Official Louisiana State Websites use .la.gov 
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS 
Louisiana Schools Ready to Kick Butts
Baton Rouge – Schools across the Louisiana will take part in Kick Butts Day this Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2008, as part of the ongoing effort to educate young people of the dangerous effects of tobacco.
LDH News
-
-
DHH Expanding Screening for Genetic Diseases in Newborns
Baton Rouge – The Department of Health and Hospitals is finalizing new regulations for the screening of an additional 18 genetic diseases in newborn babies. Previously, only 10 genetic disorders were screened for at birth.
-
Medicaid Prescriptions Go High-Tech
Baton Rouge – A new electronic system for the prescribing of medications being launched in April will provide Medicaid physicians in Louisiana access to cutting-edge technology to provide safe an efficient prescribing services as well as help drive down medication costs. Perhaps most importantly, this new program will increase the quality of the Medicaid prescription drug program.
-
Gov. Jindal, Secretary Levine, Legislators announce sweeping reforms to behavioral health system
Baton Rouge – Gov. Bobby Jindal announced today a legislative package he is proposing to strengthen Louisiana’s behavioral health care system. The package of four bills is designed to create standards for local behavioral health agencies, allow for the use of telemedicine technology in the assessment and treatment of persons with mental illness if there is a shortage of available professionals, and create a mental health crisis safety net infrastructure for people in crisis.
-
DHH Applauds Legislator’s Effort to Draw Attention to Children's Health Care
Baton Rouge – The Department of Health and Hospitals is moved by one legislator’s determination to get moving.
-
State to Provide Tobacco-Fighting Funds to Communities
Baton Rouge – The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals – Tobacco Control Program is encouraging communities in rural Louisiana to apply for grants to help fight tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
-
DHH Conducts Review of Emergency Disaster Plan
Baton Rouge – As part of its ongoing effort to ensure optimal preparedness for a natural or man-made disaster, the Department of Health and Hospitals today held a symposium and plan review with employees and partners from throughout the state. Included in the review were federal partners from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
-
Training Helps Strengthen LDH Emergency Response
Baton Rouge- In order to fine-tune their emergency response, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is holding nine statewide disaster preparedness seminars. At these events, DHH employees will learn more about the agency’s critical role in the event of a hurricane, disease epidemic or other health disaster.
-
Medicaid Scams on the Rise
Baton Rouge – The Department of Health and Hospitals is alerting Medicaid recipients to be on the lookout for people posing as Medicaid workers in a scam to steal personal information. Instances of this type of fraud, in which elderly citizens are frequently the target, are being reported in at least nine parishes.
-
March is Professional Social Work Month
Baton Rouge – To help highlight the essential role social work plays in alleviating some of America’s most difficult problems, Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared March 2008 as Professional Social Work Month in the state of Louisiana. This coincides with a national effort to recognize how social work impacts the emotional health and well-being of many of society’s residents.
-
New LDH Budget to Include Enhanced Funding for Health Information Technology
Baton Rouge – The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today Gov. Bobby Jindal’s budget priority for improving health care through investment in health information technology. The new funding supports several statewide initiatives toward the goal of ensuring every Louisianan has a privacy-protected electronic medical record, and ensuring health care providers have access to relevant information they need to provide the best quality health care.
-
News Advisory- CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems Encourages Greater Baton Rouge Area to Support Use of Electronic Health Records to Improve Patient Care
Secretary Levine & La. Health Care Quality Forum leads local effort on new Medicare, state initiatives