Monthly Archives: September 2019

Nebraska offensive line coach Greg Austin isn't exactly sure what clicked in Broc Bando's mind as he began his ascension in the program.

But Austin can pinpoint when the light came on for the third-year sophomore left tackle.

A 6-foot-5, 310-pounder from Lincoln, Bando at this time last year was a redshirt freshman on the scout team. On Friday mornings in the fall, scout-team players scrimmage before the team's regular practice, and Bando apparently got revved up for those workouts.

"Broc kind of took off from there," Austin said following Wednesday's practice. "He started owning his job, really putting in the effort. He really had a desire. He had an ambition to be better. Sure enough, that carried into spring ball. We saw him come on in spring ball and be a real dude. Come fall ball, he was the same guy."

Come Saturday, it's possible Bando could be Nebraska's starter at left tackle against Illinois in a 7 p.m. game in Champaign, Illinois. The 2-1 Huskers' regular starter at the position, junior Brenden Jaimes, suffered a left-leg injury with 11 minutes remaining in last week's 44-8 win against Northern Illinois. Although Jaimes practiced Wednesday in a limited fashion, it's unclear whether he'll be ready for duty against the Illini (2-1).

If Jaimes isn't ready, Austin seemingly has ample confidence in Bando. In fact, Austin said, Bando has made more progress than any Nebraska offensive lineman in the system since Husker coach Scott Frost and his staff arrived in late 2017 from Central Florida.

"He's a kid that when we first arrived, it took a long time to figure him out," Austin said. "He's not a weird kid by any means, but I believe as a coach you have to first connect with a kid before you correct him."

Some sort of connection obviously was made.

"He's a stout kid," Austin said. "And then you put the drive and tenacity with it, that's really been the difference with him. Beforehand, he was just kind of here. It was just kind of, 'I play football for Nebraska, I'm from Lincoln, I'm a local kid.' But more recently, about seven or eight months ago, he took ownership, and that ownership has led to his ascension as a player.

"I'm certainly proud of him and his future as an offensive lineman."

Nebraska offensive coordinator Troy Walters echoed those sentiments Wednesday.

"Broc did a great job Saturday night (after Jaimes went down)," Walters said. "Came in, did what was asked of him, so were very confident in him. One of the things we do, and we pride ourselves as coaches in this program, is in fall camp, guys are getting reps. Were going two fields, so the ones, the twos, the threes, the fours, everybodys getting reps, and thats beneficial.

"So we feel like we have depth. We feel like, if a guy goes down we have the 'next man up' mentality, and he stepped in and did a great job Saturday. And if his number is called, were confident that hes going to do the work again this week."

Bando attended Lincoln Southeast as a sophomore before finishing high school at IMG Academy in Florida. A standout at both tackle and guard, he helped the Ascenders finish 11-0 in 2016. Ranked as one of the nation's top 50 offensive guards in the 247Sports composite rankings, he chose Nebraska over offers from Louisville, Mississippi State, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Kansas State, among others.

Bando redshirted at Nebraska in 2017 and didn't appear in a game in 2018. But Austin kept pushing Bando. The coach figured out some of the right buttons to push, it seems.

"There's a little direct talk involved, as I like to call it," Austin said. "It's, hey, you need to clean this s---t up, you need to get this stuff done, rather than, 'Hey, it's OK.' I think he was kind of used to get treating like that. Whereas now it's know your job, do your job and do it again.

"That's the standard."

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Austin says Bando's ascension since last fall is result of desire to take ownership of role - College Heights Herald

