Three New Health District Hospital Partnerships Bring Innovation through Collaboration

BATON ROUGE, La. – Three recently announced partnerships among hospitals in the Baton Rouge Health District are bringing innovation to the area through collaboration.

“Our goal at the Baton Rouge Health District is to foster and promote healthcare synergies and partnerships,” said Baton Rouge Health District Executive Director Steven Ceulemans. “Seeing all of these new collaborations take shape is truly exciting for the Baton Rouge community.” 

Baton Rouge General (BRG) and The Baton Rouge Clinic (the Clinic) announced they are the newest members of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a group of independent health systems selected to work with Mayo Clinic to offer world-class care to patients and communities around the country. They are the first health care organizations in Louisiana to join the Network.

Patients, through their physician, will have access to the latest Mayo Clinic research and treatment recommendations at no additional cost and close to home. By combining their trusted local physicians’ understanding of their unique medical needs with Mayo Clinic expertise, patients can often avoid the expense and inconvenience of additional appointments and travel.

“We know that patients want more access and convenience, a shift that is fundamentally changing the way we provide care,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, CEO of Baton Rouge General. “This collaboration means our patients can work with their existing BRG physician to take advantage of Mayo Clinic’s research and resources, without leaving their homes and families.”

Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center announced it is launching a new cardio-oncology clinic, providing a focus on heart health. Through this initiative, Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center and Our Lady of the Lake Heart & Vascular Institute are combining their individualized, innovative approaches to form the cardio-oncology clinic.

“As the number of cancer patients and survivors continues to rise nationwide, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in patients who have received cancer therapies is also increasing,” said Leon Cannizzaro, MD, lead of the cardio-oncology clinic and cardiologist, Our Lady of the Lake Louisiana Cardiology Associates. “Cardiotoxicity is a potential side effect of many cancer therapies. Anticancer drugs and radiation are designed to target and eliminate tumor cells, but there can also be collateral injury to other healthy tissues, like the heart. Patients at risk can benefit greatly by having their cardiac health closely monitored before, during, and after treatment.”

Expanding on a 40-year partnership between Our Lady of the Lake and The NeuroMedical Center, the two healthcare organizations announced a new 20-bed Neuro Intensive Care Unit located on the ninth floor of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.

“Nowhere in Louisiana are there more cutting-edge devices and procedures to help physicians treat neurological emergencies better and faster than at Our Lady of the Lake,” said Steven Gremillion, MD, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake. “Through our unique partnership with The NeuroMedical Center, we are doing things in Baton Rouge not seen in the entire southeastern United States.”

The new dedicated Neuro Intensive Care Unit brings Baton Rouge to the leading-edge of stroke care in Louisiana, and expands the footprint as a destination center for comprehensive stroke and neurological care in Baton Rouge, the State of Louisiana and Southern Mississippi.

These recent partnerships follow the announcement of the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute between Our Lady of the Lake and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, recruiting world-renowned bariatric surgeon Dr. Schauer to Baton Rouge.

For more information, visit brhealthdistrict.com.

About the Baton Rouge Health District

The Baton Rouge Health District is a nonprofit organization that promotes collaboration among healthcare providers, government officials, higher education institutions and others to implement a master plan that will enhance healthcare and economic development in Baton Rouge. Health District Members: Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Ochsner Health System, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, and Woman's Hospital.