Northshore District, Part One

Northshore District (Part One) 

After returning from a friend’s wedding in the Poconos mountains of rural Pennsylvania on Sunday evening, October 23^rd, I was not so sure I was ready to hop in the car and take on South Louisiana, but I got busy and prepared for my trip and took off about 3pm on Monday, October 24^th.  That put me in Baton Rouge just in time for dinner with my son, a freshman at LSU, and we chose Parrain’s.  Watching him wolf down a dozen raw oysters, salad, and fish, I realized he probably had not had a good meal in a while, as he is living in an apt.  He appeared grateful for the to-go boxes, too.

I arrived in New Orleans at 10pm and was thankful for a dear friend who allowed me to stay with during this working trip!  Since I’d been a little sleep-deprived during the wedding festivities, I hit the sack, ready to hit the Northshore the next day.

I found the Northshore to be a lesson in contrasts.  From the affluence of St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington to the extreme poverty of the LSUHealth’s Bogalusa Medical Center, this district struggles with identity.  Read on for more details of my travels through the Northshore. 

Slipping Through Slidell

I awakened early on Tuesday, October 25th and drove up to Slidell to begin my tour of the Northshore there.  I arrived at Slidell Memorial Hospital at 8am and was met by the impeccably dressed Julia Thomas, PT who is rehab director at Slidell Memorial, and told me she was dressed for a ladies’ luncheon sponsored by the Women’s Health Alliance, and that she was to perform stroke screening at that luncheon.  Great way for PT's to educate women about the risk of stroke!

I toured the inpatient rehab department where I met Patti Cognevich, PT who works in rehab, in this hospital, a nine-bed unit.  I also had arrived early enough to meet the acute therapists who had not ascended to the floors yet.  They were Brenda Taylor, PT and Bob Rolston, PTA who stated they’d been doing this for a long time! 

Julia walked me over to a 5000 sq. ft. building adjacent to the hospital, which housed the outpatient therapy, and there I met Lyndsay Gonzales, PT and Laurie Boutte, PT who work that dept.  They were busy with pt care, so I did not question them much. 

I always ask the therapists I meet if they have any questions or concerns for me as the new President of LPTA and Julia, on our way back toward the hospital, expressed some concern that in our Practice Act will be dry needling competency.  She wondered if this left us open for future requirements for things we already do such as vestibular rehab, lymphadema, NDT, and even sharps debridement, which we already perform, but often do require continuing ed to become prolific.   I listened and will take this question to the powers-that-be.  I could not elucidate the history of this addition to our practice act, so will look into that.  I did mention that dry needling is invasive and not taught in the normal course of PT school.  She stated she had brought this up at one of the Board’s hearings in New Orleans earlier.

Rayme and Heather, Wellness Physical Therapy

I drove just down Gause Blvd. and was warmly met by two therapists at Wellness Physical Therapy: Rayme Pullen, PT and Heather Matula, PT  Rayme graduated the same year I did from PT school, 2002.  She has earned her Orthopedic Certification from APTA and is still a member.  She showed me around the facility, which is just next door to a wellness center where patients who “graduate” from therapy can go!  There is even an indoor pool they share for some water aerobics and pool therapy.  Rich Baudry, PT out of New Orleans owns this clinic in Slidell, so I made it a point to put him on the list to meet the next day.  Rayme expressed some concerns with policy and documentation, but states that referrals are good, and that they even get some referrals from chiropractors. 

From there I went futher down Gause Blvd. to Oschner Medical Center-Northshore, to the Neurorehabilitation Institute, which is a free-standing building behind the hospital, containing a 15-bed rehab unit (all private rooms) and, marvel of all marvels, a $250K piece of equipment called the Lokomat (look it up on YouTube – robot-assisted walking therapy).  It’s the only one in Louisiana, and the therapists there say most of their patients love it!  It’s an offweighted treadmill with the robotic component moving the legs.  I met Paul McCann, Director of the Neurorehabilitation Institute, who has a background in rehab counseling; Karen Barkman, PT, Therapy Director, Steve Malek, PT, Melody Restivo, PT who does peds; and Mark S., PT from Poland by way of Canada who said his last name was too long to spell! They are going to e-documentation in January, using the program LSUHealth is switching to in Nov, EPIC.  Concerns expressed by Karen include supervisory requirements for PTA’s as they have some that come in PRN only on weekends, and difficulty obtaining PRN PTA coverage. 

