LSU HEALTH NAMES NEW INTERIM CHANCELLOR; YICK TO SERVE AS STRATEGIC ADVISOR
LSU President F. King Alexander announced Dr. G. E. Ghali as the LSU Health Shreveport interim chancellor. Victor Yick, a seasoned healthcare management professional nationally and internationally, will serve in a strategic advisory position for LSU Health Shreveport.
Alexander said the extended deliberations on the positions were necessary to find the best combination of medical and financial talents, while managing the impending cuts in state general funds. Ghali has tremendous academic credentials and respect in the community, while Yick brings extensive financial and operational expertise, Alexander said.
Ghali and Yick will work to secure LSU Health’s financial stability. Yick will also be tasked with developing a long-term clinical growth plan that will increase revenue opportunities to support the mission of LSU Health Shreveport.
Ghali is the senior partner in WK Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Institute. He is also professor and chairman of the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at LSU Health Shreveport Health Sciences Center, where he holds the Jack W. Gamble Chair in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and is director of the cleft and craniofacial surgery fellowship program.
Yick has extensive health-care experience at several academic medical centers including SUNY Stony Brook Medical Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, Boston’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital associated with Harvard Medical School, and the University of California San Francisco. Yick has previously served as project manager for the development of the Dubai University Medical Center, and president of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
CHRISTUS OPENS FOURTH SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTER
CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier in partnership with Caddo Parish Public Schools and the City of Shreveport’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative held a grand opening for the school-based health center at Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark Elementary. This school-based health center will provide students access to services such as medical, nursing, oral health, nutrition education and health promotion.
The school-based health center is a result of CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier, Caddo Parish Public Schools and City of Shreveport’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative working together for the betterment of the students at Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark Elementary.
CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier has four school-based health centers at Atkins Technology Elementary, Linwood Public Charter School, Woodlawn Leadership Academy and now Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark Elementary. The school-based health centers are one of the 17 signature Children’s Miracle Network Hospital programs at CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier. The money raised through CMN Hospital fundraisers directly impacts all of the 17 signature programs.
FOUNDATION SEEKS ANGEL NOMINATIONS
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2016 Angel Awards through April 8. Now in its 21st year, The Angel Award program recognizes Louisiana volunteers who perform extraordinary work for children in need. The foundation will also make a $20,000 grant to the Louisianabased charity represented by each honoree.
Foundation President Michael Tipton said the Angel Awards have recognized more than 160 Angels in almost every imaginable walk of life since 1995. “If you know someone doing good work, it doesn’t matter whether they have a big title or a long legacy. Our experience has taught us that Angels are all around us, making progress in changing the lives of children,” he said.
Indeed, previous Angel Award honorees represent all vocations and include retirees, students and everything in between. Each was chosen for one reason: their impact on the lives of Louisiana’s kids through countless hours of devotion.
“We know without a doubt that there are many everyday people going above and beyond to enhance the physical, emotional, creative or spiritual lives of children – but we need their friends, families and neighbors to let us know who they are,” Tipton added.
Find more information, including rules and guidelines, and a nomination form online at www.ourhomelouisiana.org.
LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND EARNS EMPLOYMENT GROWTH AWARD
Louisiana Association for the Blind was honored by National Industries for the Blind, the nation’s largest employment resource for people who are blind, with the 2015 Employment Growth Award. The award recognizes LAB’s efforts to increase employment retention, growth and upward mobility for people who are blind.
“We are proud to provide employment opportunities for people who are blind in Northwest Louisiana,” Shelly Taylor, LAB president and CEO, said.
Employment Growth Award recipients receive a cash payment from a fund created to recognize and encourage NIB associated nonprofit agencies that grow or sustain employment for people who are blind. Emphasis is also placed on efforts to increase upward mobility in the workplace and job placements.
ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION RENEWS LOCAL CENTER’S GRANT
The Philadelphia Center announced the Elton John AIDS Foundation has renewed a grant for a third year to fund HIV advocacy work at the center. This grant is a crucial source of funding for the advocacy program at the Philadelphia Center, the only AIDS service organization in Northwest Louisiana.
The focus of advocacy changes with the needs of clients, trends in state politics and current events that require immediate action. The main issue the advocacy department addresses is the outdated HIV Criminalization statute here in Louisiana. The advocacy department’s role is to empower our clients to confront issues that further perpetuate stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV, to speak up on behalf of the clients of The Philadelphia Center; and all people affected by HIV/AIDS, and to educate policymakers and the greater community about HIV/AIDS.
If you have an advocacy issue or would like to have our Advocacy Coordinator Chip Eakins speak your organization or group, contact him at ceakins@philadelphiacenter. org, or call 222-6633, ext. 2029.
