Buckle up, y’all. And if that seatbelt is pink, so much the better. 

Today is Oct. 1, and, as has become tradition at St. Tammany Health System, it marks the start of our annual breast cancer awareness campaign, a marathon push which we technically launched with all fitting pomp and circumstance yesterday.  

(We were so excited we just couldn’t wait.) 

As in years past, you can expect a full month jam-packed with events and activities, all awash in pink and all designed to amplify the life-saving importance of early detection when it comes to breast cancer.  

Also as in years past, you can expect to see our Be Well Bus – which is equipped with 3-D mammography equipment – and our tireless Community Engagement team leading the charge all October long.  

What is new this time is the name of the campaign, which now goes by St. Tammany United in Breast Health: The Power of Pink. 

That word “united” is a particularly important one there, as it gets right to the heart of what our mission as a health system is all about. Through the breast campaign, and through the efforts of our colleagues and community partners, we are seeking to unite our community around good health. 

And it’s just the start. In fact, it’s part of an overarching initiative dubbed St. Tammany United for a Healthier Northshore that you will be seeing more of in coming months.  

In November, for example, it will bring us St. Tammany United in Lung Health: The Power of Pearl. In February, we will unite around heart health. In April, we will unite in support of our autism community. You get the idea. 

So, consider this your official invitation to join us in the name of a healthier Northshore. Learn more about the Power of Pink and our other St. Tammany United campaigns at StTammanyUnited.org. We look forward to seeing you at one of the myriad community events we have planned. 

That way, we can thank you in person – for uniting with us and for choosing St. Tammany Health System for your family’s healthcare. 

Kerri Rosenthal Lamers was the apple of her father’s eye, which in and of itself isn’t all that unusual. Daddies have special places in their heart for their daughters, especially when that daughter is an only child as Lamers was. That’s just the way things work. 

What is unusual, though – and heartwarmingly beautiful at the same time – was his way of keeping her close. 

And that brings us to today’s positively precious installment in our 70 for 70 history series, which highlights 70 artifacts from St. Tammany Health System’s past that help tell its story.  

Tackling lung cancer  

In a resounding blow against stubborn population health metrics in South Louisiana, the Rich Mauti Cancer Fund DBA Mauti Cancer Fund recently announced a $500,000 donation to St. Tammany Health Foundation for the purchase of a first-in-the-region mobile lung screening unit for use across the Northshore. 

Huddle up! 

Just in time for fall, the newest episode of St. Tammany Health System’s “Northshore Healthbeat” podcast has dropped. This time, we huddle up with STHS Clinical Dieticians Sarah Brignac and Jessica Greer to game-plan suggestions for feeding our appetites for good football and good health all at once.

What’s cookin’?  

As part of the Healthier Northshore initiative’s quarterly Eat Well, Live Well cooking demonstration series, Chef Austin Kirzner of Covey Rise Farms recently shared the secrets behind his recipe for Blackened Shrimp Creole.

Simply the best 

The Louisiana Nurses Foundation held its 2024 Nightingale Awards recently in Baton Rouge, and St. Tammany Health System’s Nursing Department was well represented, with six nominees total and two eventual winners of the coveted honor.