• Offices & Administration
• About LDH
• LDH News

LDH News

• July 18, 2018

  Louisiana reports first human West Nile virus cases for 2018

  The Louisiana Department of Health today reported the first human cases of West Nile virus for this year. These initial cases are listed in this year’s first weekly Arboviral Report and shows six WNV infections, distributed as follows: • Three cases of neuroinvasive disease: one case each in DeSoto, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, • Two cases of fever: one each in East Baton Rouge and Ouachita parishes, and • One asymptomatic case in East Baton Rouge Parish that was diagnosed because of a blood donation.

• July 18, 2018

  State Health Department closes Shreveport fish market for repeated health violations

  Yesterday, the Louisiana Department of Health issued a closure order to Dupont Fish Market, located at 161 N. Market St. in Shreveport, after health inspections found multiple critical violations.

• July 16, 2018

  New approach to home and community based services ends wait for thousands of citizens with developmental disabilities

  Through an innovative approach to providing services to people with developmental disabilities, the Louisiana Department of Health is effectively ending the 25-year-old waiting list for specialized home and community-based services. This new plan prioritizes the needs of people instead of the date they applied for services.

• June 29, 2018

  Health department provides health risk data to St. John officials

  The Louisiana Department of Health today released information regarding chloroprene emissions at the Denka Elastomer plant in LaPlace to officials in St. John the Baptist Parish. The assessment was prepared at the request of the Parish Council for the St. John School Board. 

• June 25, 2018

  LDH Awards $800,000 to the Southeast Waterworks District No. 2 of Vermilion Parish for Drinking Water System Improvements

  The Louisiana Department of Health’s Office of Public Health awarded an $800,000 loan to the Southeast Waterworks District No. 2 of Vermilion Parish through the State’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund. The low-interest subsidized loan will help improve the District’s Water System.

• June 14, 2018

  Medicaid Open Enrollment begins June 15

  Open enrollment for Healthy Louisiana begins June 15, 2018, and runs through July 31, 2018. During this time, people enrolled in Medicaid’s managed care program, known as Healthy Louisiana, have the opportunity to choose a new health plan or do nothing and remain with their current plan. There are five health plans that deliver physical and behavioral health care services to the nearly 1.5 million Healthy Louisiana enrollees.

• June 07, 2018

  State of Louisiana is working on plans to keep more people with serious mental illnesses out of nursing homes

  The State of Louisiana and the Louisiana Department of Health announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to help ensure that people with serious mental illnesses have the opportunity to live in a community setting.

• May 19, 2018

  Dr. Rebekah Gee is LSUHSC Graduation Speaker

  Changing Lives. Saving Lives

• May 18, 2018

  Dr. Gee Editorial: Being Prepared

  Recently, the attorney general and others have made statements and have published letters that suggest my agency was premature in alerting nursing home residents and others of the possible impact on their health care and lives should the legislature not properly fund health care services.

• May 17, 2018

  Governor John Bel Edwards Announces Statewide Collaborative Effort to Address Cancer in Louisiana

  Today, Governor John Bel Edwards was joined by Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary, Louisiana Department of Health, Kristy Duffey, UnitedHealth Group Chief Clinical Officer and board member of United Health Foundation, and many leaders in health care, business, government, and other sectors to announce a statewide collaborative effort to address cancer in Louisiana.

• May 09, 2018

  Eligibility at risk for some Medicaid enrollees beginning July 1

  The Louisiana Department of Health will begin mailing notices tomorrow to nearly 37,000 Medicaid enrollees informing them their eligibility may end on July 1, 2018.

• May 08, 2018

  State to Outline Plans for Health Care Notices

  Tomorrow, Jay Dardenne, commissioner of the Division of Administration, and Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), will hold a press conference to discuss the state’s timeline for issuing notices this week to people who are at immediate risk of losing the coverage that pays for their care in a nursing home, group home or home-based services.