto Rico. PATIENTS TURNED PATRONS Due to competing priorities, hospitals find it attractive to partner with Premier Health because they can provide a turnkey model for urgent care that acts as an extension of the hospital, Sellars says. “They get all of the downstream revenue, but they are not in it for the money from urgent care,” DiBenedetto says. “They are in it for everything it brings to their hospital and for their reputation from it. … It gives them a footprint where they might not be.” Tujague likens urgent care clinics to “the front door to the hospital” because they provide referrals to emergency rooms, primary care networks, specialists, imaging, lab tests and more. They also free up the patient load for busy doctors. Dr. Curtis Chastain, president of Our Lady of the Lake Physicians Group, has some 3,000 patients who call him their primary care doctor. He says the Lake After Hours not only allowed him to refer his patients somewhere other than the emergency room for urgent, but not emergent, conditions. It also helped him extend the reach of his practice after work by being able to confidently refer patients to colleagues at the OLOL-affiliated clinics.

Issue Date: Spec Ad proof #2

“When the after hours model came out, it was a beautiful solution to a problem for those patients who were sort of in that gray zone,” Chastain says. “It filled a huge gap in my practice. It is almost like an extension of me.” Patients like the convenience of urgent care clinics, which typically do not require an appointment and are open beyond usual business hours. The clinics also allow patients to have control of their health care dollars with the rise of high deductible insurance plans. “You’re taking the time and making the effort to choose what suits you best, and it may not be your traditional primary care model anymore because you can’t get in,” Chastain says. “You have options now.” This trend, coined the “consumerization of health care,” has led Chastain to develop his own alternative care model—a membership-based Executive Wellness concierge practice. At Patient Plus, Vasanji and Patel are making a concerted effort to cater to people as consumers, rather than patients, by paying attention to not only the quality of care but also the clinic aesthetics. That means comfortable chairs in the waiting room and glass doors on examination rooms—a way to improve transparency—to ensure patients enter feeling welcomed and leave having had a meaningful interaction. “Patients have a choice of what kind of experience they are going to get at a doctor’s office,” Vasanji says. “We know you have an option when you leave our building and before you even get to our building.” For that reason, clinics such as Patient Plus and Lake After Hours market the convenience of quick, in-and-out care, as well as flexible paying options such as discounted cash pricing as an alternative for patients with high deductibles. LEAVING THE GRIND BEHIND The idea of patients as consumers coupled with the increasing size of hospital groups is driving many doctors away from frenzied hospital and emergency room environments. Many are finding their freedom at urgent care clinics. “I think health care, in general, is becoming more dominated by just a few massive corporate players, and it has lost that personal touch and approach to helping patients out,” explains Joseph Thomas, an

emergency room doctor who is also working to open his own urgent care practice on Juban Road in Livingston Parish. Like many other emergency room physicians turned entrepreneur, Thomas hopes his clinic will help unburden emergency rooms and provide convenient, quality care in areas of Baton Rouge that are lacking. But he also sees urgent care as a path to more autonomy as a health practitioner. “Everyone is feeling the grind, I suppose, of working in the big hospitals where things are just so hectic,” he says. He says the goal for his clinic, set to open this fall, is for it to be hyper-local. “I have no desire to become another massive corporate entity,” Thomas says. “My real goal is to have one or two clinics that provide quality service that will get back to what I became a doctor for, which is serving the community.” TRIAGE With new urgent care clinics opening in the Baton Rouge area more and more frequently, one has to wonder how many more the market can hold. DiBenedetto argues that the local market is “pretty saturated” in terms of the number of clinics. However, he sees ample room for growth in the volume of patients seen within existing clinics. Conversely, Patel and Vasanji see endless possibilities for growth. Point of Care Health Group has two more clinics in the works: one in the Towne Center/Bocage area next to City Pork and the other in the Sherwood Forest/Coursey Boulevard area between The Londoner and South of Philly. They have an aggressive expansion plan for their company and expect the number of their local clinics will reach double digits in five years. Sellars, who will be installed as board president of the Urgent Care Association of America on April 18, says the urgent care sector has strong growth projections for the next five to 10 years. The number of clinics across the country, estimated to be around 7,500 currently, is expected to grow by 4% to 6% over the next few years, he says. “There are a lot of people that say urgent care may one day be the first point of contact into the health care system,” he says. “As the years go by, more people will come to urgent care clinics first.”

After Hours Clinic

First there was Late Night... Then there was Late Show... Now, there is Late BROC! Monday-Friday 5:00PM-10:00PM Saturday 10:00AM-8:00PM Sunday 12:00PM-6:00PM 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd, Suite 1000 Baton Rouge, LA 70810 The After Hours Clinic is staffed by a Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner and provides an alternative to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care Centers.

