From the Heart: Happy National Doctors Day!

Friday, March 31, 2023 | Vol. 4, No. 3

Here’s to our physicians!

Happy belated National Doctors Day!

This past Thursday, March 30, was the annual day set aside for people around the country to remember their local physicians for their commitment to their community. St. Tammany is no different.

Recently, St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman sent a message of gratitude to local physicians, and we thought it only appropriate to share excerpts from it here.

Let me be the first to say thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you for the long hours you continue to log in the name of your patients.

Thank you for the untold number of late-night phone calls you have fielded over the years from panicked patients and their families.

Thank you for your tireless dedication to remaining at the forefront of your field.

Thank you for being leaders in our community and pillars of strength, intellect and compassion.

Most of all, thank you for caring – for me, for my family, for my friends and for my neighbors across the Northshore.

Here in western St. Tammany Parish, we are blessed to have such an active and dedicated medical community. The Northshore is a better, healthier place thanks to your commitment.

So, allow me to say it again: Thank you, doctor. We see you. We appreciate you, and – all year round, but especially today – we celebrate you.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

We’re grateful to our physicians, and we’re grateful to you for trusting us with your family’s healthcare needs.

Please enjoy the following selection of recent St. Tammany Health System headlines.

On the air

Just a little less than a year ago, local leaders were working hard to launch Northshore Healthscape, an initiative to shape the Northshore region into a true healthcare destination. Now, almost a year into that project, where does Northshore Healthscape stand? St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman offered an update recently during a visit to The Lake 94.7-FM studios in Covington.

Listen

Meet STHS’ new director of Palliative Medicine

For most people, it’s an uncomfortable topic, one they’d rather not talk about or, in many cases, even think about.

But the new director of St. Tammany Health System’s Palliative Care program sees death differently.

“Death is inevitable. We’re all headed to that point,” said Dr. Farah Ali, DO. “And it’s so much harder for a patient and their family when it’s right at the end, they’re unprepared for it and everything is hitting them like a bag of bricks.”

It doesn’t have to be that way, though – which is where Palliative Care comes in, to help patients who have serious, even terminal medical conditions plan for the inevitable and maximize their quality of life for the time they have left.

Healthy eating

To mark National Nutrition Month, the experts at St. Tammany Parenting Center published a series of advice columns to help local residents most effectively meet their family’s nutritional needs. Today’s topic: healthy eating on a budget.

Celebrating nurses

Know a St. Tammany Health System nurse worth celebrating? Nominations are now open through April 30 for the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana celebration for 2023. Click the button below to nominate someone.

Great 100 Nurses

Simply the best

Congratulations to Dr. Victoria Blossman of the St. Tammany Physicians Network Folsom clinic, who this month was named the recipient of the St. Tammany Quality Network’s Medical Director’s Award for the first quarter of 2023.

Ask the experts

How do you know if your child is ready for a booster seat? And how can you tell it fits him or her properly? We’ve got the answers in our new “Ask the experts” column, in which our team of pros answer your health-related questions.

St. Tammany Health System