vision 4th quarter 2012

VIS1ON – page #A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of Medicine

Physician Matters – page #A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of Medicine

A Publication for BRG Medical Staff

A Satellite Campus ofTulane University School of Medicine

3rd Quarter 2012

What’s InsideTop Performer Hospital 3

OR Expansion 4-5

Mid City Moving Forward 6-10

MD Spotlight 14-15

Physician Survey 16Dr. Son Dang with members of the daVinci Robotics team

OR Expansion Complete

www.BRGOneVision.org



VISION – page 2A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of Medicine

In reflecting on FY 2012, it is rewarding to see the fruits of our collaboration with BRG medical staff coming together. As a result of engaging our physicians in formal survey feedback last fall, we gained valuable insights that helped shape OneVision – our strategic vision for the future of Baton Rouge General. In partnership with our physician leadership, we developed a blueprint for fulfilling that vision with a constant focus on our mission of improving and strengthening lives in our community by providing exceptional healthcare. Over the past year, we have remained focused on responsible growth and expansion of our facilities as well as development of specialized programs and services with quality paramount.

In this issue, you will see how some of these exciting advancements on both our campuses are taking shape. At Mid City, we continue to expand Baton Rouge General’s role as a teaching hospital. With each year our class sizes steadily increase and we are also developing new medical education relationships in the Baton Rouge healthcare community that offer our medical students and residents innovative clinical and leadership opportunities. We are making great progress on our Bluebonnet expansion and anticipate the completion of our new surgical space equipped with daVinci and hybrid technology next month. Construction on the new state-of-the-art medical office building is well underway and office space reservations are beginning to fill up. As a complement to these highlights of our strategic vision, we are also focused on expanding clinical research opportunities for our medical staff through our partnership with Guidestar Clinical Trials Management. In addition to the heart disease treatment trial currently underway, we look forward to initiating several other clinical trials at our hospital in the coming months.

Open communication with our physicians remains key as we work toward advancing our vision, and we encourage you to share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions with us in our upcoming medical staff survey. Your feedback will guide us as we continually strive to improve our hospital and create visionary solutions to address the healthcare needs of our community.

Our vision for Baton Rouge General encompasses our hospital-wide focus on creating a culture of transparency with the highest standards for quality and patient safety. Our medical staff’s teamwork and commitment to clinical excellence are reflected in our recent national recognitions as Baton Rouge’s only Joint Commission Top-Performer and “A”-rated full-service hospital for patient safety by The Leapfrog Group.

I want to express my thanks for your dedication as we continue to work together to serve your needs as clinicians and enhance the services we offer to provide the highest quality care to our patients.

A Message From Bill Holman President and CEO



Facility expansions at Baton Rouge General’s Bluebonnet campus continue to move forward and we are looking ahead to the opening of our innovative surgical suite and hybrid OR build-out next month. Construction is progressing rapidly on phase one of the new medical office building and the project remains on target for completion year end 2013.

Turn here for Hybrid OR Details

Thanks to the dedication and teamwork of all our physicians, employees and staff, Baton Rouge General was the only Baton Rouge area hospital to earn recognition as one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures™ by The Joint Commission in the recent release of the “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report.

Our hospital is being nationally recognized for exemplary performance on key quality measures in the areas of Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia and Surgical Care. BRG is one of only 620 hospitals nationwide to earn the distinction of Top Performer – placing us in the top 18 percent of Joint Commission accredited hospitals reporting core measure performance data for 2011. The Joint Commission is the leading, independent non-profit accreditor of healthcare organizations in the U.S.

As a team, BRG is creating a culture defined by transparency, excellence and compassionate care and this recognition is yet another reflection of the commitment of our physicians, employees and staff to the highest standards of quality care.

Thank you for the amazing work you do – day in and day out – to provide exceptional care for our patients.

The Joint Commission’s top-performing hospitals met two 95 percent performance thresholds:

• First, they achieved performance of 95 percent or above on the composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which data were reported to Joint Commission for calendar year 2011.

• Second, recognized hospitals met or exceeded a 95 percent performance target for each and every accountability measure for which they reported data.

Nationally Recognized as Baton Rouge’s Only Top Performer Hospital

2011™

Joint Commission Top Performer for 2011 – Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia and Surgical Care

Bluebonnet Expansion Takes Shape

Interested in office space in the new MOB? Visit www.BRGOneVision.org for more information or contact Dionne Viator, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer, at (225) 237-1541 for details on scheduling an interest meeting.