225-924-2424

www.brortho.com Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

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COMMUNITY

COLLIN RICHIE

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

All together now

GOING GREEN: Employees and community members look over produce at a mobile farmers market at the Our Lady of the Lake Urgent Care Clinic at 5439 Airline Highway.

Hospitals in Baton Rouge have turned federally required paperwork into a comprehensive plan for addressing the city’s most pressing health needs. BY MEREDITH WHITTEN BATON ROUGE IS leading the way in addressing community health needs by taking a simple box-checking activity to satisfy IRS requirements and creating unprecedented collaboration among the city’s hospitals, businesses and community organizations. To retain tax-exempt status under the Affordable Care Act, every hospital must develop a Community Health Needs Assessment every three years and implement a strategy for addressing the community’s most pressing health priorities. But instead of each hospital creating its own needs assessment, four of the city’s not-for-profit hospitals—Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Lane Regional Medical Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Woman’s Hospital—worked jointly to identify those health needs, write the assessment and develop an impleA30

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

mentation strategy for addressing the issues. In addition to the four hospitals, representatives from Ochsner Health System-Baton Rouge, Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge, LSU, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the city’s Healthy BR initiative also helped develop and write the assessment. For their first CHNA in 2012, the hospitals participated in a collaborative assessment, one of two types of CHNAs that can be done for multiple institutions. Although minimizing costs initially played a role in the collaboration, the hospitals quickly realized the benefits for the community overall from approaching the CHNA in unison. The result was one collective assessment for all the hospitals that identified the parish’s most urgent health needs. Each hospital then developed its own plan for imple-

menting the goals identified and published its needs assessment separately. “Each hospital took the goals we’d collectively developed and then tailored it for their own needs,” says Coletta Barrett, vice president of mission for OLOL. “That approach laid the foundation for what we did in 2015.” Indeed, when it came time to update the needs assessment last year, the hospitals took their efforts further, becoming the first community in the United States to do a joint CHNA—the other type of assessment available for multiple institutions—as well as a joint implementation plan. CITY HALL SUPPORTED The joint process was initiated and facilitated by Healthy BR, also known as the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative, which comprises more

than 70 health care organizations, city and state agencies, for-profit businesses, educational institutions, faith-based organizations and nonprofit agencies. Mayor Kip Holden established Healthy BR in 2008 to harness the efforts the groups were doing to improve health citywide. Working through Healthy BR, the hospitals jointly published one document that identifies the community’s top health priorities, covers the role each hospital will play in addressing the needs and details the tasks each will do to implement the strategies outlined in the assessment. The result is a plan that maps out a communitywide, holistic approach to tackling the city’s greatest health issues. “A joint needs assessment and implementation plan allows us to address specific needs on a communitywide basis,” says Donna Bo-

din, vice president of employee and wellness services at Woman’s Hospital, who worked on the 2015 assessment. As a result, the collaboration extended well beyond the four hospitals. “If we’re going to make an impact on the community’s significant needs, it’s not just going to involve our hospitals—it’s going to take involvement from community organizations and businesses as well,” says Andy Allen, outreach coordinator for the mayor’s office. “That’s the beauty of doing the Community Health Needs Assessment through the Healthy City Initiative—when we get to the implementation plan, there are pieces specific to health care and pieces specific to the community.” The CHNA includes 10 top health priorities for East Baton Rouge Parish. From this list, four significant needs were chosen: HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; mental health and substance abuse; obesity; and overuse of emergency rooms. “If we improve [the] overall health of [our] community, then we are addressing these health issues before they become chronic,” Bodin says. To determine the top 10 priorities, including the four significant needs, the CHNA workgroup reviewed data from a variety of sources, including government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The statistics included social determinants of health, such as household income, education level, and race and ethnicity, as well as the Community Needs Index, which identifies the severity of health disparities for every ZIP code in the United States. Parish health rankings measuring how long people live and their quality of life and input from community

organizations also were used. The data were supplemented with what the hospitals observed at their own facilities. “Each of us can see a pattern in our hospitals,” Bodin says. “As a group we could identify a trend.” FROM PAPER TO PRACTICE Turning this research into a readily understandable document was not a simple task. “The biggest challenge was turning a data-driven document into something the community can read and relate to, while trying to provide an educational message,” Bodin says. The four significant needs remained the same in the 2015 CHNA as were identified in the 2012 document. “These are big-ticket items,” Allen says. “We’re making good progress, but we don’t feel like we’ve gotten to the point where we can take them off or where we can say we’ve done enough.” While 10 health priorities were identified, many of them have a national or statewide support system or a strong organization with a track record of success in addressing the issue. The four priorities designated as having the greatest need in Baton Rouge don’t have that level of support. “There’s not a single volunteer-based, national organization leading efforts on obesity. You’ve got 50,000 people doing 40,000 things, but overall we were not seeing the progress,” Barrett says. Instead of being an insular document prepared in-house, the joint CHNA is a community plan. As such, Barrett says, every local resident can identify with some aspect of the needs assessment. “Our community members can see their needs in these strategies,” she says. “Everyone can have a role in this.” For example, through the Eat Healthy BR initiative, partners—

