St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance

The radiologic technology clinical option will be offered through Southeastern Louisiana University’s health studies degree program. It will be available to students who have already completed a diploma or associate degree program and who hold basic certification. The new program will provide these students the opportunity to earn a baccalaureate degree while pursuing clinical training in computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

The St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance (STHA), an employer-driven initiative dedicated to strengthening the healthcare industry in St. Tammany Parish, has named its new officers for 2008-2009.

Scott Boudreaux, CEO of Ochsner’s Northshore Region, has been elected chairman. “I am pleased to be given the opportunity to work closely with the other members of the STHA to continue the mission of expanding the healthcare workforce in our parish. We will continue to explore ways to provide quality healthcare to our residents,” he states.

“The Healthcare Alliance has made great strides in its short history, and I look forward to being a part of our future endeavors as we continue to address the healthcare workforce shortage our parish is facing,” added Eric Evans, COO of Lakeview Regional Medical Center and the STHA’s newly elected treasurer and outgoing chairman.

David Guzan, CEO of Fairway Medical Center, will fill the position of chair-elect. He explains, “While our mission is to address healthcare workforce shortages, we also have several other concerns that coincide with this issue, such as the need for workforce transportation and housing, which we are currently focused on as well.”

Founded in October 2005, the STHA consists of local hospitals, health centers and clinics, education and training providers, and the St. Tammany East and West Chambers of Commerce. Jan Robert is the Executive Director.

The goal of the STHA is to address critical workforce shortage issues by developing systems for the recruitment, retention and training of skilled healthcare workers. Through action-oriented solutions, the STHA intends to create and implement a sustainable strategy for rebuilding and advancing this essential industry.

The members of the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance have recently met to address the transportation needs of entry-level workforce in area hospitals and nursing homes. As a result of this meeting, a Northshore transit study is currently underway.

For the first part of this process, the seven member hospitals and three local nursing homes provided a list of all their employees by zip code for the purpose of determining how many current employees are commuting to their jobs from outside of St. Tammany Parish. The analysis included commuters from Mississippi, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes, rural areas in St. Tammany Parish (Pearl River, Sun, Bush, Folsom, and Talisheek), and the Southshore. Results from the study are as follows:

Out of 5,657 total employees at Fairway Medical Surgical Hospital, Lakeview Regional Medical Center, Louisiana Medical Center & Heart Hospital, NorthShore Regional Medical Center, Ochsner Northshore Health System, Slidell Memorial Hospital, St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Forest Manor Nursing Home, Greenbriar Nursing Home, and Heritage Manor of Mandeville:

Thus, 34% of all employees from these ten facilities commute to work.

The next step of the Northshore transit study was completed in June. Employees of the seven hospitals included in this study were chosen at random to complete a brief 12-question survey to determine how they currently get to work, if their means are reliable, and if they would consider using a system of *workforce transportation.

This information will be used by the St Tammany Parish government to develop a statement of need for funding. These survey results will also assist in designing and mapping routes for the transportation system. Parish officials are optimistic that this transportation system to support workforce needs will be in place by the end of 2008.

* Workforce transportation is the method of transporting healthcare workers to and from their places of employment. When transportation is requested by the commuter, a van will pick up the individual either at their home or a nearby point of pickup for a nominal fee.