by Andy Davis, CEO of Ascension Texas

The healthcare industry is experiencing a dramatic transformation. Reimbursement models are changing rapidly, and digital transformation is bringing new and dynamic competitors into the healthcare space. These changes impact the industry as a whole, but more specifically, rural healthcare providers are most impacted by the changes to traditional care delivery.More than 100 rural hospitals have closed across the country since 2010, and 17 of those hospital shutdowns were right here in Texas more than any other state in the country. Looking ahead, 21% of rural hospitals across the nation are at high risk of closing, according to Navigants analysis of CMS data.As healthcare leaders, we are cognizant and responsive to the fact that about 10% of physicians practice in rural America while nearly 20% of the U.S. population seeks care in rural communities.To combat the gaps in care which continue to grow for rural populations, Ascension Texas has launched telehealth and virtual care services to help maintain access to care. Ascension Texas Online Care is an online urgent care service that allows a patient to video chat with a virtual provider at any time 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a flat fee of only $49, no insurance necessary using a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Additionally, in 2017 Ascension Seton opened AscensionConnect in Austin, where the latest monitoring and connected health technologies are evaluated, piloted and utilized by multidisciplinary teams to provide services and deliver care within hospitals, clinics, and in the home around the clock.Looking forward to continuing support for rural communities, Ascension Texas will open the Elgin rural health clinic later this year, which is a multi-phase medical center complex that will offer primary and after-hours care in Elgin. The 5,000 square foot medical facility is a partnership between Seton and Elgin to provide much-needed medical services and facilities to the community in a manner that is financially viable and sustainable. The new center will be licensed as a Rural Health Clinic and include lab and x-ray. Additionally, Ascension Seton is building a micro-hospital in Bastrop that is scheduled to open in November, which was thoughtfully designed to evolve along with our communitys changing needs. The medical center will include an emergency department, inpatient rooms, procedures rooms, and imaging services. Medical office space on the second floor will offer families the convenience of primary and specialty care under one roof.Despite these approaches and innovations, many rural communities are struggling to access healthcare services; we want to continue to be a part of the solution. As we provide innovative access options and comprehensive community health locations, we can also lead the way with greater support of health profession programs to place graduates in rural areas; we are committed to connecting individuals in our local communities to high demand healthcare careers within our organization.Additionally, partnerships with transportation companies, clinics and other health organizations will be essential to make access to care safe and convenient for patients. Ascension Texas has made significant investments in helping a unique public safety air rescue program, STAR Flight, that performs everything from the transport of critically ill patients to firefighting, rescue to law enforcement and serves Travis County and 19 other counties within the Central Texas area. The STAR Flight program responds to people experiencing medical problems such as heart attacks or strokes or suffering from traumatic injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents or recreational activities, and regularly transports from rural hospitals patients who require a higher level or specialized care.To continue the conversation about access healthcare in rural communities, Ascension Seton is hosting a rural healthcare forum on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Civic Center in Luling, to discuss the future of rural & community hospitals across the state. Ascension Seton leadership will be joined by John Henderson, CEO of Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals, to address topics regarding rural hospitals throughout Texas, including how they are changing, what is impacting these hospitals, and what to expect in the future. Ascension Seton leadership will also discuss legislative policies that support rural communities and the Ascension Texas strategy around rural access to care.

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Rural healthcare forum Wednesday in Luling - Hays Free Press

Thursday

Menu: Ham and lima beans with rice, strawberry-kiwi juice, steamed spinach, cornbread, chocolate marshmallow snack cake.

Pilates: 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Gonzales

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Bingo: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Gonzales

Zumba: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville

Bingo: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville

Birthday Party: 10 a.m., Donaldsonville (sponsored by Humana)

Zumba: 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

Cajun Needlers: 12:30 p.m., Gonzales

Menu: Fall Special Chef salad with chicken and cheese over salad greens and ranch dressing, fruit, saltine crackers, apple crunch bar

Line Dancing: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville branch

Political Forum: 9:30 a.m., Gonzales

Bingo: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville

Walgreens Flu & Shot Clinic: 10 a.m. to noon, Donaldsonville

Canasta: 12:30 a.m., Gonzales

Menu: Beef tips with gravy over rice, Normandy blend vegetables, spinach romaine salad with Italian, white dinner roll, fruit and grain bar

Bingo: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

Beading: 9 a.m., Gonzales

Southern Ag-Nutrition Ed: 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

PIYO: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville

Bingo: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville (sponsored by Accord Rehab)

