Monthly Archives: April 2022

Dive Brief:

In an era of increasing hospital mergers, the decision by the two faith-based organizations to go their separate ways is unusual, particularly when the financial struggles brought by COVID-19 are expected to accelerate consolidation in the sector. A shortage of nurses and surge in labor and supply costs are among the difficulties that have challenged health systems during the pandemic.

St. Louis-based Ascension, one of the country's largest nonprofit healthcare systems, reported in February that expenses outpaced revenue growth in the first half of its fiscal year, slashing its operating margin from 5.7% to 0.2%. The chain operates more than 2,600 care sites, including 142 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities, across 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The original Amita Health joint venture grew in 2018 with the addition of Presence Health, which brought 10 more hospitals and more than 150 sites of care into the fold. After the acquisition, Amitadiscontinued some service lines at three of the former Presence hospitals due to low utilization, Crain's Chicago Business reported.

When Ascension and AdventHealth announced the breakup of their Amita Health partnership in October, AdventHealth said both systems had decided that separating would allow them to be more nimble in the evolving healthcare environment.

AdventHealth said it has appointed Thor Thordarson as president and CEO for the Great Lakes region, which includes the facilities and medical groups in Illinois. Thordarson, who began his healthcare career as a nurse, previously was Amita Health's chief operating officer.

AdventHealth has more than 50 hospitals in seven states, along with 73 skilled nursing, home health, hospice and urgent care facilities.

Amita Health CEO Keith Parrottwill serve as the leader of the Ascension Illinois hospitals and facilities.

See the article here:

Ascension, AdventHealth make breakup official, renaming hospitals - Healthcare Dive

Staff Report| Donaldsonville Chief

Anna Blanchard, an 8th grade student at St. Theresa Middle School, was the lone middle school student to compete in the Ascension Icon competitionheld March 31 at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center Trademart building in Gonzales.

Blanchard, who is from Donaldsonville and the daughter of Beau and Laurie Blanchard, was voted as fan favorite.

In the first round, she sang Heart's classic power ballad "What About Love."

Anna described her experience at Ascension Icon as "unforgettable" and plans to audition again next year.

Ascension Icon, established in 1991,is an annual competition and fundraiser benefiting the Ascension Fund.

The Ascension Fund has supported the public school system in Ascension Parish, providing grants to teachers for innovative and creative methods of learning in the classroom.

According to its website, the fundhas awarded more than 1,400 grant awards totaling more than $1.6 million.

Continued here:

St. Theresa 8th grader wins fan favorite in Ascension Icon competition - Donaldsonville Chief

GEISMAR, La. (BRPROUD) The Special Olympics Time Trial Run in Ascension is back after taking a two-year break.

I liked being a star at the race, said Joshua Maruschak, an athlete in the race.

These students, this is their Super Bowl, said event coordinator Chelsea Poche.

Over 100 individuals in primary, middle, and high school with physical and mental disabilities from Ascension Parish joined together to compete in this race and for a chance to compete in the state race in Hammond.

When asked how did this event make him feel, player Quinton Holmes said, AWESOME! Awesome, cool, and pretty good.

They are celebrated and they get to showcase their capabilities, Poche said. So, we are all here cheering them on.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Weber says this is not only big for athletes but for him as well.

It does us better than it does the kids. I mean, to see the smile on their faces, that should warm our hearts because its really encouraging, said Weber. They teach us lessons, sometimes, right?

Community helpers say the event helps them with sportsmanship, camaraderie, and confidence.

Community buddy Michael Stewart said, We get to take them and just let them experience like normal everyday activities because they deserve to experience these kinds of things every day just like we do because they are normal just like us.

Players from this event say they had a blast. Ascension Parish has plans of keeping this going for years and years to come.

Read the rest here:

Special Olympics Time Trial Run in Ascension returns after 2 years - BRProud.com

The Miami Heat have needed all that they could get from their guys over the last week or so. Every single thing that they have given has been necessary for them to shake back from what was the incident on last week.

Among many other things that have seemed to take place with this team over the past seven days or so, there has been one thing that has been very apparent. Max Struss insertion into the starting lineup.

