On the job: On his first full day in office, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to reverse course from his Republican predecessor and start the process of expanding Louisiana’s Medicaid program. The Associated Press reports the announcement is planned for 1:30 p.m. today. It comes two days ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to Baton Rouge, where he’ll champion his federal health care overhaul that allows for the Medicaid expansion. Edwards has said he wants to have government-funded health insurance cards in more people’s hands by July 1.
Opening soon: TruFund Financial Services will mark the opening of the East Baton Rouge Contractor Support Center on Friday at 2875 Michelli Drive in partnership with Louisiana Economic Development, East Baton Rouge Parish Fair Share Program, East Baton Rouge Parish Public School System and the Southern University Small Business Development Center. The support center will host TruFund’s Contractor Competitiveness Boot Camp, which will provide assistance and guidance to underserved small businesses and nonprofits. The Boot Camp is expected to serve nearly 100 contractors throughout the first half of the year by offering supportive services including workstations, desktops, software and industry specific training.
Moving up: Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has named Nicole Telhiard vice president of patient care services, and Frank Canova Jr. vice president of finance. Tehliard has been with OLOL since 1993 and has held a variety of nursing and nurse leadership positions during her tenure. Canova comes to OLOL from Aiken, South Carolina, where he previously served as chief financial officer for Aiken Regional Medical Centers for the last four years. Canova, a New Orleans native, is also a past CFO for the CHRISTUS Schumpert Health System in Shreveport.