Gospel Music Etta Brown: 10 a.m., Gonzales

Fast Exercise: 10:45 a.m., Gonzales

Dominoes: 12:30 p.m., Gonzales

Tai Chi: 1 p.m., Gonzales

Menu: Sliced ham sandwich with American cheese on whole-wheat bread with lettuce/tomato/mayonnaise/mustard, carrot raisin salad, applesauce

Yoga: 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Gonzales

Bingo: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Gonzales

Zumba Gold: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville

Bingo: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville

Zumba: 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

Bridge: 11:30 a.m., Gonzales

Menu:Red beans and sausage over brown rice, mustard greens, salad with fat free ranch, cornbread, fruit

Bingo: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Gonzales, Sponsor Accord Rehab

PIYO: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville

Crafts: 9 a.m., Gonzales

Bingo: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville

Seated Tai Chi: 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

Line Dancing: 1 p.m., Gonzales

Menu: Hamburger with lettuce/tomato/pickle/mayo/mustard/ketchup, chuckwagon corn, pineapple cobbler

Pilates: 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Gonzales

Bingo: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Gonzales

Zumba: 9 a.m., Donaldsonville

Bingo: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Donaldsonville

Birthday Party: 10 a.m., Gonzales HC

Zumba: 10:30 a.m., Gonzales

Cajun Needlers: 12:30 p.m., Gonzales

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Ascension Council on Aging for Sept. 19, 2019 | Ascension - The Advocate

Among the 31 Louisiana 4-H members who participated in the Citizenship Washington Focus in Washington, D.C., this summer were four from Ascension Parish:Abby Lobell, Karlie Lobell, Stacey Kloosterman and Alex Sullivan.

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Citizenship Washington Focus is the premier 4-H leadership and citizenship program for high school students. The Louisiana participants toured several historical museums and monuments, including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the 9/11 Memorial, the National Cathedral and the Newseum. They met Louisiana congressmen, took part in a bill-writing workshop and created a community-action plan raising awareness of special needs.

For information on the Ascension Parish 4-H program, contact the Ascension Parish Extension office at (225) 621-5799.

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Ascension Parish 4-H sends four delegates to national convention in Washington, D.C. - The Advocate

A wave of executive departures, capped by the exit of CEO Mark Frey, has swept through Amita Health as the hospital chain grapples with a changing health care sector and works to integrate a major acquisition.

Seven of Amita's 19 hospitals lost their CEOs last month. Aug. 30 brought the resignation of Frey, who had led the Lisle-based organization since it was formed four years ago as a joint venture of national chains Ascension and AdventHealth. Amita didn't announce Frey's departure publicly, and it won't say why he and the other executives left.

C-suite turnover comes at a time when Amita is trying to adapt to turmoil in health care, where cost pressures are threatening traditional business models and driving consolidation. Executive turnover also complicates management challenges facing Amita, which doubled in size after absorbing Presence Health, a local Catholic chain with 10 hospitals that Ascension acquired last year.

Upheaval in executive ranks causes disruption, "which is never efficient and never good," says Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Gordon says Amita needs to guard against a loss of momentum as it looks for executives to fill the empty positions, particularly the CEO post. The new boss should have "clear marching orders to move quickly," he says. "You don't want the transition to drag on. You want to show those cost savings; you want to show the synergies."

In addition to folding Presence into Amita, Frey was in the process of retooling a hospital-centric business model amid growing pressure to reduce health care costs. Amita is beefing up outpatient and virtual care, as declining reimbursement rates pinch hospital revenues and new payment models push more care into less-expensive settings.

His plan involved streamlining Amita's outpatient footprint, which grew by 170 locations with the addition of Presence. Frey last year outlined plans to consolidate smaller sites with one or two doctors into large retail centers with specialists and ancillary services like imaging. Amita currently has more than 230 outpatient sites.

The hospital chain also has aggressively cut service lines at some facilities to save money on surgical equipment, space and staff. While the cost-cutting strategy also is intended to improve care by increasing patient volume at select facilities, it means patients could be forced to travel farther for treatment.