On the way out of Slidell, I stopped by Audubon Physical Therapy but the therapists were busy with patients.  I left my informational sheet and a card with the receptionist to give to the therapists there. 

Boogying in Bogalusa

As I drove up the winding Hwy 41 from Slidell to Bogalusa, I realized scenery was changing.  Spanish-moss filled live oaks made way to scrubby pines in various stages of growth.  This is timber country, and timber trucks slowed me down more than once.  I went through little communities named “Bush” and “Sun” on my way toward Bogalusa, which I rank as the poorest of the communities I have visited thus far on my journey through Louisiana.  Often, I was the only vehicle on the highway at the 10am hour on Tues, Oct 26.

The first clinic I visited in Bogalusa was one of APTA’s Facility Challenge winners, Therapeutic Concepts, whose 2 PT’s and 1 PTA are all members!  Stephanie Keen, PT, a Texas Women’s grad, Heather Melancon, PT , a graduate of S. Alabama and Kaite Breeland, PTA work at this clinic, and Stephanie teaches Silver Sneakers classes there twice weekly.  (This is a Humana program whose participants can go workout for free!  The clinic gets a small fee per participant.) 

There has been a tragedy at Therapeutic Concepts in Bogalusa recently.  Two weeks ago, Katie Breeland, PTA was in an auto accident and sustained a displaced L2 fracture requiring surgical stabilization with little to no LE movement.  She is still at University Hospital in New Orleans.  There are good signs that Katie will return some or all LE function with intensive therapy, and she needs prayer warriors.  Katie is a fighter, and was in great shape prior to the accident, expecting to run a half-marathon in two weeks.  (Katie’s mother, Tina, gave me permission to post this.  I told her that we’d all keep her in our prayers.)

I spoke mostly with Heather who state they are working toward computerized documentation but for outpatient that is more difficult than acute or rehab, so they are contracting with an individual to work on this for them.  They do train students clinically.

Next stop was LSUHealth’s satellite hospital in Bogalusa, which was a step back into the ‘60’s.  Boy, does this hospital need updating, but with the strapped cash of the LSU system, that is but a dream.  I found the therapists there eating lunch on the second floor, Dana Rosser, PT who trained in Shreveport and was a ’98 grad, and Lacey Pierce, PTA.  They had two therapists who were out: Debbie Shilling, PT and a new grad from St. Augustine, Marcus Houston, PT who was on his honeymoon and works outpatient there.

The therapists where surprised and pleased that I visited them in their hospital. They had no pressing concerns for LPTA, and were not members currently (note I add that word “currently,” for every therapist and student, if they are not members, are potential members!).  I shared the reasons I value my membership and encouraged membership. 

Bogalusa has a large paper mill factory there, Temple-Inland, and one therapist told me this has a distinctive odor at times, but the day I was there, it did not, thank goodness!

Before going for lunch myself, I popped by The Spine and Joint Center that is run by a chiropractor and Robert Bardy, PT, but no one except the Office Manager Denise was there.  I left her a handout and a business card, and she recommended a seafood restaurant called Bino’s, so I went and found a little diner full of customers, and ordered snapper with crawfish cream!

Jay Schultz, PT  Care Physical Thearpy

My last stop in Bogalusa was at Care Physical Therapy run by Jay Schultz, MPT who is from Chalmette, a graduate of LSU N.O. and had worked prior in Lafayette.  In the last few years, he was persuaded to move to Bogalusa to this Care clinic to be director, and took the position.  He, his wife and 2 children are making their home in Bogalusa.  Jay is an enthusiastic member who is quite positive and very supportive of APTA/LPTA.  I took his picture and thanked him for his membership.  He told me he believes Bogalusa is set to turn around and he and his family are committed to making it a better place!

Flying Through Franklinton

Making a large circle through the countryside of the northern part of the Northshore District, my next stop was Riverside Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Center, a free-standing outpatient clinic outside the hospital there.  I met Brooke Moody, PT, a Univ. of Miss. grad and a member of LPTA/APTA since ’89!  She is clinic director and quite knowledgeable.  They began CPSI e-documentation last November, and Brooke said it’s not very user-friendly.  She introduced me to Jessi Pounds, PT; Glenda Ritchie, PTA who was grandfathered in; and Wanda Freeman, PTA.  This clinic is Joint Commission certified and very well-run.  Brooke and I discussed the new Rules and Regs and I told her the Board will be coming around in the first quarter of the new Jurisprudence course to explain them, but that they are posted on the Board’s website and laptboard.org.