Now, as recently as this past summer, a particular person on a particular platform (yes, this one), foresaw what was to be anotherleap from Max Strus. To be quite frank, it was called a Duncan Robinson-like ascension.

Now, even the great soothsayer that is the guy behind the keyboard, the one that saw the ascension coming, couldnt have predicted it would come at the cost of Duncan Robinson.

While you absolutely love what Max is doing, you hate to see Duncan fall like he has, but thats a different topic that will have to be covered at some point moving forward.

On the topic of Strus though, his game has catapulted to another level. While his ability to knock down the long ball off of many different platforms, looks, angles, and spots is certainly something to behold, that isnt what has helped transform him, this lineup, or his fortune in the league right now.

What separates Max Strus from most elite shooters and even his counterpart in Duncan Robinsonis hiseverything else. To be quite frank again, Strus has a ton of game that he can get to at any given moment and yes, the Miami Heat are just scratching the surface of it with him.

If you had thought that you had seen all thatBig Maxhad to offer, then you should probably think again. Ironically enough, two of the teams that the Miami Heat had the fortune of taking down in their own places over the last few days had Strus prior to him joining the Miami Heat.

That would be the Boston Celtics and his hometown Chicago Bulls. Thats so sad for them.

Its great for the Miami Heat though and the fans. Do you want to know why?

Because the Max Strus ascension is in full tilt and the beststill may be yet to come with this guy.

See the article here:

Miami Heat: Max Strus Ascension In Full Tilt But Not Nearly Peaking - All U Can Heat

The Moving Health Home coalition is working to acquire additional data and long-term solutions to establish a permanent hospital-at-home care program for patients in the wake of uncertainty as the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver may come to an end.

Intermountain Healthcare, Ascension and Amazon Care, the founding members of the coalition, are looking to disrupt the current model of care by advocating for hospital-at-home programs.

The coalition, formed on March 3, 2021, aims to change federal and state policy to enable the home to be a clinical site of care.

Nathan Starr, DO, medical director for home services at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, spoke to Becker's Hospital Review about how the colatition is moving along efforts to make sure care is being moved to patients.

Question: Moving Health Home supports and updates healthcare policy changes to designate the home as a site of clinical service. What significant policy changes has the coalition made or proposed?

Dr. Nathan Starr: There's a lot going on in that space right now. One of the things the coalition did was present a letter to Congress, signed by more than 35 different health systems, to support the extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver. We wanted to take advantage of the existing momtemum of the program.

We know that this may not be the best long-term solution for hospital-at-home care, but we thought it would continue the momentum to give time to decide what is the best long-term solution for these kinds of programs.

Q: How did the coalition identify that hospital-at-home care was a need for patients?

NS: We conducted a survey to analyze the importance of hospital-at-home care for our patients.

We found out that patients want care in the home. Out of those who had received it, 85 percent said they would recommend it to other patients. So that was our first step, to identify why care in the home needs to move forward.

Q: What is the coalition working on to improve advocacy for home hospital care?

We're looking at the cost of care in the home. It's really important to us that this ends up being a cheaper model of care, so we can pass that savings onto our patients and the payers. That's the next big piece we're working on in the coalition. We need to make sure we are not adding on medical expenses with this model of care.

We also talk a lot about replacing hospital days and acute hospitalizations. We are looking at how we can admit patients to care at home that would otherwise need to be admitted into a hospital, and that we are truly replacing the hospitalization and decreasing the overall expense.

Q: Why is this hospital-at-home advocacy so important, and what do you think can be accomplished from it?

NS: The coalition wants a five- to 10-year vision. We feel that healthcare needs to move care to patients, move care to where patients are at and move care out of the high-cost settings.

This model of care can help keep patients happy and healthier.

If we do it right or do it close to right everyone wins. The patient gets to heal at home, the payer wins because it's a cheaper model of care and the health system wins because it can save money and offload some of our busy hospitals.

This is a win-win-win for everyone.