including restaurant owners and chefs—commit to offering healthy meal items for all customers. Among other things, they agree to include fruits and vegetables with all kid’s meals, make water or lowfat milk the default beverage and train waitstaff to promote healthier options. For their ground-breaking collaborative efforts and the impact it’s expected to have on addressing health needs in the city, Healthy BR and the four hospitals received the NOVA award from the American Hospital Association in 2015. The award is given to no more than five recipients each year for “improving community health by looking beyond patients’ physical ailments, rooting out the economic and social barriers to care and collaborating with other community stakeholders.” Barrett, who worked on both the 2012 and 2015 assessments, says working under the umbrella of Healthy BR was critical to successfully addressing the parish’s most urgent health priorities identified in the CHNA. “This was a hospital-led and hospital-driven endeavor,” she says. “But hospitals can’t do it on their own. There has to be a broader approach and a broader range of partners.” Bodin agrees. “A collaborative effort reaches many more people,” she says. For example, Bodin says, the number of individuals screened for HIV in Baton Rouge has increased by 28% since 2014. “One organization couldn’t possibly reach all these people,” she says. Further, Bodin notes, the value of produce sold at farmers markets, including mobile farmers markets, increased 8%, “so we know that those programs are impacting child and adult obesity through community strategies from partner organi-

zations outside the hospital.” Both Barrett and Bodin say having citywide support was essential to the joint process working, as well as to the potential for success. “Doing the assessment under the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative shows the value added of collaboration,” Barrett says. “You have to have that third party to lead it. You need that leadership to get people talking and working together and to look beyond their own four walls.” As a neutral third party to developing the needs assessment and implementation plan, “the mayor provided a common table, with no competitive aspect, where the hospitals could come,” Allen says. “It’s impossible to overstate how important it is to have all the hospitals on the same page. These are such gigantic issues. But, if we align all the organizations, we are able to start making community-level change in those. That in itself is a huge win communitywide.”

HIGH PRIORITY The top 10 health priorities for East Baton Rouge Parish as identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment, listed in alphabetical order and beginning with the top four Healthy BR priority areas: • HIV and other STDs • Mental health and substance abuse • Obesity • Overuse of emergency rooms • Barriers to health care • Cancer • Diabetes • Heart disease and stroke • Negative lifestyle/behaviors • Vulnerable populations

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

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TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

After-hours and urgent care clinics Ranked by number of licensed medical staff.

PREV. RANK

CLINIC ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

NO. OF LICENSED MEDICAL STAFF

NO. OF LOCATIONS YEAR FOUNDED

SERVICES

Lake After Hours Locations in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Hammond, Brusly, Central and Zachary Varies by location/lakeafterhours.com

Steven Sellars, Michael Whittington, Graham Tujague, Kevin DiBenedetto

10 1999

Ear or eye infections, fever, minor cuts that may need stitches, possible broken bones, severe sore throat, sprains and strains, vomiting/diarrhea, allergies, and skin infections/Equipped with advanced technology such as digital X-ray and electronic medical records

Urgent Care Clinic-LSU Health Baton Rouge 5439 Airline Hwy., Baton Rouge 70805 (877) 578-8255/ololrmc.com

Laura Davis

2 2013

Minor illnesses and injury, minor cuts and sprains, fever, sore throats, colds and coughs/Primary care clinic, oncology services, outpatient infusion services, imaging services

Lake Urgent Care Locations in Prairieville, Galvez, St. Amant and Burnside Varies by location/lakeurgentcare.com

Glen Neal

4 2013

Ochsner Health Center-Urgent Care 9001 Summa Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 761-5200/ochsner.org

Eric McMillen

3 2008

Incision & drainage, lacerations, sinusitis, dehydration, hypertension, rash, glucose issues and broken/sprained limbs

FASTLane of Zachary 19900 Old Scenic Hwy., Ste. H & I, Zachary 70791 (225) 570-2618/fastlaneclinic.com

Randall Olson

1 2010

Urgent care, occupational medicine, DOT and non- DOT physicals and drug screens, and breath alcohol testing

Central STAT Care Clinic(1) 11055 Shoe Creek Drive, Central 70818 (225) 261-4493/statcareclinicbr.com

Bryan Barrett

1 2011

Urgent care

Baton Rouge Clinic Urgent Care Center 7479 Perkins Rd., Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 246-9997/batonrougeclinic.com

