In practice: Baton Rouge General Medical Center has graduated eight students from its internal medicine residency program, with five of the graduates to begin their clinical practices or additional specialty training in Louisiana, three of whom will remain with Baton Rouge General. The residency programs typically require three-year commitments following medical school. Upon completion of residency, physicians take exams to obtain board certification and then begin their medical practice or they may continue on with additional fellowship training in sub-specialties, such as cardiology or gastroenterology. A graduation program was held for the physicians on June 23 at the Country Club of Louisiana.
The latest filing: Attorneys for the state of Louisiana are renewing efforts to block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. The Associated Press reports state attorneys have asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to hold a rehearing on the issue—noting that one judge on the court recently changed her opinion on the issue. Last September, a three-judge 5th Circuit panel upheld an injunction preventing the state from cutting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. The money goes to non-abortion services for low-income women. One of the three judges, Priscilla Owen recently changed her position, making it a 2-1 decision instead of a unanimous one. The result is the same.
All aboard: A subsidiary of Houston-based Gulf Island Fabrication has been awarded a contract from Oregon State University to build a Regional Class Research Vessel, with an option for two additional vessels. The first will be built in Houma and will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020, the company says. The vessels will measure 193 feet and will be highly flexible, multi-mission platforms that maximize energy efficient design concepts, Gulf Island says. They will be large enough to carry up to 29 crew and embarked scientists. The company has more details on the contract.