More here:

How Intermountain, Ascension and Amazon Care coalition is advocating for permanent hospital-at-home care - Becker's Hospital Review

Before I begin, lets go ahead and rip the band-aid off. Barring a last-second change of heart, Malaki Branhams Ohio State career is over. In June, hell become the first one-and-done of Chris Holtmanns career and the highest Buckeye taken in the NBA Draft since DAngelo Russell went second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Branham told ESPN last week that if he receives feedback from teams that hell be a first-round pick, he will not be returning to school. And right now, finding a mock draft with Branham going outside of the first round hell, outside of the top 20 is about as easy as finding gas for under $3.50/gallon.

In other words: he is gone.

So how did we get here? Absolutely nobody myself included thought Branham would be NBA-bound after one season. I didnt think that when he committed to Ohio State back on July 22, 2020. I didnt think that when he enrolled at Ohio State last summer, and I still didnt think it halfway through the season. Malaki was a top-40 player in his class and a four-star recruit. He was always going to be a great player, but a first-round pick at age 19, potentially in the lottery? Absolutely not. Not this quickly, at least.

But Malaki worked his tail off leading into the season and during the first few months. He gradually became more confident, hunting his shot rather than simply being opportunistic when the ball found him. In the very first game after Ohio States nearly three-week-long COVID pause, he scored a career-high 35 against Nebraska, literally out of nowhere and on the road, to boot. From that point on, Branham averaged 17 points per game the rest of the way, winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and scoring 37 points over two NCAA Tournament games.

And that is where we sit now.

But earlier today, someone asked me a question that really got me thinking: If Ohio State hadnt dealt with the injuries they did this season, would Branham still be a first-round pick today?

Few if any teams missed as many games from key rotation players as the Buckeyes did this past season. Houston and Illinois may have an argument, too. Justice Sueing missed 30 games. Seth Towns missed all 32. Kyle Young missed five games, Zed Key missed three, and Meechie Johnson missed six.

This thrust Branham into roles that Holtmann certainly did not envision his young guard playing so soon. He not only had to become one of their leading scorers, but had to play big minutes all season long. He averaged 30 minutes per game on the season, but the 18-year old played 33 minutes or more in 13 of Ohio States final 16 games. If Sueing and (to an extent) Johnson were healthy the entire time, would this have been necessary? Id argue that it wouldnt.

I would argue that had Justice Sueing been healthy the entire season, Branhams minutes would have been reduced to a point where he probably is not scoring 13.7 points per game. With Sueing healthy, there would have been less pressure on Branham to score. Justice Sueing can be relied on for 10-12 points each and every night which wouldve taken some off of the shoulders of Branham and Liddell.

Once I thought about it a little more, all of the events of last season that Ohio State fans would just consider shit luck directly impacted Branham and likely helped catapult him to the position hes in now. Another great example is the COVID-19 pause the team took in December when several players and coaches contracted the virus. Branham, however, avoided it.

While his teammates were resting at home, waiting for the all-clear, Branham was in the gym. According to the Columbus Dispatchs Adam Jardy, Branham was able to continue to use Ohio States facilities during the pause, because he never tested positive throughout the entire fiasco. With no practice, workouts, or games, Branham was in the gym early each morning sometimes as early as 5 or 6 a.m. working on his craft. Since he couldnt work out with anyone on the team, his personal trainer met him at the arena each morning to get shots up. Branham did that for the entirety of the break, while his teammates conditioning lagged behind and their shots got rusty sitting at home.

When they were cleared to play against Nebraska on January 2, Branham was anything but rusty. His workouts during that break certainly helped him improve, but he was also one of the only Buckeyes who didnt look absolutely gassed that first game back. Branham was able to do all of the heavy lifting that night as one of the only players whose workout and practice routine wasnt completely upended. He scored 35 points over 43 minutes in an overtime victory in Lincoln. From that point on, he just kept on scoring. And scoring. And scoring.

So while it was awful luck that the Buckeyes were forced to stop playing at a time when they seemed to be hitting their stride, the break helped Branham make a leap from a timid freshman who looked a bit overmatched at times to one of the premier players in the Big Ten. Had that COVID pause not happened, would Malaki Branham be sitting here today as a first-round pick?