Harold Brandt

1 2011

Sprains and broken bones, colds and flu, allergies, sinus infections, severe sore throats, bladder infections, cuts, stitches, bruises, pediatric care (ages 3 months and older) and skin infections

Lake After Hours Kids 12525 Perkins Road, Ste. B, Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 765-5437/lakeafterhourskids.com

Graham Tujague, Kevin DiBenedetto, Stephen Beasley

1 2010

Coastal Urgent Care 9808 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 224-8121/coastaluc.com

Brennan Uter

2 2014

Acute injuries and illnesses, on-site lab, EKG, X-ray and IV fluid hydration

Patient Plus Urgent Care 2840 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 224-2402/patientplusuc.com

Vishal Vasanji, Rubin Patel

1 2016

Minor illnesses and injuries, allergies, bronchitis, ear and eye infections, flu, food poisoning, kidney and bladder infections, sore throat, poison ivy, sinusitis, minor cuts and sprains, digital X-rays, physicals, drug testing and vaccinations

Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic Physical Therapy & Hand Center 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Ste. 1000, Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 924-2424/brortho.com

Trey Williamson

5 2015

Orthopedic injuries

NR=Not ranked. Not all area after-hours and urgent care clinics are shown, only those providing requested information with two or more medical staff. Some clinics have more than one Baton Rouge area location. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Clinic was unable to provide updated information at the time of publication.

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BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

Researched by Sierra Crump

Outpatient physical therapy clinics

3 5

9 9

NR 13 13

NR NR

16 NR 16 NR

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

CUSTOM ORTHOTICS/SPLINTS

PEDIATRIC PT

Baton Rouge General Medical Center 8585 Picardy Ave./3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809/70806 (225) 763-4000/(225) 387-7000/brgeneral.org Moreau Physical Therapy 3129 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 246-2076/moreaupt.com Baton Rouge Physical Therapy - Lake 530 Shadows Lane, Baton Rouge 70806 (225) 788-1623/brptlake.com BROC - Physical Therapy and Hand Center 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Ste. 110, Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 408-7990/ brortho.com North Oaks Outpatient Rehabilitation Services-Hammond(1) 2101 Robin Ave., Ste. 4, Hammond 70403 (985) 230-6160/northoaks.org Peak Performance Physical Therapy and Fitness 11320 Industriplex Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 295-8183/peakphysicaltherapy.com Baton Rouge Rehab Hospital(1) 8595 United Plaza Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 927-0567/brrehab.com Lewy Physical Therapy(1) 8448 Siegen Lane, Baton Rouge 70810 (255) 767-8182/lewypt.com Woman's Center for Wellness 9637 Jefferson Hwy., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 924-8300/womans.org Dutch Physical Therapy 5627 Bankers Ave., Bldg. 1, Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 927-3000/dutchpt.com Sage Rehabilitation Hospital Outpatient Services 5238 Dijon Drive, Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 906-4097/sage-rehab.org Central Physical Therapy 13111 Hooper Rd., Baton Rouge 70818 (225) 261-7094/centralptonline.com Kleinpeter Physical Therapy 1219 Church St., Zachary 70791 (225) 658-7751/kleinpeterpt.com The NeuroMedical Center 10101 Park Rowe Ave., Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 769-2200/theneuromedicalcenter.com Go Physical Therapy 4715 Perkins Rd., Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 923-0110/go-physicaltherapy.com Linx Physical Therapy & Wellness Center 25550 Juban Rd., Denham Springs 70726 (225) 665-8600/linxpt.com Downtown Physical Therapy 160 N. Eighth St., Baton Rouge 70802 (225) 383-5021/dtphysicaltherapy.com North Oaks Outpatient Rehabilitation Services – Livingston 17199 Spring Ranch Rd., Livingston 70754 (225) 686-4850/northoaks.org/northoaks.tv Dutchtown Physical Therapy 36501 Mission St., Ste. A, Prairieville 70769 (225) 744-3631/dtphysicaltherapy.com Dynamic Therapy 7523 La. 1 South, Addis 70710 (225) 687-0602/dynamictherapyonline.com Hope Therapy Clinic 1121 N. Lobdell Blvd., Baton Rouge 70806 (225) 926-2645/ N/A Victory Physical Therapy 6554 Florida Blvd., Ste. 119, Baton Rouge 70806 (225) 248-0085/N/A

WOMEN'S HEALTH

CARDIO/PULMONARY

CLINIC ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

NO. OF LOCAL, LICENSED PHYSICAL THERAPISTS

NO. OF LOCATIONS YEAR FOUNDED

ORTHOPEDIC

PREV. RANK

AQUATIC THERAPY

Ranked by number of local, licensed physical therapists.