A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of MedicineVIS1ON – page 4


Dr. Andrew Olinde, Chief of Staff, at left with Dr. Jeffrey Littleton, Chief of Surgery


OR ExpansionHybrid Ready for Surgery We will soon see the fruits of our multidisciplinary physician-led steering committee’s collaborative efforts in advancing our OR expansion with the opening of Bluebonnet’s four new operating rooms equipped with state-of-the-art hybrid technology next month!

The new hybrid OR suite will feature fully integrated boom technology that bridges diagnostic technologies and multiple surgical therapies in one setting to allow seamless shifts from interventional procedures to open surgeries. Highlights include the addition of two new C-Arms and the Artis zeego real-time imaging system that will provide integrated, superb quality imaging capabilities for cardiac and vascular procedures.

“Bringing together the most sophisticated imaging technology with integrated IT systems, the hybrid OR will provide the capability to maximize treatment for complex vascular cases with quicker evaluation and less invasive treatment,” comments James Craven, MD, Vascular Surgeon with CVT.

Surgical enhancements also include an additional C-Track for breast surgeries and a new orthopedic table for direct anterior hip procedures that will improve patient recovery time and eliminate the potential for post-surgery hip dislocation.

With four new operating rooms, the OR expansion will also offer physicians additional surgery schedule availability. Additionally, daVinci robotics surgery scheduling is now available Monday through Friday thanks to surgical staffing enhancements.

“I am pleased to see the commitment to expanding Baton Rouge General’s minimally-invasive robotics program with the addition of a second dedicated surgical team trained in robotics technology,” notes James Morris, MD, Urologist with Baton Rouge Urology Group.

“The OR expansion with the addition of the hybrid operating suite reflects the hospital’s commitment to providing the latest technology for the care of surgical patients,” notes Michael Hanemann, Jr., MD, Plastic/Reconstructive Surgeon. “The ease of scheduling elective or emergent cases, attentiveness of OR personnel, and skill of anesthesia staff have made Baton Rouge General Bluebonnet the clear choice for the care of my patients.”

Combining more than 30 years of surgical operations experience, Baton Rouge General’s Director of Peri-Operative Services Stephen Mumford and Associate Director Jennifer Slay work in close collaboration with medical staff and frontline surgical staff to gain valuable feedback to continuously enhance surgery experiences for our physicians and our patients.

“The responsiveness and efficiency of administrative and surgical leadership at Baton Rouge General has been impressive and refreshing,” comments James Lalonde, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon with Baton Rouge Orthopedic Clinic. “The General’s surgery team communicates with medical staff regularly to ensure they are continuously improving to provide the most advanced, quality care for our patients.”

“The hybrid OR build out will add an innovative dimension for complex surgical procedures – enhancing the unsurpassed patient care provided by the General’s compassionate, expert OR staff,” comments Thomas Hansbrough, MD, Otolaryngologist/ENT Surgeon with Ear, Nose and Throat Associates.

“We are already looking ahead to support the additional capacity needs resulting from the OR expansion with the planned construction of two patient care floors,” notes Peyton Grant, Baton

Rouge General’s Vice President of Facilities Management.





Mid City Moving Forward

Family Medicine Residents

Seated left to right: Shavaun Cotton, MD, Tulane University; Jovana Moran Kakish, MD, Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara; Lacy Knowles, DO, Nova Southeastern University; Kristen Ducote, MD, St. Matthew’s University.

Standing left to right: Amanda Watts, MD, Louisiana State University; Matthew Blanchard, MD, Ross University; Brian Benson, MD, Tulane University; Tiffany Best, MD, Ross University.

Internal Medicine Residents

Seated left to right: Shohala Numaira, MD, Deccan College of Medical Sciences; Leena Bhatia, MD, Ross University; Anusha Nallaparaju, MD, GSL Medical College; Thankam Nair, MD, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi.

Standing left to right: Sami Mohammed Abdus, MD, Gandhi Medical College; Srikar Mapakshi, MD, Kurnool Medical College; Rajasekhar Katuru, MD, Guntur Medical College; Aurash Khoobehi, MD, Louisiana State University; Sunil Buddaraju, MD, Sri Siddhartha Medical College.