Close to this Medical Center was Care Physical Therapy run by Kevin McCain, PT, but often in this area the clinics close at noon on Tu/Th and this was the case here, so I left a handout in the door with my card. 

Casey Cassanova, PT  Heritage Manor

Last stop in Franklinton was at Heritage Manor, a SNF.  I arrived at 3pm and met Casey Cassanova, PT who moved there with his wife Brandi a little over a year ago.   She’s a PT also, who does home health in that area, and they have just had their first baby who is only 5 weeks old.  They are both St. Augustine grads who did some traveling contract PT before settling in Franklinton.  Casey states he was quite active as a student but that in the chaos of moving and having a baby, he has let his membership expire, but that he’d probably join again soon.  (see his pic)  He was glad I’d stopped by to visit. 

 Cruisin’ Through Covington (Part 1)

Driving down from Franklinton, toward Covington on Hwy 25, the views began to change.  I didn’t know this was the seat of the nursery business, but on either side of the road for many miles were many species of nursery plants, row upon row.  (Bring me a shrubbery! – Monty Python)  And the abodes began to change as well, from modest homes to mansions enshrouded in massive plantings, just barely visible from the road.  I could tell I was entering a more affluent part of this district. 

Because the afternoon was waning (it was 4:15pm), I rushed toward St. Tammany Parish Hospital and was amazed by the opulence of this facility!  Indoor and outdoor fountains, large bouquets of fresh flowers greeted me and I easily found the rehab unit in the hospital.  There, finishing some documentation from inpatient rehab, was Kathy Dunlap, PT who, with another PT and 2 OT’s work this 14 bed unit.  Just next to rehab was the acute PT office which was filled with PT’s and PTA’s finishing up their documentation.  I met Lisa Dantin, PT and Sara Borne, PT who both trained at the New Orleans campus.  I also met Kim Shockley, PT who was Northshore District Chair before David Hendricks.  She also trained in New Orleans and had a student, Brittany Bates, SPT from New Orleans campus, with her.  They also have a PTA, Randy Martinez who trained at Delgado.  Great group of therapists serving these patients!

The outpatient clinic associated with this hospital was just on the other side of the parking lot and was a former funeral home.  I had just missed Michelle Fell, PT, outpatient coordinator.  Deborah Deweese, PT gave me a tour of this first-class facility, and I met Kevin Mizell, PT.  They have an off-weight treadmill, and utilize 3 PTA’s in this clinic. 

That facility was all I had time to visit in Covington this day.  I’d return on Friday to visit more places in this area, and in Mandeville and Hammond to complete my Northshore tour.  It was approaching time for the Northshore District meeting, which I’d been talking up to everyone I’d met that day. 

Northshore District Meeting

David and Greg

David Hendricks, PT, Northshore District Chair, had planned a thorough, exciting meeting for his district at 6pm.  He’d bought sandwiches, drinks, chips and cookies for a crowd that, unfortunately, never materialized.  The only PT who showed up besides me and David was Greg Jones, PT who practices mainly now in MS, although he still has a clinic on the Northshore.  (See pic of David and Greg.)  Greg had been a delegate in the past. 

We talked fairly informally about the Workers’ Comp guidelines powerpoint prepared by Seth Kaplan, PT.  We also discussed LPTA’s updated website and the updated mission/vision statement and strategic plan, as well as the new rules and regs from the Board.  David is very good at researching topics, and had printed out everything we may have needed, including the 100-page Workers’ Comp guidelines and the entire new Rules and Regs. 

We talked a bit about how we can increase the attendance and enthusiasm of this typically low-participatory district.  There are no easy answers here.  Everyone makes time for what is important to them in their lives.  It was easy to see what is not important to the therapists in the Northshore District.  We could not fault lack of notice, as this was announced via email, snail mail and on Facebook 30 days in advance.  Quite disappointing for David and me.  Come on, Northshore, man up!

Thus ended my 13-hour day and I’d toured only half of the Northshore.  I made plans to finish up after spending a couple of days in the New Orleans District.

Nibbling in New Iberia

On my way home from the Houma/Thibodaux area, I decided I had time to stop by a few clinics in New Iberia on Wed., Oct 5, 2011.  I searched my smart phone and wrote down a listing of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of a few clinics and hospitals in that area and headed that way.

