From the Heart: Shoo, omicron. It’s Carnival time.

Monday, January 31, 2022 | Vol. 3, No. 1

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know: omicron.

Sigh.

We’re tired of it, too.

The good news is that there are promising signs that we in Louisiana may be at or near the peak of the outbreak brought on by this latest variant of COVID-19.

The fact that numbers are starting to fall just as Carnival season cranks up makes us even more eager to put COVID in the rearview.

A word of warning, though: If you find yourself packed shoulder-to-shoulder with others on one parade route or another, make sure to protect others in the community by getting a COVID test before you head to any indoor concerts, parties or Mardi Gras balls.

You can, of course, get tested at St. Tammany Health System. But at-home tests are starting to become more available than previously, with the federal government even living up to its promise to send free tests to every household in America. If you haven’t already signed up to get yours, find out how here.

That way, you can enjoy a happy – and, hopefully, healthy – Mardi Gras season for the first time in too long.

Below, you can also enjoy the latest headlines from St. Tammany Health System.

They’re fine on their own, but we recommend reading them over a nice, fat slice of king cake.

After the past two years of the pandemic, you deserve it.

Community Checkup with Joan Coffman

Looking back on 2021, STHS President and CEO Joan Coffman finds a lot to be proud of, starting with the recent recognition of the health system as one of the best in the nation when it comes to patient safety and excellence. Hear about these honors and more in this month’s Community Checkup video.

Watch video

Community checkup with Joan Coffman for January 2022

STHS first in region to offer pioneering procedure

Already established as the premiere location for comprehensive breast care on the Northshore, the St. Tammany Health System Women’s Pavilion in Covington has added to its services a pioneering new procedure designed to spare some breast cancer patients an unnecessary underarm surgery.

The Women’s Pavilion is the only location in southeast Louisiana – including the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas – to offer the procedure, known as delayed sentinel lymph node biopsy.

“We’re so excited to be offering this procedure,” said Dr. Angela Buonagura, a breast surgeon operating out of the Women’s Pavilion’s Breast Disease and High-Risk Clinic as well as St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center. “If we can do less surgery to help these patients and decrease the associated risk, that’s what we want to do – and that’s what this procedure does.”

Transforming local cancer care

From the start, the new St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center, was envisioned as a one-stop-shop for Northshore cancer patients. Even just six months in, it’s delivering on that promise, transforming the way patients get their care.

This story could save a child’s life

The statistics are sobering: One child dies every five days from choking on food, making it the leading cause of death in children ages 14 and under. But there are things parents and caregivers can do to keep their children safe.

Here’s to our nurses

Nurses: They’re at the heart of everything we do, toiling on the front lines to deliver our brand of world-class healthcare close to home. Recently, STHS Nursing Workforce Director Bronwyn Doyle visited the Lake 94.7-FM to discuss some of the things that make STHS such a great place to work.

Read on …

The new edition of our quarterly Heart to Heart magazine is here, chock-full of the latest headlines from St. Tammany Health System. Chances are, it’s already landed in your mailbox. If not, you can click the link below to check out a digital version, along with back issues dating to 2007.

St. Tammany Health System