This one is a little bit more nuanced, and Id be willing to listen to an argument either way. Some folks may say yes, Branham would have eventually hit his stride with or without that break all he needed was some time to adjust. Others might say no, that having those few weeks off to collect himself and refocus/prepare for Big Ten play was vital in his transformation into the certified bucket that he is now.

The final domino that without a doubt helped propel Branham into the spot hes in now was the unexpected departure of Duane Washington Jr. last summer. We heard it all season long, Ohio States expected lineup for the 2021-2022 season back in June was:

That meant that Branham would come off the bench as a freshman and have plenty of time to adjust to big-time college basketball. With Washington, Sueing, and Liddell on the floor, theres no reason to believe that Branham would have come anywhere close to sniffing 13.7 points or 30 minutes per game. Having him come off the bench behind those guys wouldve given the Buckeyes tremendous depth, but Branham wouldnt have had the opportunity to turn into a star so soon had Washington stayed. The minutes and opportunities just would not have been there during his freshman season.

Some folks may argue this and say that Branham is so talented, having him languish on the bench behind Washington wouldve been a fatal mistake by Chris Holtmann (hypothetically, of course). Or that given his talent he would have found a way to force himself into the lineup somehow, with or without Duane there.

Maybe thats true! We will actually never know! But my counter to that would be to take a look at two sophomore sensations in the Big Ten from this past season Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray. Both players showed in their sophomore seasons that they were superstars, and just needed the chance to play. But during their freshman years, both of them were blocked by older players who either went undrafted or were drafted much farther back than their understudies will be in a few months.

As a freshman at Iowa two seasons ago, Murray averaged 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game over 18 minutes per contest. He was blocked by Luka Garza, who won the Naismith Award for the best player in college basketball. Garza was then taken with the 52nd pick in the 2021 draft. When the ropes were untied and Murray was let loose this season, he scored 23.5 points per game on 55% shooting over 32 minutes per game. He will be a lottery pick in this summers draft.

Davis, on the other hand, was blocked by a combination of Brad Davison, Aleem Ford, and DMitrik Trice at Wisconsin. None of those players were drafted, and Davis only averaged 7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a freshman. As a sophomore, Davis averaged 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2 assists over 34.2 minutes per game and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.

The point is, saying, If theyre talented, theyll find a way to get on the floor is not always true in college. Davis was more talented than Davison, Ford, and Trice, but he sat on the bench behind them because he was a freshman it happens. Murrays game translated to the NBA much better than Garzas, and is uber-talented.

Regardless, Murray still sat on the bench until it was his turn. Branham wouldve been blocked by Washington this season in a similar fashion, and at no point would he have surpassed him on the depth chart. If Duane had stayed at Ohio State, I dont think Branham would be in the position he is in today.

Duane Washington leaving, the Buckeyes getting hit hard with COVID, and the brutal injury bug all hamstrung this Ohio State teams ceiling this season. Had none of those things happened, I really think that team had the potential to make a deep, deep run in the NCAA Tournament. But at least one person got some benefit out of all of it Malaki Branham. Hes now on his way to the NBA after less than one full calendar year in Columbus.

So if you werent already salty about the difficult hand Ohio State was dealt this year, take solace in the fact that all of that also directly contributed to Branhams quick ascension from a skinny, timid freshman guard averaging nine points per game back in December to a potential NBA lottery pick.

Cheers!

Read the original:

Column: How Ohio States bad luck aided in the ascension of Malaki Branham - Land Grant Holy Land

Ascension Public Schools are holding two Teacher Job Fairs to fill positions for the 2022-23 school year.

Those wishing to secure teaching positions for the current year should attend as well as those who will be graduating from teacher preparation programs in May.

The Ascension Public Schools Fall Teacher Job Fair for Pre-K to fifth grades is from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 12 at Sugar Mill Primary School, 39319 Germany Road, Prairieville.

Teachers looking for jobs in sixth through 12th grades should attend the April 13 job fair from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Bluff Middle School, 15464 Bluff Road, Prairieville.

