The teams at the Bureau of Health Informatics and the Section of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology (SEET) have collaborated on a heat-related illness and deaths dashboard, launched Monday, that can be viewed at ldh.la.gov/heat.

Hey #TeamLDH, you're invited to join the "Battle of Departments," a blood drive competition where the department/section with the most completed blood donations will win a custom trophy!

LDH is partnering with Vitalant to host this blood drive on Wednesday, September 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blood donations will take place in the Vitalant Bloodmobile parked in the St. Joseph Cathedral’s parking lot.

Complete your health questionnaire on the day of your donation by visiting vitalant.org/health. IDs are required to donate.

For questions or issues scheduling your appointment, please email Melissa Garcia or Breanna Paul.

September is nationally recognized as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in Louisiana. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that produces fluid that makes up part of semen. Prostate cancer begins when cells in the prostate gland start to grow out of control.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends men with high risk who are 45 or older speak with their doctors to make individual decisions regarding screening. The sooner prostate cancer is detected by screening, the higher chances are to address the diagnosis.

Put on your favorite sports team jersey and join us for "Tailgate Talk," a prostate cancer lunch and learn, on Thursday, September 7 at 1 p.m. Register here.

Baton Rouge Clinic urologist Dr. Ross Cockrell will share his playbook on prostate cancer, prevention, screening and what to do after a diagnosis. He will also discuss the importance of communication with your primary care physician and how to take charge of your health.

Prior to the start of the lunch and learn, registered participants who work in the Bienville Building can complete this questionnaire and pick up a tailgate grab-n-go snack box in the third-floor breakroom from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Beginning on September 13, LDH Today will move back to a weekly publication schedule. As a reminder, we ask that submissions be emailed to ldhtoday@la.gov by the Thursday before the Wednesday publication.

Above: Region 3 Medicaid Regional Administrator Kyle Maggio (left) and Medicaid analyst supervisor Jessica Waguespack (right) give supplies to W.S. Lafargue Elementary School Principal Norman Edmonds (center).

Top right: More than 150 people attended the Back to School Extravaganza hosted by the Lafourche Public Library in Raceland. The event was co-sponsored by Aetna along with 15 area vendors supporting healthy lifestyles.

Below right: LDH team members Amanda Melancon (left) and Stacey Martin (right) provided information and prizes to attendees of the Terrebonne Parish Head Start Community Partnership Day, a community event in Houma.

OPH Region 7 (Northwest Louisiana) Tuberculosis Control Program Manager Jamie Wooley (left) also attended the Resource Access Service Association's (RASA) Hispanic Health Fair for local Hispanic community members. She provided attendees with Spanish-language materials on tuberculosis, vaccines, WIC, reproductive health and STIs.

During both events, team members gave out information on the updated Louisiana school vaccination schedule, the vaccination schedule for adults, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, heat safety information and services available at the PHUs. Children received backpacks with COVID-19 test kits, supplies, a safe summer informational puzzle and a coloring book.

Above top: Regional Nurse Manager Yolanda Chandler, Webster PHU Administrative Coordinator Kristen Campbell and DeSoto PHU Administrative Coordinator Jerrica Rochelle provide attendees with copies of their immunization records.

Above bottom: Tuberculosis Control Program Manager Jamie Wooley prepares to meet community members where they are and provide health information in their preferred language.

Right: Registered Nurse (RN) Renarda Brice, emergency preparedness planner Melissa Scott, RN Toshia Washington and health disparities strategist Angela Shuckhart greet the back-to-school crowd in Bogalusa.

Above left: Region 9 hospital nurse coordinator Julia White snuggles with Louie the Lab, the ambassador for the St. Tammany Coroner's Office.

Above right: Region 9 OPH health disparities strategist Angela Shuckhart demonstrates how to spin the prize wheel to a young man who stopped by for health trivia, fresh fruit and a back-to-school kit.

