COVINGTON – St. Tammany Health System today announced a new outreach tool for improving health on the Northshore, the Be Well Bus, community health screening mobile unit.
“We’re excited to announce this amazing resource for our community,” Anne Pablovich, STHS community health coordinator, said. “We will take the bus to local businesses, events, festivals and other locations to bring health education, screenings and resources into the neighborhoods. It’s all part of our commitment to world-class healthcare, close to home.”
The Be Well Bus (BeWellBus.health) is a 40-foot mobile unit containing a registration area and two private care rooms to facilitate preventative healthcare in the field. Clinical professionals from St. Tammany Health System and its partner Ochsner Health will travel on the bus to destinations throughout St. Tammany and Washington parishes to offer 3-D digital screening mammography, education, outreach, vaccinations (COVID-19 and others), and health screenings including blood pressure, arterial ultrasounds and cancer screenings.
“We will be able to perform screenings on the bus for a broad array of cancers including breast, prostate, skin, head and neck,” Pavlovich said, “plus we’ll be able to provide the DNA fecal immunochemical test (FIT kit) for colon cancer screenings and do lung cancer assessments that may lead to follow up for those who need low-dose CT lung testing at the STHS Cordes Pavilion.”
The Be Well Bus is an initiative of St. Tammany Health System in partnership with Ochsner Health. It serves as part of a larger initiative called Healthier Northshore, aimed at improving the health and wellness of St. Tammany and Washington parish residents.
“In a state ranked 49th for overall health, in a region with higher cancer rates than Louisiana’s average and the state’s highest prostate cancer mortality rate, our community’s health directly impacts our success and quality of life,” STHS CEO Joan Coffman explained. “St. Tammany Health System’s Be Well Bus and the Healthier Northshore initiative we launched with likeminded Northshore leaders will elevate the overall health of our population and improve the quality of life for those who live here. We’re raising awareness, addressing barriers to good health and wellness, providing screenings, connecting patients to care and measuring outcomes for learning opportunities.”
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The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health