Affiliated with Tulane University School of Medicine

Tomorrow’s Physician Leaders…are training right here in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge General medical staff faculty members and medical education programs based on our Mid City campus are mentoring young physicians to provide not only exceptional medical care but also to become the next generation of health care leaders. We are pleased to welcome aboard our new medical students and residents!


Marc Quinlan, MD

What recent Tulane LEAD grads say about BRG’s medical education…We caught up with Marc Quinlan, MD, one of the inaugural class graduates of Tulane’s Baton Rouge LEAD Academy, to see how he’s settling in to his residency program in Emergency Medicine at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Quinlan’s hospital received patients from the recent Colorado movie theater incident and he worked with some of the victims in the ER.

“ Choosing the Baton Rouge satellite campus for my last two years of medical training was one of the best decisions I made,” remarks Marc Quinlan, MD. “The LEAD program’s focus on leadership and the importance of working as a cohesive treatment team prepared me for the diverse challenges of emergency care. The mentorship of my attending physicians at Baton Rouge General has helped me provide better care for my patients and truly influenced my success in residency.”

VISION – page 7


A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of Medicine

Tulane University School of Medicine Baton Rouge LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Discovery) Academy

Back row left to right: Elizabeth Waring, Zachary Marks, Philip Hackett, Catherine Uchino, Ngoc Ly, Robert Wood, Jr.

Front row left to right: Terry Li, Luisito Caleon, Cary T. Grayson, Rebecca Reimers, Marco Rajo Andrade





Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is becoming more widely used to treat severe wounds that fail

to heal, such as those related to diabetes and radiation from cancer treatments. Breathing

100 percent oxygen under pressure inside the hyperbaric chamber allows oxygen to reach

the damaged tissue of severe wounds to help them heal properly. Treatments can span a

period of two to three months – patients “dive” in the hyperbaric chamber once a day, five

days a week, for sessions lasting approximately one to two hours.

Mid City’s Wound Center is expanding to address the growing wound care needs

in our community with the addition of two hyperbaric oxygen chambers as well as

an additional treatment room and a location at the Bluebonnet campus.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Mid City’s Wound Center

Dr. Shaun Carpenter with patient Edward Huey

Healing Wounds, Preventing Limb Loss



“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is playing a larger role in healing wounds and, as a medical community, we are more effectively identifying patients who will benefit from this treatment,” said Shaun Carpenter, MD, Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Specialist with Baton Rouge General’s Wound Center. “As the only comprehensive wound care facility in our area offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients in our community

are experiencing positive outcomes, including preventing serious, life-altering limb amputations.”

Having lost several toes due to complications related to his diabetes, Edward Huey recently completed hyperbaric oxygen treatments at Baton Rouge General’s Wound Center that prevented the loss of his foot and potentially his entire leg.

“At first there were concerns that my leg would need to be amputated above my knee. But the doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to save my foot – they were determined to save my leg,” said Mr. Huey. “It’s miraculous to see my foot healed. When I first came here, I had to turn my head, and now I look at my foot. I am blessed that all I lost were my toes.”


Healing Wounds, Preventing Limb Loss





Healing deep burn wounds is complex and as unique as each burn patient. Burn specialists with Baton Rouge General’s regional Burn Center are looking closely at the benefits of a biological skin substitute for patients with full thickness burn wounds. Treating major burn wounds using a skin substitute as an alternative to skin graft treatments in some cases prevents the need for additional surgical procedures to gather donor skin and can help decrease recovery time for patients with deep burns.

“Restoring our burn patients to the best quality of life possible is always our priority,” said Ernest Mencer, MD, Medical Director for Baton Rouge General’s Burn Center. “With this in mind, we are continuously exploring new treatment options to provide access to quality, leading edge specialty burn care for patients in our local community and across the Gulf Coast region.

Physicians, nurses and staff with Baton Rouge General’s Burn Center will be presenting patient case studies involving a skin substitute treatment option, fetal bovine collagen dermal scaffold, at the Southern Regional Burn Conference in November.

Alternative Treatments for Patients with Major Burns


Ernest Mencer, MD



Critical care specialists are working closely with hospitalists of the Hospital Medicine Group at Baton Rouge General to improve continuity and quality of care for patients. Over the past several years, quality projects related to central line and ventilator best practices as well as the addition of palliative care services have enhanced care for our intensive care patients.

