- Tuesday, March 24, Lakeview Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Center will hold a lecture, free of charge, called “Overuse Injuries in Tri-Athletes: Diagnosis and Prevention.” Orthopedic Surgeon Timothy Devraj and physical therapist Matt Pokorny will discuss common injuries, including physiology and treatment of such injuries.
Lakeview Regional Medical Center has picked up sponsorship of athlete Caroline Smith of Mandeville. April 5, Smith will swim (1.2 miles), bike (56 miles) and run (13.1 miles) as a competitor in Ironman 70.3 New Orleans.
- Jan. 19, Ochsner Baptist expanded services to include internal medicine with the addition of doctors Karen Blessey, Robert Miles and Margaret Pelitere, whose new clinic is located in the McFarland Building on Clara Street. Also, Ochsner opened a full-service Emergency Room on Jan. 12. For more information, visit Ochsner.org.
- March 5, St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center are sponsoring the giveaway of free colorectal cancer screening kits to men and women over the age of 40. Interested parties can visit the Walmart on North Highway 190 in Covington, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., to pick up the take-home kit. For further information, call St. Tammany Parish Hospital Cancer Services at (985) 898-4581.
- The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals intervened at the Pinecrest Supports and Services Center in Alexandria, following the arrest of five LDHH employees charged with abusing residents of the facility. Non-incarcerated Pinecrest employees cited fear of colleague retaliation for their lack of action.
“There is no excuse for an employee of the state who witnesses potential abuse to withhold that information,” said LDHH Secretary Alan Levine in a January 2009 LDHH press release. To address the problem, Levine ordered staff member training sessions; appointment of a LDHH ethics and compliance officer; increased monitoring at facilities; and strict enforcement of abuse report filing.
- Research published in the Jan. 2009 Archives of Otolaryngology indicates a dramatic rise in the number of children suffering ear, nose and throat infections due to drug-resistant Staphylococcus, aka MRSA, bacteria.
Emory University scientists analyzed 21,009 medical records, finding MRSA infections jumped from 12 percent in 2001 to 28 percent in ’06. While not pandemic, scientists encourage concerned pediatricians to culture suspect head and neck injuries with haste.