Mark Slyter

3 1900

Al Moreau III, Al Moreau Jr., Cristina Faucheux

10 1977

Seth Kaplan, Gus Gutierrez, Richard Lane, Greg LeBlanc

7 1963

R. Bryan Griffith, Trey Williamson, Randall Alford

6 2001

Mac Barrient

1 1989

Chris Purvis, Fabian Roussel, Scott Dickie, Jason Greene

7 1999

Trisha Guidry

1 2010

Danny Lewy, Shannon Lewy

2 2001

Teri Fontenot

1 1997

Philippe Veeters, Mirjam Maassen

3 1994

Gayla Bryant

1 2009

Helen Balzli, Tom Coplin

1 1991

Karl Kleinpeter

2 2000

Nancy Kelly

3 1978

Gloria Wall

3 2006

Marcy Linxwiler, Brian Linxwiler, Megan Borruano, Leslie Carlton, Melody Harper

3 2006

Geoff Lejeune, Scott Larson

2 2000

Mac Barrient

1 1988

Geoff Lejeune, Scott Larson

1 2007

Sheralyn Callihan

2 11

Joyce Iledare

1 1996

WND

1 2001

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

NR=Not ranked. Information presented was provided upon request by company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. Not all area outpatient physical therapy clinics are shown, only those providing requested information with one or more local, licensed physical therapists. If you would like your company to be considered for next year’s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Clinic was unable to provide updated information at the time of publication.

n n

Researched by Sierra Crump

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

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TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

Managed care providers Ranked by number of members enrolled in the greater Baton Rouge area. COMPANY ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE MEDICAL DIRECTOR

PARENT COMPANY NO. OF AREA MEMBERS HEADQUARTERS NO. OF PHYSICIANS YEAR FOUNDED LOCALLY

MAJOR AFFILIATED HOSPITALS

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana 5525 Reitz Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 295-3307/bcbsla.com

Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi Dr. Paul Murphree

204,873 2,211

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana(1) Baton Rouge 1934

UnitedHealthcare 3838 N. Causeway Blvd., Ste. 2600, Metairie 70002 (504) 849-1500/unitedhealthcare.com

Joe Ochipinti Penny Walker

85,392 N/A

UnitedHealth Group Minneapolis, Minn. 1977

Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana 8550 United Plaza Blvd., Ste. 702, Baton Rouge 70809 (800) 999-5979/humana.com

Rhonda Bagby Laura Trunk

75,717 1,254

Humana Inc. Louisville, Ky. 1986

AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana 10000 Perkins Rowe, Baton Rouge 70810 (888) 756-0004/amerihealthcaritasla.com

Kyle Viator Rodney Wise

31,922 3,428

AmeriHealth Caritas Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Lane Regional Medical Center, Ochsner Medical Center at Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Pointe Coupee General Hospital, Prevost Memorial Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital, St. Helena Parish Hospital, Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge, The Spine Hospital of Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish Hospital and Woman's Hospital Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Woman's Hospital, North Oaks Medical Center, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge, Ochsner Medical Center at Baton Rouge, Lane Regional Medical Center, St. James Parish Hospital, Promise Hospital of Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee General Hospital, West Feliciana Parish Hospital, The NeuroMedical Center, The NeuroMedical Center Rehab Hospital, Prevost Memorial Hospital, Gulf States LTAC of Denham Springs, Promise Hospital of Ascension and Baton Rouge General Medical Center Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Lane Regional Medical Center, The NeuroMedical Center, North Oaks Medical Center, Ochsner Medical Center at Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Pointe Coupee General Hospital, Prevost Memorial Hospital, River West Medical Center, St. Helena Parish Hospital, West Feliciana Parish Hospital and Woman's Hospital Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Assumption Community Hospital, Prevost Memorial Hospital-Donaldsonville, Ochsner Medical Center at Baton Rouge, West Feliciana Parish Hospital, North Oaks Health System, Lane Regional Medical Center, St. Helena Parish Hospital, Pointe Coupee General, Woman’s Hospital, Sage Rehabilitation Hospital, Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge, MMO Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, Bethesda Rehabilitation Center, The NeuroMedical Center Rehabilitation Hospital and Ascension/Gonzales Rehabilitation Hospital

N/A=Not available. Not all metro area managed care providers are shown, only those providing requested information with 31,922 or more enrolled members. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next year’s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) Incorporated as Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Company

Researched by Sierra Crump

Issue Date: 4-12-16 Ad proof #2

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

MON-FRI, 8AM-5PM

like us on

/BatonRougeSpineCenter

A Comprehensive Facility for the Treatment of Spinal Disorders TREATMENT OPTIONS INCLUDE:

A34

225-766-0050 | spinecenterbr.com

Advanced Physical Therapy Complex Spine Surgery

7301 Hennessy Blvd., Ste.200 • Baton Rouge, LA

Spinal Reconstruction

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

Pain Management Injections Minimally-invasive spine procedures

Specialty hospitals Ranked by number of licensed beds. PREV. RANK

FACILITY ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

ADMINISTRATOR/CEO OWNER

NO. OF LICENSED BEDS

YEAR FOUNDED LOCALLY

SPECIALTY SERVICES

AMG Specialty Hospital-Baton Rouge 8375 Florida Blvd., Denham Springs 70726 (225) 665-2664/amgbatonrouge.com

Karen Crayton AMG

2009

Long term acute care, IV antibiotics, ventilator weaning, telemetry, dialysis, advanced wound care and rehabilitation

Promise Hospital Baton Rouge-Main Campus 5130 Mancuso Lane, Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 490-9600/promise-batonrouge.com

Kiley Cedotal Promise Healthcare

2003

Treatment of complex respiratory diagnosis, ventilator and trach weaning/management, intensive wound care program and longterm acute care

Promise Hospital of Baton Rouge-Ochsner Campus 17000 Medical Center Drive, Third Floor, Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 236-5440/promise-batonrougeochsner.com

Bryan Day Promise Healthcare

2003

Complex respiratory diagnosis, ventilator and trach management/ weaning, intensive wound care program

Promise Hospital of Baton Rouge-Mid City Campus 3600 Florida Blvd., Fourth Floor, Baton Rouge 70806 (225) 387-7770/promise-batonrougemidcity.com

Bryan Day Promise Healthcare

2003

Long-term acute care

The Spine Hospital of Louisiana at The NeuroMedical Center 10101 Park Rowe Ave., Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 763-9900/theneuromedicalcenter.com

Robert Blair Physician-owned

2004

Spine surgery (laser, minimally invasive, complex), carpal tunnel surgery, pain management, radiology, migraine treatment, sleep studies and laboratory

Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 408-8080/sscbr.com

Ann Lightfoot Heine Physician partnership with Our Lady of the Lake

2003

ENT, general surgery, orthopedic, pediatric surgery, urology, hand and foot surgery, and spine surgery

Champion Medical Center(1) 7855 Howell Place Blvd., Baton Rouge 70807 (225) 228-2800/championbr.com

Robert Cathey Forge Health System of Dallas

2014

Spine surgery, orthopedic surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, podiatry, breast reconstruction and interventional pain management

Not all area specialty hospitals are shown, only those providing requested information with 11 or more licensed beds. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Hospital was unable to provide updated information at the time of publication.

lose more

In one short year ...

Researched by Sierra Crump

Gastroenterology Associates The o.n.e. weiGh ProGrAm

The Gastric Balloon Procedure A revoluTionAry, Proven weiGhT loss Procedure wiThouT surGery. New BallooN TechNology 1 year compreheNsive coachiNg NoN-aNaTomy alTeriNg 3x more effecTive ThaN dieT aNd exercise aloNe NoN-surgical ouTpaTieNT procedure fda approved

9103 Jefferson hwy

BaTon RoUge

(225) 706-3278 â&#x20AC;˘ dhcla.com/one-weigh Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

A35

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

Hospitals EMERGENCY ROOM

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center 5000 Hennessy Blvd., Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 765-6565/ololrmc.com

K. Scott Wester Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

834

1923

Baton Rouge General Medical Center 8585 Picardy Ave./3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809/70806 (225) 763-4000/(225) 387-7000/brgeneral.org

Mark Slyter Community-owned hospital

590

1900

North Oaks Medical Center(1) 15790 Paul Vega, MD, Drive, Hammond 70403 (985) 345-2700/northoaks.org/northoaks.tv

Michele Sutton Hospital Service District No. 1 of Tangipahoa Parish

330

1960

Woman's Hospital 100 Woman's Way, Baton Rouge 70817 (225) 927-1300/womans.org

Teri Fontenot Private nonprofit governed by community board of directors

168

1968

Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge 17000 Medical Center Drive, Baton Rouge 70816 (225) 752-2470/ochsner.org

Eric McMillen, Scott Mabry, David Carmouche Ochsner Health System

149

1985

Lane Regional Medical Center 6300 Main St., Zachary 70791 (225) 658-4000/lanermc.org

Randall Olson Hospital Service District No. 1 of East Baton Rouge Parish

140

1960

St. Elizabeth Hospital 1125 W. La. 30, Gonzales 70737 (225) 647-5000/steh.com

Robert Burgess Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

2000

Not all area hospitals are shown, only those inpatient, freestanding facilities with 78 beds or more. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Hospital was unable to update information at the time of publication.

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BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

Researched by Sierra Crump

DIALYSIS

YEAR FOUNDED LOCALLY

OB-GYN

NO. OF LICENSED BEDS

BURN UNIT

ADMINISTRATOR/CEO OWNER

MRI/OPEN-CLOSED

CARDIAC CARE UNIT

FACILITY ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

PSYCHIATRIC UNIT

PEDIATRIC ICU

PREV. RANK

ONCOLOGY UNIT

INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Ranked by number of licensed beds.

