From the Heart: A regular dose of news and notes from St. Tammany Health System

November 2025 | Vol. 6, No.10

Walking the walk

Welcome to autumn in St. Tammany. If you (like us) are still trying to make peace with the fact that the sun now sets somewhere around late afternoon, you are not alone.

But if there is a silver lining, it is that these shorter days tend to slow us down just enough to notice all the good around us. And here at St. Tammany Health System, there is always plenty of that to share.

That spirit of togetherness that permeates our community is at the heart of our 2025 Power of Pearl lung cancer campaign. The pearl, after all, is a small thing made extraordinary through time, care and resilience – not unlike what happens when a community rallies behind a shared purpose. This year’s campaign invites you to do just that.

And the best part? You can literally walk the walk. Our Power of Pearl walk and kid’s fun run is coming up on Nov. 22, and we would love to see you there. (Consider it a pre-emptive strike against those fried turkey calories in your near culinary future.) Bring your friends, your kids, your neighbor – there’s room for all. It will be one of those feel-good mornings that reminds you why this region is so special.

Of course, there is plenty more happening all around St. Tammany Health System, and you will find the latest and greatest from our digital newsroom just below – stories of healing, innovation and some of the cutest NICU babies you have ever seen.

So read on – and thank you, as always, for trusting St. Tammany Health System with your family’s healthcare.

Community Checkup

With the season of celebration almost upon us, St. Tammany Health System has plenty of reasons to be grateful, as STHS President and CEO Joan Coffman explains in her latest Community Checkup.

Watch

Leading the way

St. Tammany Health System has joined with healthcare organizations across Louisiana for the first statewide launch of MyChart Central in the nation, giving patients a single, secure way to access their medical records, communicate with care teams and manage their care.

“St. Tammany Health System has long prioritized first-class patient experience, just as it has long prioritized innovation. The new MyChart Central initiative and its single sign-on capabilities, as we see it, present an opportunity to address both,” STHS Chief Information Officer Craig Doyle said.

“It’s simple: Streamlining our patients’ care improves that care,” Doyle continued. “That’s something we at St. Tammany are excited about – and we are just as excited to link arms with the other healthcare institutions throughout the state who were forward-thinking enough to be part of this first-in-the-nation initiative.”

Letters from Santa

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and the elves at St. Tammany Hospital Foundation are once again arranging for their pal Santa Claus to write personalized letters to local children as a benefit for the STHS Parenting Center.

Diabetes in the workplace

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and to mark the occasion, St. Tammany Health System’s Diabetes Education team is publishing a series of columns on the topic. Today’s focus: Diabetes in the workplace.

Tune in, St. Tammany

November isn’t just for Thanksgiving anymore. It’s also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. To mark the occasion, in the latest episode of our “Northshore Healthebeat” podcast we sit down with changemakers Caroline Blanchard and Caitlin Hunter to talk about why they choose lung cancer education, screening and prevention as their personal causes.

Listen in

Your moment of 'awww'

Halloween might be behind us, but the latest treats from the St. Tammany Health System NICU are just too good not to share. Once again proving you are never too tiny to celebrate, the STHS Neonatal Intensive Care Unit marked Halloween by decking out its littlest patients in festive costumes.

Behold the cuteness

Did you know?

As part of its mission to treat the whole patient, St. Tammany Cancer Center – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center, hosts free monthly classes on a variety of topics for diagnosed cancer patients, from meditation to tai chi to music therapy and more.

View the calendar

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