Candidates interested in attending should register and schedule interviews at AscensionSchools.org/ApplyNow.

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The starting salary for teachers in Ascension Parish is $47,283, with an opportunity to earn up to $1,800 in performance pay, a news release said.

Additionally, the Ascension Parish School Board recently approved supplemental pay for the 2022-23 school year at Donaldsonville High, Donaldsonville Primary, Lowery Elementary and Lowery Middle schools. Teachers with a highly effective or effective proficient rating can make $10,000 above base pay for teaching core subjects and $2,500 above base pay for teaching electives. Paraprofessionals can make $1,250 above base pay.

A survey of teachers in Ascension Parish found 98% would recommend Ascension Public Schools to other teachers. Below are some of the reasons why:

For more information about Ascension Public Schools and to learn about the benefits of teaching in Ascension, visit AscensionSchools.org/Teach.

Read more:

Looking for a job in Ascension public schools? Here's what you need to know about upcoming job fairs - The Advocate

During the week of March 28 April 1, 2022, the following defendants pled guilty to various charges and were sentenced in the 23rd Judicial District Court, parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James.

Ascension Parish:

The above case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Phil Maples and presiding over this matter was the Honorable Judge Cody Martin.

Assumption Parish:

The above cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lana Chaney, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Alvin Turner Jr.

The above cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Daigle, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Jason Verdigets.

St. James Parish:

The above cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Adam Koenig, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Tess Stromberg.

Submitted by Public Information Officer Tyler Cavalier for 23rd Judicial District Attorney Ricky L. Babin.

Continued here:

Ascension, Assumption and St. James guilty pleas 3/28 to 4/1 - L'Observateur - L'Observateur

New emergency housing for women and their families escaping domestic violence in Ascension Parish is coming to the parish in a new initiative by the IRIS Domestic Violence Center of Baton Rouge and the Ascension Sheriff's Office.

The new emergency housing that will provide a 45-day stay is a way to help Ascension Parish children stay in their schools, said Sheriff Bobby Webre and the IRIS interim director Keysha Robinson.

"If we have housing units that, at a moment's notice, will be available to house a woman and her children, they don't have to change schools," said Webre, who reached out to Robinson recently about the possibility of bringing such a shelter to Ascension. "We wanted to see if it was possible."

The nonprofit IRIS Domestic Violence Center serves women and their children from eight parishes at its shelter in Baton Rouge and will continue to serve victims of domestic violence from Ascension Parish there, after the new shelter housing is available in the parish, Robinson said.

"We do get a lot of phone calls from Ascension Parish, where parents are reluctant to relocate and take their children out of school," she said. "That is a big barrier to their leaving."

The fast-growing Ascension Parish public school system has historically been one of the top-rated districts in the state and has grown by about 300 students every year for the last 10 years.

Webre said the Ascension Sheriff's Office will be working with the nonprofit IRIS Domestic Violence Center to find housing for the new shelter in the parish and will provide labor for anything that might be needed in the way of improvements for the home.

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"I think that would be a great resource for Ascension Parish," Webre said.

Seven years ago, the Ascension Sheriff's Office revamped its protocols in its response to domestic violence incidents, after the parish saw a string of murders in several of those cases.

Webre, who was then chief of criminal operations, helped put into place several new procedures, including one that was especially significant.

Deputies responding to a domestic violence call now ask victims several key questions.If a victim answers yes to any, the officer immediately helps them get in touch with IRIS, which, in addition to providing federally funded housing, offers counseling and legal advice and representation.

Robinson said that IRIS is also working with the Baton Rouge-based Capital Area Family Justice Center to bring what's called transitional housing for up to a year for victims of domestic violence in the eight parishes it serves, which, in addition to Ascension Parish, includes East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, West Baton and West Feliciana parishes.

"Housing is the No. 1 reason victims have to return to their abuser," Robinson said.

The 24-hour hotline number for the IRIS Domestic Violence Center is (225) 389-3001 or 1-800-541-9706; there is also a national, 24-hour hotline number, 1-800-799-7233.

Originally posted here:

Emergency housing for victims of domestic violence coming to Ascension Parish - The Advocate