That's the case in Elgin and Elk Grove Village, where Amita plans to close mental health units at its hospitals upon approval from the state. The move prompted outrage from community members and elected officials.

Amita's plan to stop offering labor and delivery services at Amita Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston also faces opposition from community members who say it would hinder access to care. A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, Amita in June received approval from the state to end comprehensive physical rehabilitation at Amita Health St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago and open-heart surgery programs at St. Francis and Amita Health Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Medical Center in Chicago.

Cutting or consolidating clinical programs is "arguably necessary" for Amita "to take on bigger players in the market," says Anthony LoSasso, a professor at DePaul University who specializes in health care economics. But some hospital CEOs might not want to give up certain service lines, he adds, which creates a "real territorial fight."

There's stiff competition in Amita's service area, with large chains like Northwestern Medicine and Advocate Aurora Health competing for the same patients and doctors.

Even though many of its patients have private insurance or Medicarewhich pay hospitals more than MedicaidAmita is among the hospital chains that say Illinois' Medicaid managed care program for low-income patients significantly increased administrative costs. In March, it said about 35 full-time-equivalent employees were working on issues related to the program.

Amita was designed to grow with its owners, sources say, pointing to the success of 23-year-old Centura Health in Centennial, Colo., the joint venture between AdventHealth and Catholic Health Initiatives, which is now part of CommonSpirit Health.

Rare as they are, such arrangements appeal to Catholic chains like Ascension that want to grow while preserving their religious affiliations.

The changes at Amita mirror those at 151-hospital Ascension, which now owns nearly 80 percent of the facilities operating within the joint venture. Ascension's Alexian Brothers Health System, where Frey spent three decades, brought five hospitals to the deal in 2015. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth, formerly known as Adventist Health System, owns four Amita hospitals.

Ascension's new strategy emphasizes outpatient and virtual care, as well as ancillary businesses like revenue-cycle management. Several top executives left the St. Louis-based organization this year, followed by the July retirement of its chief, Anthony Tersigni. Former Chief Operating Officer Joseph Impicciche now serves as CEO.

Meanwhile, five Amita CEOs who oversaw a total of eight hospitals have quietly stepped down since February. The departures follow the January appointments of three regional operating teams, as well as a post-acute care team, to support the growing chain's new scale and geography.

Amita and Ascension declined interview requests, and a representative of 48-hospital AdventHealth did not respond to requests for comment.

Hospital CEOs who have been in the job for a while are used to being "generals on the proverbial battlefield," LoSasso says. "But, now, if you say the true general is the CEO of the whole entity and you're just the colonel, that sort of shift might not be well received and you could see some pushback. . . .(Amita has) to find qualified, committed people who are also willing to work with the broader leadership (team) to carry out the overall mission."

As Amita searches for a new leader, it will be led by interim co-CEOs Karen Springer, executive vice president of performance optimization and nursing operations at Ascension, and Eddie Soler, executive vice president of finance at AdventHealth.

Top brass turnover comes at a bad time for Amita Health was originally published in Crain's Chicago Business

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Top brass turnover comes at a bad time for Amita Health - ModernHealthcare.com

GALVEZ Ascension Parish workers and homeowner Kevin Delaune were hard at work recently on the Bert Delaune ditch north of Gonzales.

They were in the process of installing 5- by 6-foot box culverts and wooden bulkheads in the parish ditch that cuts diagonally across Kevin Delaune's property north of La. 44 and Bertville Road.

Visible to drivers on busy La. 44, along with the election sign for Parish Councilman Dempsey Lambert in Delaune's front yard, the work has drawn fire on social and local media sites as a sign of improper election-time parish work on private property.

Delaune, 51,who has lived on the property for 30 years with his wife and has seen the online commentary, said that while he has known Lambert for years and is supporting his reelection, his support has nothing to do with the job.

Delaune said he has been trying for nearly four years to have the parish help him replace an old wooden bridge over the lateral. The parish supplied The Advocate with his work order from November 2015.

