LSU HCSD Presents 2008 CMO and CEO Awards at Annual Forum

At the annual LSU HCSD Health Care Effectiveness Forum, HCSD presented two 2008 Chief Medical Officer Awards for superior performance and dedication to the provision of quality health care. Dr. Michael Kaiser, acting chief medical officer, presented the CMO award to Kathleen Lincoln, program director of the HIV/AIDS Outpatient (HOP) Clinic in New Orleans. Lincoln called him the night before the forum saying she wouldn’t be present, despite his urging her in the days leading to the event to attend, because, in typical fashion, she would spend the day working to meet a grant deadline.

“HOP funding is one of the most complex in the system,” he said. “Following Katrina, juggling grant funding became even more difficult.” He praised Lincoln’s work ethic, compassion, and contribution to the HOP clinic as the clinic followed patients after Katrina and staff established a clinic at Earl K. Long for displaced New Orleans patients with HIV. Two weeks after the storm, the clinic was in operation. “Later, Kathleen had staff working from her home in order to get HIV services restarted quickly in New Orleans,” he said.

It makes sense that Dr. Kaiser also gave the CMO award to one who was a presenter at the annual forum discussing with others ways in which her program has improved since its inception ten years ago.

“One of the hardest jobs is to be a clinical lead, trying to drive improvements in seven hospitals while supervising a program in your own hospital,” he said in presenting the award to Dr. Jolene Johnson, associate professor of internal medicine, Earl K. Long Medical Center and LSU HCSD statewide diabetes disease management leader. “She takes a holistic view of patient care,” he said and noted her accomplishments as a physician who sees both the large and the small picture, the diabetes management program as a whole, and the person with diabetes as an individual.

Dr. Michael Butler, HCSD acting chief executive officer, presented the 2008 Chief Executive Award to two who have contributed to a great degree to the mission and vision of LSU hospitals. Without a better venue for systemwide awards presentation, HCSD chose the annual forum to present the CEO awards.

He presented the CEO award to Robert Arnold, director of facility planning for the Interim LSU Public Hospital. Dr. Butler praised Arnold’s dedication since Hurricane Katrina to revive health-care facilities in New Orleans.

“He literally kept buildings up and running,” Dr. Butler said of Arnold’s efforts. Though charged with this responsibility in the wake of the worst disaster in the nation’s history, Arnold offered assistance systemwide for facilities management, Dr. Butler said. He noted that the strides the hospital and clinics have made in New Orleans would have been impossible without Arnold’s tireless efforts.

Dr. Butler also presented the CEO award to another who exhibited Herculean effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and for her unwavering dedication to HCSD patients and staff, always doing whatever needs to be done. In fact, the morning of the forum, she helped carry in the boxes of awards, not knowing she was toting what would soon be her own award.

“I can’t say enough about the good things Diane has done,” Dr. Butler said, when he presented the award to Diane Angelico, assistant director, HCSD Information Services. “This person exemplifies putting patients first.” After Hurricane Katrina, she helped reunite patients with their physicians and physicians with their staffs and was instrumental in the establishment of the neurosurgery program at West Jefferson Medical Center. Without fail, she addresses patient queries and complaints, putting into action the HCSD mission of service and dedication.

2008 Health Care Effectiveness Awards
Recognize LSU Hospitals’ Accomplishments

Baton Rouge – At the presentation of the 2008 Health Care Effectiveness awards during the LSU Health Care Services Division (HCSD) annual forum, Dr. Michael Butler, HCSD acting chief executive officer, made one point exceeding clear: “It’s about what you do,” he said. “Here are the standards. Can you meet the standards? The awards are based on merit, not personality.”

He praised hospitals and programs for putting systems for the delivery of quality health care into place and for achieving measurable results. He also emphasized his pleasure with the evidence he has seen of HCSD staff dedication and mindfulness to achieve these results. “I’m especially proud of the smaller hospitals—no excuses, just execution. You all got it done,” he said, noting the smaller hospitals may not have all of the resources the larger ones have, but they persevere and succeed.

Speaking to all HCSD staff, he said, “I will tell you 100 percent that I have never been more proud, more satisfied than to work with a group of people who understand that we serve people.”

He lauded staff for their accomplishments, noting that no other institution could get the value HCSD does with the resources that HCSD has.

However, he is not content for HCSD to rest on its laurels. “Our industry is not static,” he said. “We must continue to look at how we can improve to move to the next level.”

To recognize programs in HCSD hospitals that have moved forward to a significant degree in the past year, Dr. Butler and Dr. Michael Kaiser, HCSD acting chief medical officer, presented the following awards.

Earl K. Long Medical Center and University Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in asthma care.

University Medical Center and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved care for asthma patients.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and University Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in cancer screening.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center and Earl K. Long Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved cancer screening programs.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence for congestive heart failure care.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and Bogalusa Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved in their care of congestive heart failure patients.

University Medical Center and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in diabetic care.

Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved in diabetic care.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in HIV/AIDS care.

University Medical Center and Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved care for their HIV/AIDS patients.

Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center received recognition for their patient satisfaction results, which have been consistently excellent.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first place for most improved patient satisfaction results while Earl K. Long Medical Center received recognition for the improvements they’ve made in their program to assess patient satisfaction.

TRRAQSSS Awards Given to Diabetic Foot, EKLMC Asthma,
and LKRMC Hypertension Programs

The TRRAQSSS Award is given to a program that significantly improves any dimension of the core components of HCSD’s mission: teaching, revenue, research, access, quality, service, stakeholder satisfaction, or safety. The award recognizes an excellent collective effort or project, must be at or significantly associated with an HCSD facility, must be able to show measurable benefits and outcomes, and must be able to be replicated. The name of the award is the acronym of the items in the aforementioned series, and the award is given based on competitive applications submitted by the hospitals.

The 2008 TRRAQSSS Award for the most distinguished program was given to the LSU Diabetic Foot Program, which has created a statewide program with 100 percent access and has given 133 telemedicine clinics since 2001. Each HCSD hospital has specialists at Earl K. Long Medical Center on whom they can rely. “The program is a real boost to reduce the number of amputations in our state,” Dr. Butler said.

The 2008 TRAQSSS Award for the most innovative program was given to the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center Hypertension Clinic. The program has shown significantly lowered blood pressure results for the patients with elevated blood pressure. “It’s an innovative program,” Dr. Michael Kaiser, HCSD acting chief medical officer, said. “They’ve done a great job.”

The 2008 TRRAQSSS First Place Award for clinical excellence was given to the Earl K. Long Medical Center Asthma Program. The program has shown measurable results in the improvement in the overall quality of life for patients with asthma. “The program has reduced emergency department visits,” Dr. Butler said. Improving the quality of patients’ lives and keeping them out of the hospital are well worth recognition.

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