Top right: Statewide Social Worker Wilbert Green, Region 8 COVID-19 Coordinator Jeanette Glover, Health Disparities Grant Manager Antigone Ruth, Region 8 Social Worker Shirah Tolliver, Region 6 Strategist DeAdrian Ficklin, Statewide Strategist Stephen King, Region 8 Strategist Toshia Laing, Region 7 Community Health Worker Tenille Jenkins and Region 6 Social Worker Allison Dean attend a back-to-school event at Abundant Life Church in Natchitoches.

Bottom right: Statewide Strategist Stephen King, Region 5 Strategist Bridget Bossert, Health Disparities Grant Manager Antigone Ruth, Region 4 Strategist Juleah Joseph and Statewide Social Worker Wilbert Green attend a back-to-school event at Founders Park in Jennings.

Well-Ahead Louisiana’s WISEWOMAN Program recently hosted the WISEWOMAN Wellness Expo in Hammond on Saturday, August 19 at the Tangipahoa PHU, and in Baton Rouge on August 26 at the BREC Womack Ballroom to provide a total network of support for women wellness.

She also met with community members in Bossier, Desoto, Natchitoches and Sabine parishes to provide information on the opioid crisis in Louisiana and the emergence of fentanyl, while also demonstrating how to administer Narcan to an individual who may be experiencing an opioid overdose.

Above: Region 7 OPOC Yolanda Duckworth (left in red) meets with Bossier Parish school district nurses.

This fall marks the 10th annual Louisiana State Combined Charitable Campaign (LA SCCC), a single workplace campaign for state employees where they are given the opportunity to designate their contributions to qualified health and human service non-profits of their choice. 

The campaign will begin September 5, with all pledge forms and online pledge donations due by October 31. All special event/fundraiser revenue will be due by December 1. Each department/agency has an appointed campaign coordinator(s) who is responsible for educating employees about the LA SCCC and giving them the opportunity to contribute.

More information will be posted in upcoming issues of LDH Today.

LDH is partnering with the Louisiana Center for Health Equity (LCHE) and Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) to host the eighth annual statewide summit on Tuesday, October 3 and Wednesday, October 4 at PBRC in Baton Rouge.

Consistent with one of LDH’s four State Health Improvement Plan priorities, this year’s summit will embrace population heath by focusing on women and children to continue the momentum toward improving health equity in Louisiana.

Additionally, the summit aims to expand collaboration, increase engagement and identify policy solutions to improve health outcomes and quality of life for Louisiana’s children and families. The goal of the summit is to continue progress toward LCHE’s bold vision of LA40by2030.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones, MPH, PhD. Known for her allegories on race and racism, which enable inclusive dialogue on critical public health issues, Dr. Jones is a family physician, epidemiologist and past president of the American Public Health Association (APHA).

Registration is $100. To register, click here. For additional information, please email info@lahealthequity.org.

When it comes to designs, less is often more. The goal of any design is to communicate effectively with the viewer. When messages are clear and concise, viewers often pay more attention.

Complicated designs often suffocate and overwhelm the reader, especially if the design is cluttered and requires their eyes to dart all over the place. If a reader becomes visually exhausted looking at a design, they are prone to moving away quickly. Cluttered designs also fail to give the viewer a main aspect to remember.

The Medicaid Eligibility Field Operations-Member Services Division (EFO-MSD) has named Azizi Chaisson as its Employee of the Year.

Azizi is a seasoned phone agent with the Contact Support Unit who delivers great customer service by treating members with a high level of respect, never allowing her emotions to get the best of her, showing empathy toward member problems and going the extra mile to show members that LDH cares. She received 100% quality scores for the year.

Starmount Life (Dental) and Transamerica Life (Cancer) will implement rate increases effective January 1, 2024. Click here for more information.

If you have any questions about the rate changes, please contact one of the following administrative coordinators:

This is not a monitored email account. Please direct all LDH Today inquiries and submissions to ldhtoday@la.gov.

LDH is committed to the highest standards of conducting its affairs in full compliance with state and federal laws, regulations and policies. To report fraud, or other violations of federal and state laws and regulations or violations of LDH policies, send an email to LDHreportfraud@la.gov or call the Internal Audit Unit at (225) 342-7498. When making a report, particularly if you choose to remain anonymous, please provide as much information about the alleged activity as possible. Try to answer the questions of Who, What, When, Where and How.