We salute those who - New Orleans City Business

PROFESSIONALGeoffrey NaglePosition: director, Tulane Institute of Infant and Early ChildhoodMental Health; associate professor of psychiatry, Tulane UniversitySchool of MedicineAge: 43Family: wife, Gabriela; children, Jake, 9, Juliana, seven weeksEducation: bachelor’s degree in political science, Duke University;master’s degrees in social work and public health and Ph.D. inmental health policy research, Tulane Universityphoto by Frank AymamiGeoffrey Nagle is among a growing group of people whobelieve treating the social and emotional health of infantsand children is the best way to promote productivity and successas they mature, benefiting not only the children, but alsotheir families and society.Committed to the welfare of the very young, he left acareer in the entertainment industry to volunteer for 18months at hospitals and orphanages in Latin America beforecoming to New Orleans in 1995.“I had an impression as an outsider that it was going tobe the closest thing I could get to a third-world country inthe United States,” Nagle said referring to New Orleans.He was also eager to work with two noted experts in mentalhealth care, Dr. Charles Zeanah, who co-founded theTulane Institute of Infant and Early Childhood MentalHealth with Nagle, and Joy Osofsky.As the state coordinator of BrightStart, a comprehensiveearly childhood initiative administered by the LouisianaOffice of Public Health, Nagle has helped develop and implementQuality Start, a child care rating system. Quality Start isaugmented by a package of tax credits and incentives thatGeoffrey Nagle hosts a puppet show in the Mr. Rogers Castle at the Children’s Museum with Reese Kurt, left, and Nico Caputto.reward quality child care. Nagle said 40 percent of the centersin the state are enrolled in Quality Start.“The goal is to help all of those centers get to be a qualitycenter, at least three stars or above,” within five years. “It’s anambitious goal.”Quality Start infuses medical care, social and emotionalhealth initiatives, early childhood education, family supportand parenting education into its model.“The notion is that any one of those (alone) isn’t going toreally change the big picture,” said Nagle, adding that realchange will take 15 to 20 years if the system is sufficientlyimplemented. “We’ll know when we get there that we’re nolonger at the bottom.”•— Diana ChandlerPROFESSIONALMelba Perez-BergunoPosition: licensed clinical social worker, River Parishes HospitalAge: 53Family: husband, Fernando; children, Jonathan, 21, Robert, 18Education: bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s degree in socialwork, University of Puerto RicoAs a social worker, it’s Melba Perez-Berguno’s job to helppeople through difficult times.Her most memorable case involved a widow who had nofamily and was suffering from a critical illness. The closestperson to the widow was her friend of 30 years, so when thetime came to pick someone to make important decisions forthe widow, her longtime friend was chosen.As a social worker, it was Perez-Berguno’s job to work as aliaison between the hospital and the court, as well as providesupport and education to the friend.Perez-Berguno often works similar cases where end-of-lifeissues become complex because the critically ill individualdid not specify in writing what his or her wishes were.“You have to coordinate and facilitate at different levels sothe process is correct,” she said.Through it all, Perez-Berguno is acutely aware of theemotional nature of her job and the stress these incidentsplace on her patients.“It touches us emotionally because it could be one of yourfamily members. It reminds you of issues we all have to dealwith sooner or later.”Perez-Berguno’s good deeds are not limited to her workat River Parishes Hospital. She tutors students in Spanish atRiverside Academy in Reserve and is an avid AmericanCancer Society supporter. She is a 12-year survivor of breastcancer, and her husband is a survivor of tongue and prostatecancer, so the cause is close to her heart and she often servesas a public speaker on battling cancer.In the end, her work — professional and volunteer — focuseson one thing: making a difference in the lives of others.“We don’t realize how much we impact other people.”•— Fritz Eskerphoto by Tracie Morris Schaefer32 Health Care Heroes