The Best and the Worst of the Week
Meleah
Jensenof Gretna, who enters her senior year at Louisiana State University this fall, was awarded a $3,000 Educator of Tomorrow Scholarship from the National Federation of the Blind. The NFB chose the elementary education major as one of 30 outstanding blind students in the country. Jensen received the award at the NFB's recent annual convention in Louisville, Ky. The honor included $1,500 worth of reading system software.
Dr. Charles Cefalu,
chief of Geriatric Medicine at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine,
recently won the first Public Policy Grassroots Program Award by the American
Geriatrics Society. The AGS cited Cefalu's push for legislation to benefit geriatric
health providers and patients. The award came with the chance for Cefalu to
meet with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of health care issues
facing geriatric patients.
The Medical Center of New Orleans and University Hospital,
commonly known as the Charity Hospital system, did not follow federal Medicare
regulations after the two entities merged in 1994, according to a recent report
from the U.S. Department of Health and Hospitals. An agency audit said the hospital
system improperly billed Medicare for more than $1.8 million over a three-year
span. DHH plans to pursue repayment, the report says.
Edward M. Tierney,
audit director for the state Office of Public Health in New Orleans, was paid
nearly $5,000 for hours he did not work, says a recently released report by
the state legislative auditor's office. The audit says Tierney submitted falsified
time sheets for hours he was not in the OPH office, and advised the OPH to keep
better tabs on its employee work claims. A federal grand jury indicted Tierney
on charges of public payroll fraud last month.
