Charity-FEMA Award has Broad Implications An arbitration panel’s ruling that FEMA must pay Louisiana $474.7 million for hurricane damage to Charity Hospital paves the way for a replacement facility and boosts the state’s efforts to increase the physician workforce. TED GRIGGS

LSU-Lake Deal Will Train More Physicians Shifting LSU’s medical education and hospital from Earl K. Long Medical Center to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center could double the number of residents trained in Baton Rouge, hospital officials said. LSU now has around 75 residents at Earl K. Long and 25 or so at the Lake, said Dr. Larry Hollier, chancellor of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. Within the next five years, the Lake could have as many as 250 LSU residents in training. TED GRIGGS

Delta Doctors J-1 Visa Program Helps Fill Critical Needs An 18-mile drive to see the doctor might not sound like anything to worry about for most people. But in rural Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) of Louisiana, for people who don’t have a car or whose handicaps don’t allow them to drive, it might as well be 100 miles. They just can’t get there. BECKY GILLETTE

Disruptive Behavior is Bad for Patients Survey Reveals Troubling Conduct in the Healthcare Environment Being a good member of a team means playing well with others, but a recent survey by the American College of Physician Executives reveals that disruptive behavior by professional members of healthcare teams compromises patient safety, undermines cooperation and makes going to work a miserable experience. SHARON H. FITZGERALD

GPS Your Way Through the Lungs Locating Peripheral Lung Lesions Is Now Safer and More Accurate with the inReach™ System The next time you use a GPS to mark a favorite fishing hole, you are using the same electromagnetic principles that power the inReach ™ System (superDimension, Inc.) of guided bronchoscopy, used for guided navigation to peripheral lung lesions beyond the reach of traditional scopes, as well as for locating and staging suspect lymph nodes in the surrounding mediastinum. BARBARA MCCONNELL

Book Review: Medicine in Translation by Danielle Ofri For several months now, you’ve been keeping a tight eye on Washington. This healthcare debate has your attention and you’ve got definite opinions. You’ve also got questions. How, for instance, will reform affect you and your family? Will insurance be cheaper or more costly, better or worse? And how will it affect your wallet when your taxes are used to insure the uninsured? TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER, The Bookworm

Dr. Perri B. Prellop Doctor/Mom Faces Challenge of Balancing Work/Family For second-time mom, Dr. Perri B. Prellop, balancing career and family is a constant challenge. By day, she practices full-time as a radiation oncologist, dealing with life and death firsthand on a daily basis. After work, she goes home to a brand new baby boy, an active three-year old daughter, and a husband with a full-time job. The circle of life continues to revolve. LISA HANCHEY

In The News February