COVINGTON, Louisiana – St. Tammany Quality Network presented its 2022 first-quarter Medical Director’s Award to Dr. John d’Hemecourt, Chris Connell and Brian Grissom for initiating the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program at St. Tammany Health System.
“This group has been instrumental in helping develop our ERAS program for colorectal surgery at STHS,” said Dr. Michael K. Hill, STHS vice president for quality and utilization management. “Under their leadership, the multidisciplinary team at STHS has developed a certified-level ERAS program that focuses on improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. This program will next expand across many of our surgical procedures.”
The STHS ERAS program is an evidence-based care improvement process for surgical patients. Preoperative and postoperative nutrition, early patient mobilization, and pain control with minimal use of opioids are some of the standard practices in ERAS. Enactment of ERAS protocols have resulted in shorter length of hospital stay, reduced hospital readmissions and reduced recovery time.
Dr. d’Hemecourt is a board-certified general anesthesiologist and head of the anesthesia group at STHS. He is a graduate of St. Paul’s High School in Covington, LSU, and LSU School of Medicine. He is past chief-of staff at STHS.
Chris Connell, a Franklinton native, is the Director of Surgery and Anesthesia at STHS.
Brian Grissom is the lead CRNA at STHS and spearheaded the ERAS program. Both are involved in several quality improvement projects.
STQN continuously strives to define and improve the healthcare needs of our community. Promoting wellness is a key component of this quest.
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About St. Tammany Quality Network
St. Tammany Quality Network is a physician-led organization that demonstrates a commitment to quality and outcomes by creating a medical community aligned around quality initiatives and payer engagement; using a common information technology platform to capture disease-specific data to assist in proactive patient care; and collaborate on patient-centric initiatives that enhance the quality and improve efficiency of health care delivery.