"People want to take pictures of Dempsey's (sign). That man ain't got a ... damn thing to do with what's going on over here," said Delaune, who said he is originally from Napoleonville and isn't related to the Delaune family that owns hardware and grocery stores in Ascension.

Lambert, who represents the Galvez area where Delaune lives, is facing an election challenge this year from Cheryl Malbrough. Lambert is a Republican; Malbrough is an independent.

Lambert called any allegations of impropriety with the work a "complete lie."

"We followed all the policies and procedures with this job," he said in a recent interview.

Parish officials say the work is part of a standard deal it offers landowners to replace damaged culverts used to cross parish ditches and access private property: The parish provides the engineering specifications and does the labor; the landowner supplies a culvert built to parish requirements.

"The parish will do this for any resident who meets the criteria," saidMartin McConnell, parish government spokesman.

Though in practice for many years, the East Ascension drainage board formalized the policy on April 20, 2017, and publicized it online.

According to parish engineering estimates, the ditch running through Delaune's property drains nearly 107 acres upstream, including homes across La. 44 from Delaune in the Old Hickory Avenue area. The parish sized the planned culverts to handle a 25-year rainfall event, a newer and more robust parish drainage standard than the one from a few years ago, parish documents show.

According to Delaune and a parish spokesman, Delaune did not have the money in March 2016 when parish engineers first designed the culverts after his initial request. Delaune, who is a heavy crane operator on the Mississippi River, said a concrete yard wanted $8,900 for culverts custom-built to the parish specifications, which Delaune said he could not afford.

Martin McConnell, parish government spokesman, said Delaune's work order was left open but he recently obtained the money to buy the materials and called the parish in August to do the job.

Delaune said he went back recently to the same yard and asked to buy a precast culvert that was bigger than what the parish required at a cost of about $5,000, providing more drainage capacity at less cost for surrounding homes.

The now removed bridge was originally installed on Delaune's property years before he owned the land to give the parish access to cut grass along the ditch. The parish has 15-foot-wide servitudes along each side of the ditch, McConnell said.

About 15 years ago, Delaune said he told the parish he would cut the ditch so workers would stop using the heavy equipment that he said was rutting his yard. Since then, the parish installed another bridge downstream, making the bridge in Delaune's yard unnecessary for parish ditch maintenance.

The old bridge became Delaune's responsibility, he said, because it only served as an access to the back part of his property, which has a home and storage sheds on it but is separated from La. 44 by the parish ditch. The property is landlocked from access to other roads besides the highway, parish assessment records show.

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Ascension Parish, landowner defend ditch work in Galvez - The Advocate

Construction is expected to start Monday on a nearly $10 million project to replace three aged bridges that cross bayous under Airline Highway in Ascension and East Baton Rouge parishes.

The more-than-yearlong project will replace both bridges over Bayou Manchac at the Ascension-East Baton Rouge parish line and also, 1 miles to the southeast, the southbound bridge over Bayou Francois in Gonzales, a state highway department spokeswoman said.

State highway officials said they don't anticipate any closures on Monday but drivers should expect to seecrane operations on the southwest end of the Manchac bridges to install test piles.

The Manchac bridges are near the State Fairgrounds, which is BREC's Airline Highway Park, in Baton Rouge.

All three bridges on Airline, which is also known as U.S. 61, were built in the early 1950s.

"Being 60 (-plus) years old, they have reached their expected design life for bridge structures constructed at that time," Brandie Richardson, the state Department of Transportation and Development spokeswoman, wrote in an email Friday.

Richardson added that the bridges are not in failing condition at the present time, despite their age, but DOTD is moving to replace them before they get to that point.

She said DOTD identifiesas priorities for replacement or repairthose bridges with traffic weight postings that are also part of the National Highway System.

"U.S. 61 is part of the NHS and is a heavily-used truck route," Richardson said.

James Construction Group was awarded the $9.96 million job, Richardson said.The work isn't expected to be finished until late 2020 and drivers should watch for future updates.

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Bridge replacements on Airline Highway to begin Monday in East Baton Rouge, Ascension - The Advocate