New Iberia is a beautiful community, rich in history (the salt domes are just south of there on Avery Island with which McIlhenny makes his Tabasco sauce), beautiful plantation homes, and lots of Spanish moss in the trees.  Plus, as I would find out later, some of the best shrimp po-boys in the state!

My first stop (and I made no prior appointments for these stops, as they were all spur-of-the-moment) was by the New Iberia Medical Center at 10:30am.  Having no clue where the outpatient clinic was, and seeing no sign for one, I started into the Medical Center proper when, luckily, I ran into a familiar face!  It was John Hardy, PT whom I know from our LPTA meetings.  He's been a PT for 37 years.  It just so happened that he was heading from his acute care duties over to the outpatient clinic to arrange his home health visits for that day.  He'd had to see 5 acute patients that morning in this 115 bed hospital.  The outpatient clinic was in a temporary building across the parking lot, with many ramps up into the building. (Obviously, this is a growing Medical Center.)  John remembered me as well and was happy to show me around and introduced me to Jacob Freyou, PT who manages the outpatient clinic.

At this time of day, the clinic was filled with patients and therapists.  I observed manual therapy techniques on a patient's neck, some gait training in parallel bars, and folks riding stationary bicycles.  Jacob told me that this was a full-service clinic providing peds, wound care, ortho, neuro, prosthetics.  He not only showed me around but showed me their new computerized software as well.  I met therapists there whose names, unfortunately, I did not get because they were so busy.  I left an information sheet with Jacob and asked him to share it with his staff.

At 11am I arrived at RehabXcel, Claude Tremblay's clinic.  Claude is from Canada and moved down to the New Iberia area to practice with John Musso, PT who is now doing home health. Claude got his Doctorate through Ola Grimbsy in manual therapy and has been a member all along.  He had many concerns and patient care at that time was light, so we sat and discussed direct access, POPTS.  He also has worked on the sidelines at high school ball games but was recently challenged by at athletic trainer there who says he is not qualified to be on the sidelines!  (We both beg to differ on that!)  Claude is very well-spoken and quite tall!  His concerns about the above issues are very legitimate as a solo practitioner.

I just happened upon the next clinic, which had not shown up on my search, run and managed by Dr. Ritter.  In that open clinic with many windows, I met Brian Hicks, PT and Lynn Inzerella, PT whose license number is around 100!  Lynn said she remembered me from the Fall Meeting and thanked me for stopping by. Both were busy with patient care, but did receive an informational sheet from me.

New Iberia: The Bon Creole

Best Shrimp Poboy I've ever had!

I asked Brian where I could find a good po-boy and he directed me to the Bon Creole, a very casual lunch counter with the most amazing food ever!   I stood in line to order my shrimp po-boy and then sat down to sip my iced tea and wait for my food to arrive.  When it did, WOW, was there a lot of shrimp on it, fully dressed.  So delicious!

After lunch, I popped into Iberia Rehab, a free-standing inpatient rehab, which in my area of the state is non-existent.  Mark Gagnon, PT worked there with one OT (both of whom were quite impressed with my visit) and some assistance of contract PTA's at times.  Mark stated he was working very hard and had little time off, that coverage assistance was difficult to find.  He stated he has been a member, and I thanked him for that, giving him an information sheet I had prepared.

Last stop in the New Iberia area, at Mark's urging, was Dautribe Hospital where I ran into a familiar face.  Courtney Romero, PT was a graduate of the program in Shreveport and I did remember her.  She worked the outpatient clinic there with a PTA, and said they are quite busy.  I also met Val Imvriotis, PT who worked on the third floor rehab unit.  Neither of these therapists are members and I did push membership with them and left them an information sheet with my contact information on it.

I drove through the beautiful, historic downtown of New Iberia on my way out.  This is in the Lafayette District, but I knew in my travels there in the future, I might not make it as far south as New Iberia, so I was so thankful I'd made the time to visit those therapists in those settings this trip.

Next visit will be far away for me, in the Northshore District and in the New Orleans District the week of Oct. 25-28.  Be ready, South Louisiana!  I'm heading your way soon!  Have Blog; Will Travel!

Traveling through Thibodaux and Houma (in four parts)

Part One:  Workers Comp Meeting in Baton Rouge

The sun rose as I was driving between Natchitoches and Alexandria on the morning of  Tuesday, October 4th, 2011, a beautiful sunrise with colors of purple and blue easing into hues of orange and yellow under a cloudless sky.  Low fog laced roadside ponds, soon to be burned off with the heat of the sun.  Traffic was light, the driving easy in my little grey Prius.

