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LDH News

• September 03, 2013

  ICYMI: Governor Jindal, OLOL Mark Opening of New LSU Urgent Care Center and Announce OLOL Emergency Department’s Level II Trauma Center Status

  BATON ROUGE - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal joined community leaders and officials from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOL) and LSU to mark the opening of the new LSU Health Baton Rouge Urgent Care Center in North Baton Rouge. The new facility on Airline Highway will continue to provide care for residents in the Baton Rouge area as an alternative to hospital emergency rooms and is part of the state's historic public-private hospital partnerships that strengthen care for the people of Louisiana, lower costs and improve graduate medical education for future doctors across the state. The public-private partnerships are part of a plan by the state to address the $1.8 billion reduction handed down by Congress last year. The partnership between LSU and OLOL saved hundreds of millions of dollars that would have been used to build a replacement for the old Earl K. Long facility, which was outdated and did not meet accreditation standards.

• August 30, 2013

  DHH Confirms Eight New Cases of West Nile virus

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is reporting eight new West Nile cases this week, bringing this year's total number of cases to 21. This week’s new infections include four cases of neuroinvasive disease, one each from Caldwell, Lafayette, Ouachita and Rapides parishes and four cases of West Nile fever, with two cases from Lafayette parish and one each from Calcasieu and Ouachita.

• August 23, 2013

  DHH Confirms Four New Cases of West Nile virus

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is reporting four new West Nile cases this week, bringing this year's total number of cases to 13. This week’s new infections include two cases of neuroinvasive disease, both from Ouachita Parish, and two asymptomatic cases, one each from Ouachita and Vernon parishes.

• August 16, 2013

  DHH Confirms One New Case of West Nile virus

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is reporting one new West Nile case this week, bringing this year's total number of cases to nine. This week’s new infection is a neuroinvasive disease case from Ouachita Parish.

• August 13, 2013

  Louisiana Leads the Nation in Medicaid Fraud Recovery Rates

  Louisiana recovered more than $124 million fraudulent payments in the Medicaid program in criminal and civil penalties in the Fiscal Year 2012 according to figures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That is the highest rate of recovery in any state in the nation at nearly 2 percent of all Medicaid dollars spent in Louisiana. On average, states recover less than 0.6 percent of their respective Medicaid budgets.

• August 09, 2013

  DHH Confirms New Cases of West Nile virus

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is reporting seven new West Nile cases this week, bringing this year’s total number of cases to eight. At this time last year, the state had 53 cases of West Nile virus. The state may be off to a slow start this West Nile season, but health officials warn residents not to let their guard down.

• August 08, 2013

  Louisiana Recognized for Low Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) Program Rates

  Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released findings citing Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals for its exemplary Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) program rates for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in fiscal year 2012. Through strategic department initiatives, DHH posted a rate well below the national average PERM rate. PERM error rates reflect both underpayments and overpayments that may have been made incorrectly.. PERM error rates are based on review of the fee-for-service (FFS), managed care and eligibility components of Medicaid and CHIP in the fiscal year under review. Two examples of errors include lack of proper documentation and providers billing the wrong number of units.

• August 05, 2013

  Louisiana Receives Final Approval for Partnership with Our Lady of the Lake

  BATON ROUGE, La. -- Governor Bobby Jindal announced today that Louisiana received final federal approval for the state's public-private partnership with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, which took over operations of the former Earl K. Long Medical Center earlier this year.

• August 01, 2013

  State Health Department Confirms Two Louisiana Cases of Cyclospora

  This week the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) confirmed two cases of cyclospora in Louisiana, one in Bienville Parish and one in Terrebonne Parish.

• August 01, 2013

  Louisiana Improves in Annual Federal Breastfeeding Rankings, Improves Rate of Breastfeeding in Infants to more than Sixty Percent

  Louisiana jumped four spots in the federal government’s latest breastfeeding report card, marking solid progress in the state’s support of breastfeeding, the Department of Health and Hospitals announced Thursday. Breastfeeding has been proven to improve health outcomes for women and children, including reducing the rate of childhood obesity.

• July 25, 2013

  DHH Partners with March of Dimes and Nurse-Family Partnership for 2013 Statewide Maternal and Child Health Summit

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is collaborating with the March of Dimes Louisiana Chapter and Nurse-Family Partnership to sponsor the 2013 Statewide Maternal and Child Health Summit, which will bring together maternal and child health advocates and policymakers to discuss ways to improve health outcomes for newborns and mothers.

• July 23, 2013

  DHH Reports 2013’s First Human Case of West Nile Virus

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has reported the state's first case of West Nile virus in a human in 2013. The case was confirmed July 22nd in Caldwell Parish and was determined to be a neuroinvasive disease.