“Open communication and coordination with the Hospital Medicine Group physicians throughout the evolution of critical care patients’ illnesses ensures continuity when they transition from the ICU to inpatient care, notes Stephen Brierre, MD, Critical Care and Pulmonary Specialist with LSU Healthcare Network. “We are also working

with hospitalists, nursing and quality staff at Baton Rouge General to focus on national best practice protocols for central lines and ventilator care – notably, over the past three years we have decreased length of stay and ventilator days for critical care patients.”

In intensive care, physicians, patients and their families are sometimes faced with challenging treatment decisions. In cases of chronic or life-threatening illnesses, Baton Rouge General’s palliative care team supports physicians through communication with patients and their families.

“Palliative care considers patients and their families’ psychosocial and spiritual needs, their options for symptom management with a focus

on maintaining quality of life based on the feedback from the patient and family,” notes Charles Mason, MD, Medical Director of Supportive and Palliative Care.

“The addition of palliative care services has made a tremendous difference for patients, their families and physicians in the ICU. As intensivists, part of our role involves helping patients and families understand the process of end of life care,” comments Hollis O’Neal, Jr., MD, Critical Care/Pulmonary Specialist with LSU Healthcare Network. “With the support of Dr. Mason and the palliative care team we are able to focus on providing critical care for patients and supporting their treatment wishes.”

Enhancing Intensive Care Venkat Banda, MD Stephen Brierre, MD

Region’s

Top-Rated hospital

for critical care 7 years in a row. HealthGrades, 2005-2012


VIS1ON – page 12

A new teaching partnership with The Baton Rouge Clinic and Hospital Medicine Group (HMG) is enriching medical training for Baton Rouge General’s Internal Medicine residents and enhancing the continuity of inpatient and outpatient care. Collaboration among hospitalists and private practice physicians is increasingly critical with the complexity of inpatient care and the need for multidisciplinary care teams to coordinate across the continuum of care.

“Through the partnership, hospitalists with Baton Rouge General work closely with Baton Rouge

Clinic physicians to ensure seamless care for our patients and provide the residents with robust clinical experiences in hospital medicine and outpatient care,” said Richard Lieux, MD, The Baton Rouge Clinic.

Baton Rouge General’s Internal Medicine residents rotate with hospitalists to provide acute care for patients upon admission and accompany Baton Rouge Clinic physicians as they round on their patients in the hospital. In addition, Internal Medicine residents participate in multidisciplinary conferences during which

the hospitalists and outpatient physicians discuss patients’ post-discharge treatment plan along with nurses, social workers and therapists.

“Our residents have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive perspective of both acute and outpatient care as well as the importance of fostering communication across these care settings,” said Venkat Banda, MD, FACP, Medical Director, Hospital Medicine Group, and Associate Program Director, Baton Rouge General Internal Medicine Residency Program.

New Internal Medicine Teaching Partnership with Baton Rouge Clinic

A Satellite Campus of Tulane University School of Medicine

Mydhili Kanumilli, MD, Internal Medicine Resident with Vincent Tumminello, MD, of The Baton Rouge Clinic

Eugene Berry, MD, was featured in The Advocate for his recognition as an “Excellence in General” award honoree at the Baton Rouge General Foundation’s annual Excellence in General Gala for his tremendous impact in the community. Recently retired, Dr. Berry’s career as a cardiothoracic surgeon spans nearly 40 years, and in that time he performed more than 4,000 open-heart surgeries.

Dr. Berry also played an important role in advancing the field of cardiac surgery when in 1974 he became only the second physician in the U.S. to successfully implant a pacemaker into a child less than a week old. Just five days old when Dr. Berry did her pacemaker surgery, Amy Sciple had been diagnosed with a congenital heart block that caused a very slow heart rate before her birth. Her story made headlines all over the world. In the Advocate article, Sciple, who is now 38 and lives in Baton Rouge, was quoted, recalling that Dr. Berry’s name was never mentioned in the news, “Physicians tend to not seek publicity. Thirty-eight years ago, Berry was just referred to as the surgeon, in the coverage ... I’m glad all these years later he’s able to get the recognition he deserves.”

