Health

Summertime means mosquitoes in Louisiana. Mosquitoes are not just annoying – they can carry many diseases, including West Nile virus, which has already been found this summer in New Orleans.

In conjunction with the Clinton Foundation’s Too Small to Fail initiative, Kohl’s Cares and Children’s Hospital, New Orleans will become the 14th community in the country to implement a local “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign.

When your alarm goes off each morning, it can be hard to get out of bed and get moving. Start your day off the right way with the following tips:

One thing not trending this June? “Dad bods.” June is National Men’s Health Month, and because it’s never too early to be proactive about your health, here are some ways you can take charge:

After a year on the transplant list, Nick Coats passed away on March 19 of stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. His identical twin brother, Devin, recently received a life-saving transplant and is in recovery.

I am a physician who is board-certified in both anesthesiology and pain management. That said, I spend most of my time finding business solutions to healthcare problems through investments in technologies.

January is the time many start fresh with a new year and a new you.

Have you heard of #LA_undetectable? It’s a new movement in HIV treatment and prevention, based on a successful model in San Francisco, with NOLA’s Dr. MarkAlain Dery at the forefront. Dr. Dery believes that we can become the first HIV-free generation, despite the many social determinants that people in Louisiana face.

This new year, a healthier and happier you is just a tap or swipe away. There are countless apps designed to help users stick to their New Year’s resolutions:

Regardless of what business you’re in, many offices share a common similarity: a sedentary work culture. Studies show sitting is a major contributor to employee health issues. Try these simple tips to minimize the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and create a ripple effect that could change office culture for good.

Leaders from Ochsner Health System joined Saints and Pelicans owners, Gayle and Tom Benson, to break ground on a $45 million expansion of the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner Medical Center-Jefferson Highway. The Bensons recently gifted $20 million towards the expansion, which will double the size of the Cancer Center, increasing capacity to offer high-quality cancer services and advanced clinical research.

Ochsner – a national destination for transplant services – hosted its Annual Transplant Holiday Party, where transplant recipients, living donors, family and friends celebrated the gift of life. Santa Claus, an Ochsner kidney transplant recipient himself, was on site spreading holiday cheer.

Keep your holiday calories under control and avoid pound-packing by not eating the “meh.”

The Ochsner Clinical Simulation and Patient Safety Center opened in 2017, utilizing human patient simulators, which mimic physiological functions of a real patient. Simulations include circumstances of trauma, labor and delivery, pediatric and premature neonatal patients. Such technology allows learners to acquire and practice clinical skills in a safe environment.

The former MHM Urgent Care location on W. Main Street in Houma recently reopened as Ochsner Terrebonne Urgent Care. Ochsner and TGMC reopened the clinic to provide access to convenient, quality care close to home for non-emergent illness or injury.

Ochsner Medical Center – Jefferson Highway is taking patient care to the next level by deploying Xenex LightStrike® Germ-Zapping Robots®.

Ochsner Health System’s Flight Care Team is bringing aid to areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. A dozen team members, which consist of specially trained Critical Care Registered Nurses and Paramedics, with helicopter and medical teams, brought support to Texas, Florida and the Virgin Islands during and after the storms.

Ochsner Baptist is increasing quality healthcare access for the Metairie community with the recent opening of Ochsner Health Center – Old Metairie. This location on Metairie Road offers primary care services, including annual physicals, immunizations and chronic disease management, along with OB/GYN services such as yearly exams, menopause care and pregnancy care.

When you donate blood, you save lives. No one knows that better than someone who’s battling or has beaten cancer. Just in the past 12 months, Ochsner has provided personalized, state-of-the-art care to over 15,000 people battling the disease.

Ochsner Hospital for Children announced plans for the Michael R. Boh Center for Child Development, which will offer personalized, family-centered care to children with neuromuscular or physical disabilities, and neurocognitive, behavioral and communication-related conditions. Generously funded by Ann and Robert Boh, the state-of-the-art facility will open in 2018.

Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO Inc.) released its State of the Sector report focusing on the health sciences industry in the Greater New Orleans region. This analysis focuses on current and future workforce and job opportunities over the next 10 years in the Greater New Orleans region.

Ochsner Baptist recently celebrated the opening if its new inpatient units on the hospital’s third floor. The newly renovated unit consists of 29 private patient rooms, 16 beds for surgical patients and 13 beds for antepartum patients. Antepartum beds are for expectant mothers who may have a high-risk pregnancy and may require an additional level of monitoring, observation and sometimes hospitalization.

Ochsner Hospital for Children is ranked among the top 50 children’s hospitals in the country for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery in the 2017-2018 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. It’s the only hospital in Louisiana and Mississippi to be recognized and offers one of the largest pediatric cardiology programs in the Gulf South.

Ochsner Health System recently committed more than $100 million in expansion projects to the Baton Rouge region for greater access to medical care for patients.

Twenty-one student cyclists with the Texas 4000 for Cancer, the longest charity bike ride in the world, stopped at the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner Medical Center to present a $10,000 contribution to Ochsner’s Radiation Transportation Fund, which helps patients defer travel costs associated with regular radiation therapy visits.

June is National Men’s Health Month. On average, men are less likely than women to visit their physician, follow up on symptoms and risk factors, or get recommended screenings.

June 27 is a day to better understand HIV. As National HIV Testing Day, it provides an opportunity for the one in eight people living with undiagnosed HIV to be tested. The CDC estimates that 1.2 million people in the U.S. are currently living with HIV.

Research by the Mayo Clinic suggests inactivity at your desk job could be slowly killing you. Here are some insider tips to easily increase your activity around the office:

• Get a stationary bike. You can score a stationary bike that fits under your desk on Amazon for as little as $26.

• Stand up. Decrease your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease by spending part of your day standing.

• Take the stairs. Take advantage of a few minutes of exercise.

• Go for a walk. Instead of emailing your co-worker, make the short trek down the hall to their office.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating motor neuron disease that affects 30,000 people in the U.S. Patients experience difficulty moving, speaking, swallowing and breathing – leading to respiratory failure. The Ochsner ALS Center, a Recognized Treatment Center by the ALS Association, is a comprehensive center treating these patients.

It’s easy to find excuses for why we couldn’t stick to our routine workout schedule — it was too hard, too much to do and we weren’t ready.