I was heading first for a 10am meeting at the Office of Workers Comp (OWC) in Baton Rouge with fellow PT's (Greg LeBlanc, Seth Kaplan (from BR), Gini Davis from N.O.), OT's (Keri Walker from N.O. and Angel Brown from B.R.), Kim Bueche Hardman with PTPN and Sherie Phillips a consultant from BPCC in Practice Management around the state and her co-worker Julie Bowers by conference call.  Also in attendance was Sue Newman who is the Medical Services Manager with the OWC.  She had called this meeting.  

I have stated in an earlier blog that I am here to listen and learn, and I was excited that I could be present for this meeting to do just that.  I know in my new role as President of LPTA that this early phase is a learning curve for me, so to be able to hear the issues first hand around a table with some very knowledgeable people is a blessing.  I was thankful I had the time off to make this meeting. 

What did we discuss?  This meeting was about the PT and OT codes for Workers Comp (WC) cases that were implemented after a great deal of hard work on the part of PT's and OT's back in 1994.  Gini and Keri had been initially involved and we were thankful they could make this meeting to give us some historical background.  I learned that Louisiana is the only state that has special codes for workers comp cases since 1994, and that they were initially put into place because at that time the coding technology (CPT codes) did not discern PT or OT skills and services provided.  Now, technology has improved (with the advent of therapy modifiers), and providers are now aware of who is billing for the services provided.  

So, the question became: Do we need these specially-created Louisiana-specific codes, or can we now use the 97000 codes with the modifiers as the rest of the country does? Discussion ensued.  Sue Newman was going to check into this, but the consensus was that this was not a legally-mandated change in our state, but that it arose out of a therapy-protective ideology back in the early 90's.  And the consensus quickly emerged that now with newer technology, the providers can indeed know by coding and modifiers who is providing the service, and that we probably should go back to the CPT codes for workers comp cases to be consistent with the rest of the country.  Sue Newman was going to meet with legal counsel at the OWC and make sure this will be legal, but it appears that we are on our way toward this change in coding for workers comp cases in our state.  The CPT codes are updated yearly from the AMA, and our Louisiana-created codes had not been updated since their implementation in '94, so this is also an advantage to using the CPT codes as well.  

Of course, during that discussion, the workers comp fee schedule was discussed and all agreed that this needs to be updated as well (as the fees have not been updated since 2004!), but that was not the purpose of this meeting.  Perhaps that can be the focus of future meetings at OWC!

Part Two: Hanging in Houma

After a brief stop at LPTA offices in Baton Rouge and a delightful lunch meeting with Bland O'Connor and Melinda Wilk from that office, I headed to Houma.  Passing fields of sugar cane, getting stuck behind slow-moving sugar cane trucks, I enjoyed the drive through pastoral scenes of southern Louisiana.  Loved seeing the moss-covered live oaks and plantation homes.  I was not in northern Louisiana anymore!  On my way, I made a call to Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, La, and arranged a meeting with some therapists there.  

Perhaps I had pre-conceived notions of what a medical center in Houma might look like, but I was surprised at the first class, multi-story, modern hospital that greeted me, with its banks of windows and clearly-marked parking areas.   I easily found the therapy clinic and was greeted by three therapists:  Ali Turner, PT who is rehab director and works in inpatient rehab, Blair T. Duthu, PT, who works in outpatient, and Terry L. Babin, PT, who works acute.  First, let me say that I was surprised and amazed by Ali's work to arrange therapists from all 3 areas to meet briefly with me at 3pm when I know that pt care was in full swing!  This meant so much to me!  They all three expressed surprise as well that I would personally come visit them from Shreveport as their President.  All were quite pleased.  We discussed concerns about Medicare rules changes in rehab, about staffing issues.  This facility has 8 therapists, PT's and PTA's in these 3 settings.  Most are from the Houma area.  Blair is a recent DPT grad from the N.O. campus and was in school when Katrina hit.  She has maintained her membership in APTA/LPTA and I thanked her for that.  I had prepared a memo to give to all I visit and went over the points with those 3 therapists, asking Ali to share this with the other therapists there.  At the conclusion of our brief meeting, they all said, "No one has ever done this before."  I told them I was there to listen and learn and meet you where you work and live.  I left them my contact information, and asked them to please contact me with any questions or concerns.  

