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Flu shots are now available at parish health units throughout the state. The Department of Health and Hospitals is making these important shots available to people in certain high-risk groups, including children and older adults.
Most of the beaches along the Cameron Parish coast continue to remain under swim advisories. Advisories are in effect for Hackberry, Constance, Gulf Breeze, Little Florida, Long and Rutherford beaches, as well as all sections of Holly Beach.
The West Jefferson Medicaid Office reopened this week on the fourth floor of the state office building at 2150 West Bank Expressway in Harvey. This is the same address, but on a different floor, as where the Medicaid office operated from before Hurricane Katrina.
The tragic death of a 17-year-old high school student in Virginia from Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has brought this bacterium, termed a “superbug” by some, to the forefront of the public health discussion.
Efforts to address the critical nursing shortage in the New Orleans area are paying dividends as more than 400 nurses have committed to continuing their practice in the city, and an additional 200 nurses have applied for funds to move to the region.
Next week, Louisiana citizens can help themselves get ready for the upcoming flu season, as well as help the state prepare to respond to a public health emergency (such as release of a chemical or biological agent).
Dr. William Roger Clark has been named Medical Director for the Department of Health and Hospital’s Emergency Medical Services. The appointment was effective October 1, 2007.
The rural parish of Pointe Coupee will soon have a more advanced electronic network of medical information than most other areas of the state. That’s because funds awarded this week through the federal Department of Health and Human Services are being used to establish a health information technology network in the Pointe Coupee Parish area. The goals of this effort are to improve coordination of care, increase quality of care and provide cost savings to the system.
The Department of Health and Hospitals won three awards from the National Public Health Information Coalition during the organization’s annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland last month.
A new swim advisory has been issued this week for Martin Beach in Cameron Parish. Swim advisories issued previously for Constance, Gulf Breeze, Little Florida, Long and Rutherford beaches in Cameron Parish remain in effect.
For the past four years, the Blanco administration and the Department of Health and Hospitals have worked to increase the reimbursements made to all hospitals throughout Louisiana, including Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.
In recognition of SIDS Awareness Month (October), the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals - Office of Public Health’s SIDS Awareness Program is presenting statewide demonstrations on safe sleeping positions for babies, tips on healthy behaviors that can decrease the risk of SIDS, educational materials on SIDS and factors that can reduce SIDS deaths.