SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

Baton Rouge - The LSU Health Care Services Division (HCSD) awarded Bogalusa Medical Center the second place award for most improved in its care of congestive heart failure patients at the 11th annual LSU HCSD Health Care Effectiveness Forum.

Numerous awards were dished out to the seven hospitals and employees in the LSU system during the forum and awards show held recently.

DAILY NEWS PHOTO/Jacob Brooks LSU Bogalusa Medical Center was awarded second place for most improved in its care of congestive heart failure patients during a recent event in Baton Rouge. Advertisement

Keynote speaker Dr. Michael Butler, HCSD acting chief executive officer, made one point exceeding clear: "It's about what you do," he said. "Here are the standards. Can you meet the standards? The awards are based on merit, not personality."

He praised hospitals and programs for putting systems for the delivery of quality health care into place and for achieving measurable results. He also emphasized his pleasure with the evidence he has seen of HCSD staff dedication and mindfulness to achieve these results. "I'm especially proud of the smaller hospitals-no excuses, just execution. You all got it done," he said, noting the smaller hospitals may not have all of the resources the larger ones have, but they persevere and succeed.

Speaking to all HCSD staff, he said, "I will tell you 100 percent that I have never been more proud, more satisfied than to work with a group of people who understand that we serve people."

He lauded staff for their accomplishments, noting that no other institution could get the value HCSD does with the resources that HCSD has.

However, he is not content for HCSD to rest on its laurels. "Our industry is not static," he said. "We must continue to look at how we can improve to move to the next level."

Awards included:

Earl K. Long Medical Center and University Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in asthma care.

University Medical Center and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved care for asthma patients.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and University Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in cancer screening.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center and Earl K. Long Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved cancer screening programs.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence for congestive heart failure care.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and Bogalusa Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved in their care of congestive heart failure patients.

University Medical Center and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in diabetic care.

Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved in diabetic care.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center and Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for clinical excellence in HIV/AIDS care.

University Medical Center and Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center received first and second place, respectively, for most improved care for their HIV/AIDS patients.

Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center received recognition for their patient satisfaction results, which have been consistently excellent.

Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center received first place for most improved patient satisfaction results while Earl K. Long Medical Center received recognition for the improvements they've made in their program to assess patient satisfaction.