A distinguished alumni of Tulane medical school, Dr. Berry was also instrumental in establishing the first satellite campus of Tulane University School of Medicine at Baton Rouge General Medical Center – the LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Discovery) Academy.

Heart Disease Treatment Clinical TrialA clinical trial investigating a new heart disease risk detection tool is underway at Baton Rouge General.

The recently initiated IMPACT-PCP is a prospective, multi-center study examining the clinical impact of the Corus® CAD assay, a test to measure the activity of genes in response to biological processes that lead to the formation of blocked coronary arteries. The test, in combination with an assessment of other CAD risk factors, helps identify a patient’s probability for having a significant blockage in the coronary arteries. This study will examine the test’s impact in patients with no history of obstructive coronary artery disease who currently present with chest pain or anginal-equivalent symptoms.

“With the streamlined system in place through Baton Rouge General’s Clinical Trials Office, initiating the IMPACT-PCP trial was simple and efficient,” said Robert St. Amant, MD, Clinical Lipidologist at Baton Rouge General, principal investigator for the trial. “I am pleased to offer our patients opportunities to participate in a trial that will help advance more accurate identification of heart disease using a non-invasive blood test.”

To refer a patient for this trial or for more information on patient eligibility, contact Sheila at (225) 237-1672 or [email protected].

Interested in clinical research opportunities at BRG? Contact Diandra at (504) 799-4400 ext. 4408 or [email protected].

Eugene Berry, MD, Recognized for Commitment to Our Community


SECTIONDWEDNESDAY

OCTOBER 17, 2012PeoPle

I didn’t intend for lastweek’s column about beingburglarized to have a sequel.Unfortunately it does.After goingmore than 25

years without a break-in,my home got hit twice in aweek.Not only did each of the

burglaries have unusualtwists, but they also taughtmywife andme lessonsworth passing on.Our second burglary call

came from the heroine ofthe first ordeal. In that case,our neighbor followed atruck leaving our yard, andtalked to deputies on hercell, until they could de-scend on the pickup.This time, Kim Spillers

spotted someone sprint fromour home and jump into avehicle, but she couldn’t findher car keys in time to chasethem.Luckily, for us there’s also

a hero in the latest crime.Joey Smith, a LivingstonParish detective, spottedsomething I didn’t knowwasmissing as he canvassedgold-buying shops.The newspaper gives us

lapel pins made of gold em-bedded with precious stones.When I arrived at the shop,Smith held up a plastic bagcontainingmy pin. At thesame shop we found a ringthat had belonged to mygrandfather, jewelry given tomywife by her parents andseveral other stolen items.We only got back a small

portion of the things taken;but the most important thingthe detective got from theshop was the name of theseller, which gold buyersmust keep on file.The detective’s spotting

of The Advocate pin and theseller’s identification starteda string of dominoes falling.Burglaries have been

solved in Livingston, Ascen-sion and East Baton Rougeparishes. Kim’s burglary,which occurred in August, isamong them.Whendetectives located the

shop where her things weresold, the jewelry had alreadybeen sent to the smelter. Theshops are only required to

THEADVOCATE

Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3DPuzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4DComics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5DMiss Manners . . . . . . . . . . 6D

H

Sequel’send isbittersweet

BoBAndersonThrough a GlassDarkly

Each week The Advocateasks a different “quiztaker” for his or her cur-rent favorites in popculture.

QUIZ TAKER:Ashley Mots-inger, 26, public relationscoordinator, Alzheimer’sServices of the CapitalAreaWHAT I’M LISTENING TO:“Alabama Shakes and TheDecemberists.”WHAT I’M READING: “Articleson the upcoming election.Certainly not my favoritetopic, but I think it’s essen-tial to making an informeddecision.”WHAT I’MWATCHING: “Col-lege and NFL football,‘Modern Family’ and ‘TheNew Girl.’”WHERE I’M SURFING (ON THEINTERNET): “http://www.LSUSports.net and http://www.Netflix.com.”WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEA-SURE? “I love Harry Pot-ter. The books. I’ve evenattempted to make But-terbeer. During my honey-moon to London, my hus-band and I went to King’sCross Station and tookphotos with the luggagecart going into the brickwall, and I’m pretty suremy next vacation will be toUniversal Studios Wizard-ing World of Harry Potter.”BONUS QUESTION:“AWalk/Run to Remember” tobenefit Alzheimer’s Services iscoming up. Are you a walker,runner, or one of those Olympicspeed walkers?“I would love to say oneof those Olympic speedwalkers, however I’m prettysure my legs are physi-cally incapable of movingin such a manner. Instead,I will be working hard tomake sure everyone has awonderful time. We inviteeveryone to come out forsome good food, music,and fun for the whole fami-ly, and show their support.”EVENT INFORMATION: “AWalk/ Run to Remember”begins Saturday at 9 a.m.at LSU’s Old Front Nine atthe corner of NicholsonDrive and Nicholson Ex-tension. Register onlineat http://wtr2012.kintera.org or at the event before9 a.m.