Physical rehabilitation centers

6 8

Mark Slyter

Linda Coulon Chris Belleau

K. Scott Wester John Green

Randall Olson Gregory Ward

Sybil Paulson Rachel Treuting

Elizabeth Wilson Dr. Scott Nyboer

Lionel Murphy Donnie Batie

BURN

CARF/JCAHO ACCREDITED

DAY TREATMENT

WOUND MANAGEMENT

MULTIPLE TRAUMA

PAIN MANAGEMENT

Baton Rouge Rehab Hospital(1) 8595 United Plaza Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 927-0567/brrehab.com Baton Rouge General Medical Center 8585 Picardy Ave./3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809/70806 (225) 763-4000/(225) 387-7000/brgeneral.org Sage Rehabilitation Hospital 8000 Summa Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 819-0703/sage-rehab.org Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center 5000 Hennessy Blvd., Baton Rouge 70808 (225) 765-6565/ololrmc.com Lane Rehabilitation Center 4601 McHugh Road, Zachary 70791 (225) 658-6800/lanermc.org North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital(1) 1900 S. Morrison Blvd., Hammond 70403 (985) 542-7777/northoaks.org The NeuroMedical Center Rehabilitation Hospital 10101 Park Rowe Ave., Ste. 500, Baton Rouge 70810 (225) 906-3838/theneuromedicalcenter.com Bethesda Rehabilitation Hospital 8225 Summa Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 767-2034/bethesdarh.com

CARDIAC/PULMONARY

Trisha Guidry S. Raju Vatsavai

ADMINISTRATOR MEDICAL DIRECTOR

CANCER

ARTHRITIS

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

AMPUTEE

ORTHOPEDIC

NO. OF BEDS

BRAIN INJURIES

FACILITY ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

SPINAL CORD INJURIES

PREV. RANK

STROKE

Ranked by number of local inpatient beds.

n n

NR=Not ranked. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. Not all area physical rehabilitation facilities are shown, only those providing requested information with 14 or more inpatient beds. If you would like your company to be considered for next year’s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Clinic was unable to provide updated information at the time of publication.

n n n

Researched by Sierra Crump

N E E D: PR AC TICE LOAN

S O L U T I O N: L O U I S I A N A’ S T O P B U S I N E S S C R E D I T U N I O N

DR. LEONE ELLIOT T H E H E A LT H C A R E G A L L E R Y

campusfederal.org

225.769.8841

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

A37

TRENDS IN HEALTH CARE

LISTMAKERS

Home health care agencies NURSING CARE

PEDIATRIC CARE

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

PHYSICAL CARE

SPEECH THERAPY

HOME HEALTH AIDE

Ranked by total number of local registered nurses.

Audubon Home Health 9181 Interline Ave., Ste. 200, Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 218-8009/audubonhomehealth.com

Ray Banker

47 125

2 2001

Feliciana Home Health, an affiliate of LHC Group Locations in Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzales and Clinton (337) 233-1307/lhcgroup.com

Spencer Thibodeaux, Anna DeLee

40 124

4 1983

Pinnacle Home Health(1) 5627 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Ste. A, Baton Rouge 70816 (225) 248-8600/pinnaclehh.com

Jonathan Lyons

25 120

2 2000

Amedisys 5959 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge 70816 (225) 292-2031/amedisys.com

Paul Kusserow

20 76

10 1998

Synergy Home Care, an affiliate of Kindred at Home(1) 7884 Office Park Blvd., Ste. 100, Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 766-6919/synergyhh.com

David Causby

20 WND

17 1995

Cypress Home Health 3050 Teddy Drive, Ste. A., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 761-1592/cypresshomehealth.com

David Planchard

18 49

1 1995

Lane Home Health, an affiliate of Lane Regional Medical Center 6300 Main St., Zachary 70791 (225) 658-4150/lanehomehealth.com

Lori Hopwood

16 40

1 1984

Superior Home Health Care 4301 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 766-8097/superiorhomehealthcareinc.com

Debra Guerin

14 WND

1 1991

Medistar Home Health(1) 2933 Brakley Drive, Ste. B, Baton Rouge 70816 (225) 928-1666/medistarhomehealth.com

Stacey Cooper, Gina Creel

13 44

9 2011

Capital Region Home Health 9256 Interline Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 (225) 924-8480/ N/A

Bree Thompson

12 27

1 2013

Vital Link, A Home Care Company 11934 Coursey Blvd., Ste. C, Baton Rouge 70816 (225) 298-0416/vitalhcgroup.com

Carl Clark

10 25

5 2002

Home Health Solutions(1) 3875 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70806 (225) 344-6044/homehealthsolutions.net

