September 18, 2023

Flu Vaccines Start This Week

As we approach the start of flu season, Woman's Employee Health will begin offering flu vaccinations for employees on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against the flu is to get a flu vaccination every year. The flu vaccine prevents illnesses, medical visits, and hospitalizations, and is an important preventative tool for people with chronic health conditions.

Employees who do not receive the flu vaccine will need to complete a declination form and turn it into Employee Health. If you got your flu vaccine outside of Woman’s, please bring documentation of vaccination to Employee Health in person to receive your ID badge tag.

Main Campus in Employee Health Beginning Sept. 20:
No appointment necessary

Monday-Friday: 6:45 AM-3:15 PM
Extended Hours: 6:00 AM-4:00 PM on Sept. 20, 21, 25, 26 and 28

Woman's Center for Wellness

Monday, Oct. 2, 12:00-1:30 PM

BAT Center

Wednesday, Oct. 4, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM

Contact Employee Health at 924-8144 with questions.

Strategic Plan Update

In case you missed it, Rene Ragas announced earlier this morning that Woman's will open an inpatient pregnancy and postpartum mental health unit, a level II PICU and will expand service offerings around Urogynecology.

A perinatal mental health unit at Woman’s Hospital will be the first of its kind in Louisiana and one of only several in the United States solely dedicated to the specialized needs of pregnant and postpartum women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, maternal mental health conditions, such as anxiety, perinatal and postpartum depression, and birth-related PTSD, are among the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting one in five women. Of those affected, 75% go untreated. Additionally, mental health conditions are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States.

In addition to opening up this new service line, we will also focus on expanding and enhancing the care we provide to our NICU babies. In doing so, Woman’s will reopen a level II Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) that will provide an extension of inpatient treatment for our NICU babies ages 6-18 months. Redesignating six existing NICU beds to be able to care for PICU patients would enable Woman’s Hospital team members to continue providing care through the end of their hospital stays.

Click here to read the press release on Womans.org.

2023 Nightingale Awards and Gala

Woman's own Chief Nursing Officer Cheri Johnson and Clinical Nurse Educator Lauren Holmes were honored with Nightingale Awards at the Louisiana Nurses Foundation Annual Nightingale Awards and Gala on Saturday, Sept. 16.

With more than three decades of nursing and leadership experience, Cheri was recognized as the 2023 Nursing Administrator of the Year. Cheri’s career path has centered around women’s health and improving the health of women and families. Recognizing that heart disease is among the top causes of morbidity and mortality among women, Cheri is a passionate advocate for improving cardiovascular health among Louisiana’s women. For several years, she has been an active member/volunteer with the Capital Area chapter of the American Heart Association. Cheri served as the volunteer chair of the 2023 Capital Area Heart Walk and is now serving as the immediate past chair for the 2024 event. Each of these positions is a year-long commitment that rallies the community around heart health and is celebrated on walk day. Under her leadership of the 2023 Heart Walk, more than 55 companies and 4,000 people attended and/or raised about $500,000 to fund research and programs to fight heart disease in the Capital Area.

Lauren Holmes, clinical nurse educator, was also awarded the 2023 Clinical Nurse Educator Award. Lauren is responsible for the ongoing education and training of 250+ employees in obstetrics and conducts interprofessional simulations and drills monthly. She developed a 20-week orientation process for new graduate nurses that is exceptional. Lauren created two simulation days to help our new nurses learn by hands-on training. She has a huge impact on nursing outcomes as she leads our onboarding and orientation programs for the unit and is involved in nursing orientation and the Transition to Practice program at the hospital level.

Congratulations to Cheri and Lauren, and to the 2023 nominees from Woman's Hospital: Camryn Wallace, Rookie of the Year nominee; Janice Walters, Registered Nurse of the Year nominee and Jessica Lejune, Registered Nurse Mentor of the Year nominee.

This Week: Critical Shortage Blood Drive

The blood supply at Our Lady of the Lake Blood Donor Center is at a critical level. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, blood banks have seen a drastic decrease in donors, affecting patients all over — including right here at Woman's.

If you are able to give, please consider donating blood or plasma at our employee blood drive next week at Woman's Hospital. As a thank you for helping save a life, all donors will receive an LSU-inspired T-shirt.

Woman's Hospital
Wednesday, Sept. 20 | 12:00-6:00 PM
Thursday, Sept. 21 | 6:30 AM-1:30 PM

Get One Free Fountain Drink in Woman's Way Cafe

Complete the Food Services Survey and get One Free Fountain Drink.

The Woman's Way Cafe is run by the dining and food service organization, Cura. While they are a separate entity, they are still a part of the Woman's team and work toward our common goal of serving patients.

Help our team in the Cafe improve the dining program at Woman's by completing the short survey linked below. Your honest feedback will help identify the areas they are excelling in and the areas that can be improved. Now is your chance to let them know what you'd like to see in the Cafe!

Upon completion, participants will receive a voucher for a free fountain drink as a thank you by the Friday, Sept. 29, deadline.

Take the Survey & Get a Free Beverage

Battle for the Boot

LSU vs. Arkansas Football Ticket Raffle

Woman's employees can enter to win 4 tickets to the LSU vs. Arkansas game on Saturday, Sept 23, at 6:00 PM. The deadline to enter is noon on Thursday, Sept. 21. The winner must be able to pick up the tickets from the hospital by 4:30 on Friday, Sept. 22. Limit one entry per employee.