Kyle PevetoAdvocate staff writer

POPQUIZ:AshleyMotsinger

Don’t let orange decorating hues scare youLeaves are changing and

pumpkins are appearing ondoorsteps around the country.As vibrant shades of orangefill the outdoors, they’re alsobecoming increasingly popularinside.Upholstery fabrics, paint col-

ors, furniture and accessoriesthat range from neon orange totangerine to terra cotta are get-ting attention this season.But orange isn’t for everyone.

When interior designers sug-gest decorating with orange,clients canget nervous.Design-erKyle Schuneman often easeshomeowners into using orangeby suggesting variations on it.“The ideaof orangecan sound

juvenile and unsophisticated,”Schuneman said. “But if you

go with umbers, burnt bricksor terra cottas, you can sell aclient on the ideamuch easier.”The key, he said, is using or-

ange creatively and carefully.Here, Schuneman and de-

signers Brian Patrick Flynnand Betsy Burnham offer tipson decoratingwith the color or-ange, and avoiding the pitfallsof using it badly.

Howmuch to use?Orange can be overpowering

as themaincolor in a room.But,like red, it works brilliantly asan accent color.“I don’t suggest painting your

walls orange,” Burnham said.“But maybe there’s an orangein the print on your pillows.”It can be casual (“maybe you

bring in a garden stool that’s

bright orange”), or chic and so-phisticated (“think of Hermesorange, those shoppingboxes”),she said.In a bedroom with muted,

gray-blue walls, Burnham opt-ed to add lacquered end tablesin a rich shade of orange.Orange paint can also be a

great way to spruce up a datedpiece of furniture.“Think about painting a great

old chest of drawers a beauti-ful shade in a high gloss,” Sc-huneman said, “and changingout the knobs to really specialcrystal knobs to make a state-ment piece in a room.”

Which shades are best?All three designers like

BY MELISSA RAYWORTHAssociated Press

Associated Press photo provided by BRIAN PATRICK FLYNN

Designer Brian Patrick Flynn lays several deep shades of or-ange throughout this space and then accents with shades ofblue to create a cozy, inviting room. äSee ORANGE, page 2D

Advocate staff photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING

Dr. Eugene ‘Gene’ Berry, a recently retired cardiothoracic surgeon, will receive this year’s ‘Excellence inGeneral’ award from the Baton Rouge General Foundation. He’s performed more than 4,000 open-heartsurgeries, and in 1974 was the second physician in the U.S. to implant a pacemaker in a child less than aweek old.

Looking back over his careeras a cardiothoracic surgeon,Dr.Eugene “Gene” Berry said thatthe three-year interruption inhis surgical training that wentwith his service in the VietnamWar turned out to be a goodthing.During the years he was

a Navy flight surgeon — heserved from1965 to 1968— tre-mendous advances were beingmade back in the U.S., in thefairly new field of cardiovas-cular surgery.“The heart-lung machine had

opened up the whole field ofcardiac surgery,” Berry saidof the machine that takes overthe work of the heart and lungsduring open-heart surgery.“And then cardiac bypass

surgery came along, so that therole of the cardiac surgeonwasjust greatly enhanced,” Berrysaid.During cardiac bypass sur-

gery, a new route is created forblood and oxygen to reach theheart, by using a vein from an-other part of the body.Before those medical devel-

opments, a patient who hadsuffered a heart attackwas putto bed, treatedwith oxygen andblood thinners and given seda-tives, Berry said.“And it was just a matter of