Dianne Andrews

9 53

1 1995

WND

Health Care Options 6639 Sullivan Rd., Greenwell Springs 70739 (225) 261-6314/hcohome.com

Jessica Craig

8 35

5 1986

Destiny Home Health Care 1225 Alabama St., Baker 70714 (225) 774-6662/N/A

Penny Dukes

4 12

1 1994

PREV. RANK

AGENCY ADDRESS PHONE/WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

NO. OF LOCAL REGISTERED NURSES NO. OF STAFF

NO. OF LOCATIONS (STATEWIDE) YEAR FOUNDED

N/A=Not available. WND=Would not disclose. Not all area home health agencies are shown, only those providing requested information with four or more licensed registered nurses. Information presented was provided upon request from company representatives, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Agency was unable to provide updated info at the time of publication.

A38

BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016 | BusinessReport.com

Researched by Sierra Crump

Hospice providers Ranked by number of local staff.

PREV. RANK

FACILITY ADDRESS

PHONE

WEBSITE

ADMINISTRATOR/CEO

NO. OF STAFF (LOCAL) PROFIT OR NOT-FORPROFIT (NFP)

YEAR FOUNDED LOCALLY NO. OF LOCATIONS (STATEWIDE)

The Hospice of Baton Rouge 9063 Siegen Lane, Ste. A, Baton Rouge 70810

(225) 767-4673

hospicebr.org

Kathryn Grigsby

85 Profit

1984 1

Amedisys 5959 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 292-2031

amedisys.com

Paul Kusserow

76 Profit

1998 10

St. Joseph Hospice(1) 10615 Jefferson Hwy., Baton Rouge 70809

(225) 368-3100

stjosephhospice.com

Pat Mitchell

75 Profit

2002 8

Bridgeway Healthcare & Hospice 13702 Coursey Blvd., Ste. 5-B, Baton Rouge 70817

(225) 753-1495

bridgewayhospice.net

Dana McBride

65 Profit

2012 2

Clarity Hospice of Baton Rouge 9191 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 291-4700

clarity-hospice.org

Monica Guarisco, Michael Cassidy

62 Profit

2007 1

Life Source Services of Baton Rouge(1) 3049 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Ste. 100, Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 291-9421

lifesourcehospice.net

Randi Freeze

50 Profit

2004 1

Hospice in His Care 3233 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Ste. 102, Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 214-0010

hospiceinhiscare.com

Janette Roulston

32 Profit

2004 1

Hospice Compassus of Baton Rouge 8704 Jefferson Hwy., Baton Rouge 70809

(225) 768-0866

hospicecompassus.com

Jim Deal, Dawn Kindhart

27 Profit

2006 5

Canon Hospice(1) 1761 Physicians Park, Ste. B, Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 926-1404

canonhospice.com

Regina Murray

25 Profit

2005 3

Cardinal Hospice 8280 YMCA Plaza Drive, Ste. 3-A, Baton Rouge 70810

(225) 291-3322

cardinalhospice.org

Kevin Butler, Rose Gravois, David Gravois Jr.

22 Profit

2007 1

Notre Dame Hospice 16270 Airline Hwy., Ste. C, Prairieville 70769

(225) 243-7358

notredamehospice-no.org

Eva Anderson

16 NFP

2010 2

Pinnacle Hospice 5627 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Ste. C, Baton Rouge 70816

(225) 214-0043

pinnaclehh.com/path

Amanda Rabalais, Jonathan Lyons

15 Profit

2014 1

Gulf South Hospice 9410 Lindale Ave., Ste. A, Baton Rouge 70815

(225) 636-5145

gulfsouthhospice.com

Robert Merrett

6 NFP

2006 2

Not all area hospice providers are shown, only those providing requested information with six or more local staff. Information was provided upon request from company representatives or reliable industry sources, and Business Report assumes the data are accurate and truthful. If you would like your company to be considered for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list, or if there are any corrections or additions, please email scrump@businessreport.com. (1) 2015 data. Company was unable to provide updated information at the time of publication.

INPATIENT FACILITY

Researched by Sierra Crump

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, April 12, 2016

A39

WARNING: You May Experience INCREASED ACTIVITY LEVELS.

Services and treatments include: • Low back pain

• Headaches

• Kyphoplasties

• Neck pain

• Fibromyalgia

• Minimally invasive procedures

• Cancer pain

• Joint pain

• Limb pain

• Muscle spasticity

• Pain and Baclofen pump implants

• Abdominal pain

• Injections & nerve blocks

• Nerve stimulator implants

4580 Bluebonnet Blvd.

Suite B

Baton Rouge, LA 70809

www.interventionalpain.com

BARRETT JOHNSTON, M.D.

Founder, Interventional Pain Institute

225-769-3636