Kidney & Hypertension Associates joins the St. Tammany Quality Network

Covington, LA   Kidney & Hypertension Associates physicians are proud to have joined the St. Tammany Quality Network (STQN). The STQN is a physician led organization comprising of a select group of approximately 180 key physicians from the St. Tammany Parish medical community who have joined together in a clinically integrated way with a keen focus on providing the best possible care to our community in the most efficient manner. for more information click here Source STQN.org

St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Ochsner Health System share future vision for healthcare in western St. Tammany Parish

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Brenda Ledet, APRN, ANP-C joins Kidney & Hypertension Associates

Brenda Ledet, APRN, ANP-C

Brenda joined Kidney & Hypertension Associates in July, 2013. Brenda earned her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) in 1998 and began practicing at St. Tammany Parish Hospital (STPH) as a Registered Nurse. After a decade of providing compassionate nursing care for patients at STPH, Brenda returned to SLU and obtained a master’s degree in Advanced Practice Registered Nursing in 2010. She is Board Certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner and a life-long resident of Covington, Louisiana. Brenda works very closely with the physicians of Kidney & Hypertension Associates while providing advanced practice nursing care to patients in communities near her home town.

Kidney & Hypertension Associates physicians are Board Certified

Did you know that only 25% of doctors in the United States are Board Certified?
At Kidney & Hypertension Associates we take your health care seriously and only partner with the top physicians in the country.  All of our physicians are Board Certified in Nephrology and Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).  Please visit ABIM.org to verify if your doctor is Board Certified.
BACKGROUND
Since 1936, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has worked to ensure the quality of our nation’s health care by certifying physicians who practice internal medicine and one or more of its 19 subspecialties – which constitute one in four practicing physicians. ABIM is not a membership society, educational institution or licensing body, but a non-profit, independent physician evaluation organization committed to continuously improving the profession for the public good.
Through ongoing board certification programs, physicians are able to test and enhance their clinical judgment and skills. Consumers are also able to check if their physician has the knowledge needed to deliver high quality care.


ABIM Certification is recognized as a marker of a physician’s professionalism, knowledge and skill. Most hospitals require certification for physicians to have admitting privileges, and many health plans mandate certification for contracting or eligibility for preferred networks.


The exams and other assessment tools used by ABIM to assess a physician’s competency are developed by physician- experts in academic medicine and in practice. These tools incorporate the latest advances in medicine with a practical focus on how medical care is delivered in physicians’ offices.


ABIM’s Certification and Maintenance of Certification programs provide internists and its subspecialists, including cardiologists, rheumatologists, nephrologists and others, with a relevant, useful and continually improving means of demonstrating their professional competence and development.


THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Internists and subspecialists are initially certified at the end of training by passing a secure exam that is administered by ABIM. Physicians certified in internal medicine or one of its subspecialties must periodically pass a secure exam and complete an intensive self-assessment and practice review to remain ABIM Board Certified.


ABIM is the largest of the 24 certifying boards under the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) umbrella. ABMS sets the standards for physician certification in the United States and assists its member boards in developing and implementing standards to evaluate and certify physician specialists.


ABIM FAST STATS
ABIM has issued more than 300,000 certificates in internal medicine and its subspecialties in the United States and its territories since its founding.

CERTIFICATION LICENSURE
Members of the American Board of Medical Specialties
Independent, national non-profit organizations
Evaluate and certify the knowledge, skills and attitudes of physician specialists

LICENSURE
Members of the Federation of State Medical Boards
State governed non-profit organizations with varying requirements

Issue and regulate state medical licenses

• From 2001-2010 ABIM certified 69,847 physicians in general internal medicine
• From 2001-2010 ABIM certified more than 7,600 cardiologists and more than 4,700 medical oncologists
• More than 72,000 physicians are currently enrolled in ABIM’s Maintenance of Certification program

Source: American Board of Internal Medicine

New Chronic Kidney Disease Program in Louisiana improves patientoutcomes

Kidney disease affects millions of people in the United States. In Louisiana, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is even more prevalent than in the rest of the country. In the past it has been accepted that people with kidney disease progress to end stage renal disease and ultimately require dialysis.That is no longer the case! Through closer physician oversight and the involvement of other focused health care providers, it is now possible to slow the progression of CKD. Kidney & Hypertension Associates has always been the leader in providing the highest quality of care for patients with kidney disease on the northshore. This program will provide a framework to insure improved patient outcomes and a delay the patient's need for dialysis.

For more information about the CKD Program at Kidney & Hypertension Associates, please call at (985) 893-0911.

Dr. Powers elected to St Tammany Parish Hospital Medical Staff Leadership

Dr. David R. Powers was elected by the Medical Staff at St. Tammany Parish Hospital to serve on the 2011 Medical Executive Committee as Secretary of the Medical Staff.  Dr. Powers has previously served as Chairman of the Medical Services Committee at St. Tammany Parish Hospital.  Dr. Powers continues to commit time to the furtherment of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital mission of excellence in medical care. 

Dr. Powers elected to Ochsner Northshore Chief of Medical Staff-Elect

Dr. David R. Powers was elected by the Medical Staff at Ochsner Northshore Medical Center in Slidell formally Northshore Regional Medical Center to serve as Chief of Staff-Elect in 2011.  Dr. Powers is honored to serve in that capacity.