waiting” until the end, more orless, he said.“What we do now is incred-

ible,” Berry said of cardiovas-cular surgery.Berry will be honored this

monthby theBatonRougeGen-eral Foundation as the recipientof its “Excellence in General”award, which recognizes thosewho make a significant impactin the community, through theirleadership and philanthropy,according to the foundation.Dr. Floyd Roberts, a critical

care physician and chief medi-cal officer ofBatonRougeGen-eral Medical Center, came toBaton Rouge in 1981 from theUniversity of Alabama at Bir-mingham and worked along-side Berry for 30 years.“Besides outstanding tech-

nical expertise, he (Berry)exhibited wonderful clinicaldecision-making skills, un-surpassed compassionate andindividualized care for his pa-tients, and yet still made timefor major leadership roles inthe medical and wider commu-nity,” Roberts said.For the first time in theExcel-

lence in General award’s morethan 20-year history, an awardwill also be going to a corpora-tion, Albemarle.Among the many community

projects supported over theyears by thephilanthropyofAl-bemarle employees and retir-ees has been renovations to theBaton Rouge General’s BurnCenter, including a new family

ELLYN COUVILLIONAdvocate staff writer

Heart surgeon honored

Celebrating excellenceThis year the Baton Rouge General Foundation will honor two“Excellence in General” winners: retired cardiothoracic sur-geon Dr. Gene Berry and Albemarle Corp.

WHAT: Excellence in GeneralGalaWHEN: Oct. 25; cocktail recep-tion and silent auction, 6 p.m.;seated dinner and presentationof awards, 8 p.m.WHERE: Crowne Plaza, 4728Constitution Ave.TICKETS: Advance tickets only;$200 per person, available by

calling (225) 763-4372 or goingonline to http://www.brgeneral.org/gala. Raffle tickets may bepurchased for $50, with raffleitems being a David Yurmanstainless steel lady’s watch,donated by Lee Michaels FineJewelry, and a $3,000 men’sshopping spree, donated byMartinez Custom Clothier.

Berry, Albermarle to receive ‘Excellence’ awards

äSee ‘EXCELLENCE,’ page 2D

Has the approach of Hal-loween inspired you to trickout your yard with frightfullydreadful decor?Has the landscaping be-

come haunted by a lamen-table collection of pumpkins,ghosts and witches?The Advocate’s People sec-

tion staff wants to see yourmost creative efforts.Send in photos of your Hal-

loween tableaus with a briefexplanation of what inspiredyour spooky and/or comiccreations. Include your fullname, city, neighborhood anda telephone number.For best results, we suggest

photographing the yard artclose up. Digital photographyshould be high-resolution(220 dots per inch or about amegabyte in size) and in jpegformat.Upload photos online by

going to http://sendphoto.theadvocate.com. Be sure toselect “People” where it asksfor where to send the photo.Or email your submissions [email protected] don’t do digital photog-

raphy? Then mail your photoand information to The Advo-cate, People section, P.O. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.Submissions must be re-

ceived by Friday to be con-sidered for publication.

Creepy curb appeal

ä See DARKLY, page 2D

Advocate file photo

As an infant, Amy Sciple made medical history April 10, 1974,when she received a pediatric heart pacemaker at five days old.Dr. Gene Berry, who performed the surgery at Baton RougeGeneral, is this year’s ‘Excellence in General’ award winner.Sciple, in her 30s now, lives in Baton Rouge and is doing well.





MD SpotlightRachel Aaron, MD



Medicine is a calling for many physicians – rooted in a strong desire to help others and save lives. Dr. Rachel Aaron not only understands this call to serve patients – she takes it to another level. When you see Dr. Aaron among her colleagues at Mid City you may not imagine that U.S. Army issued camouflage fatigues and combat boots recently took the place of her white coat.

As an Army National Guard physician, Dr. Aaron recently returned in July from a tour in Afghanistan, her second active duty deployment. Based at the northern border of Afghanistan near Mazar-e-sharif, Camp Deh Dadi II was Dr. Aaron’s home and medical base for three months this past summer. Amidst the austere and still unstable conditions of the region, the medical camp, or Forward Operating Base (FOB), served as the first line of care for U.S. and Afghan soldiers as well as local Afghan civilians in the area.

Operating out of a small wooden building that served as the hospital, Dr. Aaron and her team, comprised of one nurse practitioner and a few medics, provided medical triage to stabilize

patients for medevac transport to receive advanced treatment and surgical care.

