Public Health Resources
The Louisiana
Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has many partners
in its efforts to achieve the best health care possible for
the children of Louisiana. One of those partners is the Louisiana
Office of Public Health, which has had similar goals as the
Academy for healthy children since early in this century.
Some of the programs of special interest to pediatricians
for the health care of children administered by the Office
of Public Health are:
Louisiana's
Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs
providing pediatric surgical and medical subspecialty care
(cardiology, neurology, nephrology, ophthalmology, otology,
urology, orthopedics and plastic surgery) in nine regional
clinic locations in the state. Invaluable and comprehensive
medical and allied health care services are provided to
all children needing them. The program staff works with
all third party payers to make sure this quality care is
available to children who have chronic illness, disabilities,
handicapping conditions and other problems, such as being
from low-income families or from isolated rural areas, which
truly makes them special children. For information contact:
Your parish health unit or Mr. Laurent LeBien, Program Administrator,
(504) 568-5629.
Louisiana's
Maternal and Child Health Program
providing preventive child health care (including newborn
screening for early detection of genetic disease, hearing
and vision screening, and all immunizations) and low-risk
prenatal care for women in all of Louisiana's sixty-four
parishes through the parish health units. For information
contact: Your parish health unit or Ms. Joan Wightkin, Program
Administrator, (504) 568-5073.
Louisiana's
SAFE KIDS Coalition
a partnership of many agencies and advocacy groups in the
state, this program is administered jointly by the Office
of Public Health and Children's Hospital. Children's safety-oriented
campaigns are held throughout the year in conjunction with
local coalitions in Louisiana cities and parishes. In the
Office of Public Health, this coalition is part of the Division
of Injury Prevention and Research. For information contact:
Ms. Kerry Chausmer, Coalition Director (504) 568-2508.
Louisiana
School and Adolescent Health Program
provides for school-based medical clinics in over
thirty schools in all parts of the state, which serve to
bring up-to-date preventive health care to school-aged children,
who may not be able to access that care otherwise. Many
of the adolescent health care services are also available
to the children through this program at their parish health
unit. For information contact: Your parish health unit or
Ms. Sylvia Sterne, Program Administrator (504) 568-6068.
Louisiana's
Women's, Infants' and Children's Food Program
the "WIC" Program offers funds for food for women,
infants, and children in high-risk health categories throughout
the state. The checks or vouchers for the specifically-needed
dietary foods are redeemable at hundreds of grocery stores
and super markets throughout the state. For information
contact your parish health unit or Ms. Pamela McCandless,
Chief Nutritionist, (504) 568-5065.
Louisiana
Family Planning Program
provides advice about inter-conceptual family planning and
its relationships to healthy pregnancies, for women and
men throughout the state in most parish health units. Both
drug and barrier methods of contraception are provided.
For information contact: Your parish health unit or Ms.
Sharon Howard, Program Administrator (504) 568-5330.
Genetic
Disease Services and Hemophilia Program
provides specialty clinics for diagnosis and treatment of
inherited disorders (or suspected inherited disorders) and
hemophilia and related disorders. For information contact
your parish health unit or Mr. Charles Myers, Program Administrator
(504) 568-5070.
Communicable
Disease Control
provides medical clinics for diagnosis and treatment for
those having or suspected of having communicable diseases,
especially tuberculosis or sexually-transmitted diseases.
For information contact your parish health unit or Dr. Louise
McFarland, Dr.P.H. State Epidemiologist, (504) 568-5005.
Emergency
Medical Services: Children
provides training for paramedics and other emergency medical
services personnel in the specialized aspects of emergency
care of children. For information contact: Ms. Nancy Bourgeois,
R.N., Program Coordinator, (225) 342-4881.
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