I made no further appointments, but walked in to two other outpatient PT clinics in Houma unannounced but with the informational sheet in hand, a smile on my face, and a spring in my step.  At the first clinic, I was greeted warmly by Mark Kinnard, PT of Terrebonne Physical Therapy Clinic on Verret Street.  It just so happens he is a '96 graduate of the program in Shreveport, so we talked about Mary Denny and Sharon Dunn fondly.  He is in practice with his father Donald "Bo" Kinnard, PT who trained at Emory, and his brother Luke Kinnard, PT who has been out of PT school only 3-4 years!  What amazing history in this clinic!  Bo and Mark were quite willing to discuss issues that concern them, and these include the inability to find PT's to hire in that area of our state.  I asked if they are CI's and they do take students, so that does help in hiring issues.  They were worried about computerized documentation requirements.  More comprehensive direct access is also a desire for this practice, as you will see with most all the private practice owners I have come across in my travels.  Bo does FCE's, and we discussed workers comp issues a bit.  I got a nice tour of their facility, and I encouraged attendance at that evening's District Meeting in Thibodaux, leaving with a smile on my face.  

Thank goodness for GPS and smart phones, because my next stop I found easily.  It is my goal during this year-long tour of Louisiana to stop by each of the clinics and facilities that have met APTA's Facility Challenge in 2011, and this next stop was one of those, Donohue and Trahan.  John Donohue, PT graduated from New Orleans campus in '73 and dropped names of PT's he considers contemporaries such as Ken Barrilow, Max McCloud, Barney Stewart. (Rich history!) He is in practice with Monique Trahan who was unfortunately not present that day.  There was another therapist working on gait with a young child with CP.  John, a most delightful man, is very pro LPTA.  He had no concerns to discuss with me about our organization and offered support if I ever needed it.  His clinic, which he proudly showed me, is very open and airy with good spaces.  This was a delightful visit, as all had been that day. 

Part Three: Thibodaux District Meeting

Craig Pate, PT  Houma District Chair

On to Thibodaux for the district meeting at Craig Hebert's clinic, Thibodaux Physical Thearpy, with Craig Pate, PT, who is the District Chair for the Houma District.  Craig Pate had set up a dual-purpose meeting for that evening.  At 5:30pm, to a gathering of about 12 therapists, Craig Hebert, PT spoke about a new initiative in their city to perform comprehensive scoliosis screening in the private schools, which lack school nurses to perform these screens.  It seems that this is a personal issue for Craig H., because his son at age 15 was diagnosed with scoliosis, and he did not want this to slip by on any other child.  Craig H. got a copy of the Easter Seals guidelines for scoliosis screening and went over this handout with all present who signed up to screen 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th graders in the private schools.  Safety and privacy issues were discussed, as well as methods to flag those student who appeared to need follow-up with their physicians.  It is wonderful that this many therapists in that area are willing to give their time to screen children for scoliosis!  It is also a wonderful promotion of physical therapy in that community.  

At 6:30, the District Meeting began, with refreshments provided by Craig Hebert.  About 15 were in attendance at this meeting, and it is the first the Houma District has had in a couple of years.  Bo Kinnard, whom I had met earlier that day, was in attendance.  Craig P. spoke about issues he learned at the recent LPTA BOD meeting, and he had me speak briefly as well.  Craig H. also educated all present about the scoliosis screening initiative.  I suggested someone write this up for the Bayou Bulletin, as this is such positive news for this area in the world of physical therapy.  Of course, I encouraged membership, as I do everywhere I go.  I will not take off my Membership Chair hat ever.  Good members in good numbers are what make an association successful, even in the more rural areas of the state!  There was some discussion at the District Meeting as well about issues that LPTA may need to address.  These included Direct Access (see a trend here?), rules for PT signage (one therapist had seen "physical therapy" on a chiropractor's sign), and the community colleges (Fletcher and Unitech) in that area creating a "PT tech" college associates degree.  These issues I will bring up before the LPTA Board at our next meeting.  The meeting adjourned at 7:30.  Was terrific to see such good attendance at this meeting, and the therapists there appear to have a wonderful camaraderie.  