“It was challenging being the sole physician at our base. We were a small unit with the bare minimum of equipment and resources but I had an incredible, highly skilled team supporting me, and we never lost anyone,” said Dr. Aaron.

Her experience in Iraq and Afghanistan also involved missions “outside of the wire,” including accompanying units to provide medical support on searches for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other types of missions.

“With the continued instability, bombings and firefighting in the region, we treated a significant number of trauma and cardiac patients,” noted Dr. Aaron. “But my team also saw plenty of everyday ailments and injuries, such as sinusitis, rashes, and abscesses. We also spent time teaching Afghan civilians basic medical care.”

Achieving the rank of Major, Dr. Aaron’s first active duty deployment was to Iraq in 2009, however, the majority of her role as a National Guard physician is spent stateside, participating

in monthly drills and providing medical care for soldiers during annual trainings. She has also been activated to provide medical care during times of emergency to support hurricane relief efforts. Joining the Jackson Barracks unit 11 years ago while in medical school at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Dr. Aaron admits that her decision to serve was an easy one.

“I come from a military family – my grandfather was in the Air Force, my father was in the Army and my brother served in the Marines. It’s how I grew up, and I’ve always believed it is important to support our soldiers,” said Dr. Aaron.

Although she has lived all over the world – from Germany to Washington – after moving to Louisiana at the age of 21, Dr. Aaron decided to call Baton Rouge home. As an Internal Medicine specialist with the Hospital Medicine Group at Baton Rouge General since 2010, Dr. Aaron continues to fulfill her sense of service and make a difference in her patients’ lives. Not surprisingly, Dr. Aaron notes that she enjoys the challenges of hospital medicine – the variety and acuity of medical conditions.

Trauma bay inside camp hospital. Dr. Aaron with her team returning from a mission “outside the wire.”

Ambulance used to transport wounded troops and civilians.

Thank you to Dr. Aaron and all U.S. service mem-bers for everything you do for our country.



We’ll Give YOU a Better Hospital

Physician Survey Launching in NovemberBe on the lookout for our physician survey in November. We will be sending the survey out to all members of our medical staff via email and we encourage you to take five minutes to complete the survey.

Your insights are critical to help us continually enhance our services and facilities to support your needs and provide exceptional care for our patients. Together we’ll create an even better hospital!



VIS1ON Editorial CommitteeDr. Andrew Olinde Chief of Staff

Dr. Floyd “Flip” Roberts Chief Medical Officer Dean, Tulane University School of Medicine’s Satellite Campus

Michelle Capone Director, Medical Staff Services

George Bell Senior Vice President, Community Relations

Nicole Kleinpeter Director, Marketing and Communications

Maryann Rowland Specialist, Communications and Public Relations

Comments? Story ideas? Email us at [email protected] with questions or to let us know what’s happening in your practice.

Listening at the Top At BRG, we continue working hard to foster a culture of accountability – to our patients and to each other – from bedside to board room. Physicians are critically important to this culture, and the Executive team remains committed to cultivating and strengthening relationships with our medical staff. These leaders pledge their accessibility, to listen and address your needs:

You’ll receive a coupon in the mail for a Free Benny’s Works Car Wash after you complete the survey!

William Holman, FACHEPresident and CEOExecutive lead, oversight of strategic and external relations, including Foundation

Edgardo TenreiroExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating OfficerDaily operations including physician relations

Dionne Viator, CPA, FACHEExecutive Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer, Strategic business partnerships, alignments, government relations, and expansion planning

Kendall JohnsonChief Financial OfficerFinancial performance and budget oversight

Remember to join members of the General’s executive leadership team for lunch in the physicians lounge monthly from noon - 1 p.m.

• Bluebonnet - Physicians Lounge 2nd Thursday of each month

• Mid City - Physicians Lounge 3rd Wednesday of each month

Anna Cazes, RN, MSN, DNSChief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services, Nursing and patient care oversight, HCAHPS oversight

Floyd J. Roberts, MDChief Medical Officer and Dean of Tulane University School of Medicine’s Satellite Campus; Clinical leadership/governance, quality oversight and medical education oversight/strategy

George BellSenior Vice President Community RelationsPhysician and community relations, primary focus Mid City

Contact administration at:Bluebonnet (225) 763-4040 Mid City (225) 387-7767

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