Enter to Win

Hispanic Heritage Month Event

Join guest speaker Elvira Jacquez at our next inclusion event, Beginning Spanish for Healthcare Providers, on Thursday, Sept. 28.

This engaging, one-hour event will teach participants basic Spanish phrases and words, including a few specifically pertaining to healthcare. This is just one baby step to hopefully move us forward as an organization as we strive to break down any and all language barriers to healthcare.

Beginning Spanish for Healthcare Providers
Thursday, September 28
1:00-2:00 PM | Conference Room 3
Add to Calendar

Fall into Fitness

A FREE Health and Wellness Fair at the Woman's Center for Wellness.

All women are invited to attend the free health and wellness event on Wednesday, Sept. 20, from 9:00 AM-1:00 PM, featuring health screenings, door prizes, class demos, spa services, light refreshments and more! This event is sponsored by Athleta, Main Squeeze, Varsity Sports and Fully Fit Meals. Click here for more information and to register for the free event!

Health Screenings

Girth/Circumference Measurements
Upper Body Strength
Lower Body Strength
Balance Assessment
Pre-diabetes Screening Test
Height/Posture Assessments

Class Demos

Spiro Stretch
9:15 - 10:00 AM
Shine Dance Fitness
10:15 - 11:00 AM

Spa Services

10-minute massages for $10
15-minute mini facials for $15
15% off all skincare

Door Prizes

50-minute Swedish massage
Nutritional Supplements Bundle
(2) Health Coaching Add-On
Athleta Fitness Wear
Varsity Sports Gift Basket

EVS Award Winners

Join us in congratulating the following recipients of the 2023 Environmental Services Award:

Sondra Franklin (Day Shift)
Shaketa London (Evening Shift)
Nicholas Dabney (POB Shift)
Lorraine Lathers (Night Shift)

The Environmental Services Award is given to one employee on each shift who exemplifies focus, teamwork, dedication, motivation, and inspiration. These team members have gone above and beyond the call of duty at each assignment and never hesitated when asked to help out.

Thank you for everything you do for Woman's Hospital!

EVS Award Winner Lorraine Lathers

EVS Award Winner Sondra Franklin

EVS Award Winner Nicholas Dabney

EVS Award Winner Shaketa London

Peggy Dean Named Hospital Pharmacist of the Year

Louisiana Pharmacists Association

Woman’s Hospital Director of Pharmacy Peggy Dean, RPh, MBA, was named Hospital Pharmacist of the Year for the second time by the Louisiana Pharmacists Association. The announcement was made at the association’s annual convention where she was also elected to LPA’s Board of Directors.

Peggy has served as Woman’s Director of Pharmacy for more than 25 years. She has held leadership positions with Capital Area Pharmacists Association and the South Central Chapter of Louisiana Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists and currently serves as a Research Grant Peer Reviewer for American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists Foundation.

Awarded annually, LPA’s Hospital Pharmacist of the Year award recognizes a pharmacist who improves health care through significant contributions to their hospital and the profession of pharmacy while upholding the high professional standards of LPA.

Join us in congratulating Peggy on this outstanding accomplishment!

Dynamic Shopping Lifestyle Event

Supporting the Woman's Auxiliary

Woman's Auxiliary is hosting a special fundraising event for employees on Sept. 25-26. Join us in Conference Rooms 4 and 5 for the Dynamic Lifestyle event to shop for electronics, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, purses, wallets, housewares and so much more. Click here to download the event flyer.

Monday, Sept. 25, 7:00 AM-5:00 PM
Tuesday, Sept. 26, 7:00 AM-4:00 PM

Payment options include cash, card and payroll deduction.

NEW: Employee Discount Offerings

New Orleans Pelicans and Saints

The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans are proud to offer discounted Healthcare tickets to all Woman’s Hospital employees. Thank you for working tirelessly to keep our communities healthy!

New Orleans Pelicans
Save up to 50% off on New Orleans Pelicans tickets by using this link to access your discounts for all home Pelicans games (you can purchase discounted tickets for your family & friends as well).
New Orleans Saints
Due to limited availability for Saints tickets, please reach out to Caroline Yates including your phone number in the email so she can contact you directly about ticket availability and pricing.

To receive healthcare offers and other special promotions, join the Pelicans Healthcare Program by clicking here.

If you have any questions or looking to bring your group to a game, please contact Caroline Yates.

Emergency Power Systems Test

Facilities Management will test the Emergency Power Systems on Friday, Sept. 22, from 4:30-6:45 AM.

During this time, all emergency power to the hospital will be provided via the emergency generators. Contact the Director of Facilities Management, Martin Albores, with any questions or concerns.

During that time, expect the following:

Emergency power sources in your area will switch off and then back on at the beginning and end of the test (red outlets).
To prevent any carriers from getting lost, the Pneumatic Tube system will be shut down from 4:15-7:00 AM.
Elevators will not be available from 4:30-4:35 AM and again between 5:10-5:25 AM in five-minute intervals. (NOTE: If you are on an elevator when it shuts down, it will let you off on the first floor before shutting down.)

Please report any equipment that fails to operate on critical or emergency power circuits as soon as possible.

Continuing Education courses are available to all employees,
clinical and non-clinical.

Healthcare
Ergonomics

Thursday, September 21
12:00-1:00 PM

Learn More