We know, we know. It’s not Monday. But if our local groceries and bakeries can sell king cakes in the middle of summer, then, by golly, we can talk about red beans on a Friday.

Specifically, we’d like to invite you to the United Way’s 14th annual West St. Tammany Red Beans-’N’-Rice Cookoff, which is always a gas. The fun is set for this coming Monday (July 31) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Greater Covington Center, 317 N. Jefferson Ave.

Admittedly, we’ve got a vested interest in the event as its title sponsor. But we’re also taking part by fielding a team. Consider this a humble appeal for your vote – although our one-of-a-kind take on this classic Louisiana dish is so delicious we have every confidence they’ll do all the necessary lobbying on their own.

As mouthwatering as the cookoff promises to be, the best part about it all is that it is for a good cause. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit suicide prevention, mental health services and other United Way programs in St. Tammany Parish.

It’s one of the many local causes that’s near and dear to our heart. That’s just the way we roll here at St. Tammany Health System. Nearly 70 years ago, the community banded together and willed us into being. We’ve been working hard to live up to that vote of confidence ever since. 

What’s more, we don’t intend to stop soon. We are a community hospital, and we take that role seriously. 

So, even if you can’t make it to the red beans cookoff, we’ll look for you at one of our numerous other (albeit less delicious) community outreach events throughout the parish. 

In the beantime meantime, here’s a collection of recent good news from our St. Tammany Health System newsroom. Enjoy!

Recently, Frieda Holland spent 17 days in New England. On another trip, she spent three weeks in New Mexico.

That’s the way the retired nonprofit executive likes to live – like a human verb, a person in motion.

So, when her health turned, limiting her mobility, her life changed dramatically.

“I was in the hospital for 11 days,” she remembered. “When I came out, I could hardly walk.”

In addition to putting her on oxygen, her doctors also suggested she attend cardiopulmonary rehabilitation sessions.

As she tells it, those sessions – which she attended at St. Tammany Health System’s Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion on Bootlegger Road near Covington – gave Holland her life back.

She is far from alone.

Founded in 1998, St. Tammany Health System’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program marks its 25th anniversary this year. In that time, it has improved the quality of life of countless patients like “Miss Frieda,” as the staff knows her.

Home alone?

With the start of school just around the corner, and with many children soon to be arriving home daily before their parents return from work, the St. Tammany Parenting Center is offering a Safe@Home class to teach kids the do’s and don’ts of staying home alone.

On a mission

Previously, she worked for Odyssey House, the American Diabetes Association and, most recently, the Al Copeland Foundation. Now, Kathleen Thomas has joined St. Tammany Hospital Foundation and its fight against cancer on the Northshore. Here’s her story.

Simply the best 

It’s official: Terri Johnston is great. The 16-year STHS veteran, a registered nurse currently serving as director of the health system’s Education Department, has been named one of the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana for 2023.

Wall of honor 

There’s a fresh and flowery sight to see at St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital. On July 6, leadership dedicated a wall of honor in recognition of the STHS colleagues who have earned the DAISY Award for extraordinary nursing.