The Siegel Three:  Sydney, Abigail, Mason

I was invited by Mark and Cherry Siegel to stay at their house.  I truly appreciated this, because I am doing this tour on my own time, with my own nickel.  This was an idea I had on my own, and I want to do it early in my first year, so of course there is no budget for this.  And I am doing it gladly, for I love to give back.  Mark and Cherry both trained in Shreveport.  Cherry was in the class just ahead of me, and she worked at LSUHSC with me just as she was getting pregnant with their triplets.  So, we have a connection, and I was delighted to stay with them and catch up.  Sweet Mason gave me his bed, and Sydney and Abigail were delightful as well.  Triplets at eight years old are more manageable than triplets at one or two, I imagine.  What I loved about this visit was watching the interaction and separate, distinct personalities of these three precocious children!  High energy, but great respect for each other!  I think Mark and Cherry are doing a wonderful job of balancing parenting and therapy work.  Cheers to them!  

Was I tired after my long day?  Sure was!  But I was filled up with the warm reception I had received at all the facilities and clinics I had visited.  In talking with the therapists in the Houma/Thibodaux area, I was thrilled to be welcomed with open arms.  I made plans to visit some Thibodaux clinics the next morning before departing.  

Part Four: Thibodaux Therapists

At the District Meeting the evening before, I met many of the therapists I was to visit this Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011.  They all invited me to see their hospitals and clinics, and I was happy to oblige.  My first stop was Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, a 185 bed multi-story hospital which had recently undergone renovation and was state-of-the-art, thanks to a very forward-looking CEO.  I walked into the entrance corridor and it was wide with marble floors and great art on the walls, very welcoming and upbeat with good lighting.  I went to the 4th floor rehab unit at 8am and there was Jason Ledet, PTA, who greeted me there.  Jason is over the entire 18 bed rehab unit and acute therapists.  All the therapists there spoke highly of the physiatrist who oversees the operation of the therapy at Thibodaux Regional, Dr. Cowan.  He is apparently a good friend of physical therapy and works well with all.  Jason has not been in this leadership role long, but is committed to providing the best quality care within the guidelines. Some of his concerns were a shortage of therapists and coverage for the therapy needs in this hospital.  He stated they do take students.  He also has concerns regarding the ever-changing rules for rehab admission and how some patients fall through the cracks.  Their rehab unit had also recently been updated and he showed me around.  It felt very clean, bright and upbeat.  Great OT areas with bathrooms and kitchens, as well as PT areas.  I met therapists showing up to work, including Cherry Siegel, PT and Cherry Aquino-de Lara, PT.

In that same Medical Center, but in a different building, I visited the outpatient clinic, and was greeted by Billy Naquin, PT who is our Federal Affairs Liaison and agreed to continue in that role (Thanks, Billy!).  Billy had been in New Orleans but the after-effects of Katrina pushed him back home to Thibodaux and today he heads the outpatient Spine Center and that outpatient unit, working closely with Dr. Cowan.  This is quite a diverse outpatient clinic, offering ortho and neuro rehab, PT/OT/ST.  They do some peds Medicaid, and some sports medicine. Also very interesting is that this clinic does drug screening for folks in the community.  There is a special team dedicated to the neuro rehab and I met Lauren Vedros-Jones, PT and the OT and ST that work with these neuro patients.  Good state-of-the art equipment and a nice OT kitchen with washer/dryer, stove, sink were there.  I went in to the ortho side and spoke with Lee Cortez, PT and J.D. Adams, PT whom I had met at the meeting the night before.  They were busy with patient care in a hopping clinic.  Check out the Medical Center's video at: http://pinkglove.co/37.  Features the therapists strongly!  Great video!

My next stop took me to the Daigle, Himel, Daigle Physical Therapy Clinic, another father/son clinic.  I went at 9am when patient care was in full swing, and that clinic was hopping!  There were senior citizens on the Total Gym, young athletes on the treadmills, folks riding bikes, lifting weights!  It was organized chaos with everyone working!  I got to meet briefly with Leslie John Daigle, PT, the father with 45 years of membership with APTA/LPTA and his son John Leslie Daigle, PT, with 20 years membership!  Wow!  Eddie Himel, PT was out that day.  I just thanked the team for their continuing support of our organization and gave hugs all around!  They thanked me for visiting.

All in all, my visit to Houma/Thibodaux was a huge success and I met many therapists in many settings where they work and live.  Great history, great support of LPTA!  I am listening and learning, definitely.  I welcome comments on these blog posts. Are they way too long?  Do you like the detail?  Any ideas, input for me as LPTA President are welcome.    If you want to message me privately, my email is bethwardpt@gmail.com.

Next stop, next blog:  New Iberia!