We salute those who - New Orleans City Business
We salute those who - New Orleans City Business
We salute those who - New Orleans City Business
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PHYSICIANRobert PostPosition: medical director, Daughters of Charity Services of<strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong>Age: 45Family: wife, Maggie Silio; children, Molly, 12, Lou, 9Education: bachelor’s degree in psychology, NorthwesternUniversity; doctor of medicine, University of Missouri-ColumbiaSchool of MedicineThe “medical home” model Dr. Robert Post uses as medicaldirector of the Daughters of Charity Services of <strong>New</strong><strong>Orleans</strong> gives patients an active role in managing their care.“<strong>We</strong> have a care management team that assists people in selfmanagingtheir chronic illnesses,”said Post,<strong>who</strong> manages communityhealth care centers in Bywater, Carrollton and Metairie.He also oversees the Neighborhood Health Partnership;the Seton Resource Center, which provides school-basedchild development services; the Integrated MobileAssessment Team, which does homeless outreach; and theLatino Health Access Network.Staff members also maintain disease registries and trackpatients <strong>who</strong> see specialists and obtain other health servicesat facilities outside the Daughters of Charity system. ForPost, the payoff for <strong>those</strong> efforts comes when patients’ healthcare outcomes are evaluated.“<strong>We</strong>’ve seen dramatic improvements in the results for peoplewith diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease,” Postsaid. “It’s rewarding because we know we’re impacting amuch larger population that we could individually see.”Post trained as a community health physician at CookCounty Hospital in Chicago, where he did his residency inDr. Bob Post works with Sister Mary John Code.family medicine. He practiced at a health center in Algiersjust before taking his current position 10 years ago.For Post, one of the greatest benefits of communityhealth care is that it reaches a patient population that traditionallyis at high risk for chronic illnesses but often haslimited access to medical services.“I believe access to primary care is the key to eliminatingany health disparities that we have. Unfortunately, in <strong>New</strong><strong>Orleans</strong> we have an inordinate percentage of the populationthat’s at risk. By providing high-quality primary care, we caneliminate some of <strong>those</strong> health disparities.”•— Sonya Stinsonphoto by Frank AymamiPHYSICIANErich RichterPosition: neurology department chairman, Louisiana StateUniversity Health Sciences CenterAge: 36Family: wife, Desiree; children, Ana, 9, Moses, 7, Abigail, 6,Adelaide, 18 monthsEducation: bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering,University of Florida; doctor of medicine, Ohio StateUniversity School of Medicine and Public Healthphoto by Frank AymamiEarly in his career, Dr. Erich Richter came across apatient with a severe tremor <strong>who</strong> could not pick up acup, write his name or do anything with his hands.To help the patient, Richter crafted a wireless pacemakerdevice that uses electrodes to stimulate specific parts ofthe brain and reduce involuntary movements and tremors.The tremors went away, and the patient was able to pickup a cup and take a sip of water.“It was about 10 years ago and I was just beginning mycareer, but that was the very first time that I realized I wantedto experience that kind of rewarding feeling over andover again,” Richter said. “It felt real good to help peopleand watch the patient respond the way he did.”Now, Richter is helping <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> patients withepilepsy and Parkinson’s disease as chairman of theLouisiana State University Health Sciences CenterDepartment of Neurology.Richter came to <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> in 2007 from MercerDr. Erich Richter reviews a deep brain stimulator case with resident David Bulot.Medical School in Macon, Ga., and was lured to the areaby Frank Culicchia, chairman of the LSU Department ofNeurosurgery, to fill a void in the community for a functionalneurosurgeon — one <strong>who</strong> could treat movement disorders.Richter also saw the need to inform more <strong>New</strong>Orleanians about various forms of brain diseases by startingthe Neurosurgery Information blog at http://neurosurgeryinfo.blogspot.com.“It provides a forum for the online exchange of informationabout diseases of the brain,” Richter said. “<strong>We</strong> havefour doctors in the neurology department <strong>who</strong> participate,and we answer all kinds of questions for people <strong>who</strong>maybe they feel their own doctors haven’t answered, or ifthey’re still confused after their doctor visits.”•— Tommy Santora<strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> <strong>City</strong><strong>Business</strong> — May 25, 2009 27