Model site: St. Joseph Hospice of Baton Rouge is among 141 hospices nationwide chosen to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare Care Choices Model. The model provides an option for Medicare beneficiaries to receive hospice-like support services while receiving health care services for conditions where a cure is considered achievable, according to the federal agency. Patients who qualify for St. Joseph Palliative Care Choices Model are allowed, for the first time, to seek curative treatment for their disease while they also receive palliative care, which focuses on reducing the pain and stress from chronic illness. St. Joseph Hospice locations in Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Covington are the only hospices in Louisiana chosen as facilities to implement the model. Get more information.
Diversity: The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has tapped Walmart Executive Vice President and Treasurer Claire Babineaux-Fontenot as guest speaker of its May 3 Signature Speaker event. Her speech, titled “Authenticity and Humility: The Cornerstones of Inclusion,” will focus on workplace diversity, BRAC says. Babineaux-Fontenot, a Louisiana native, will focus on three areas: the diversity and inclusion imperative, the quest for self-awareness and acceptance, and hiring for your gaps. The event will be held at the Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Registration for the event is $35 for BRAC investors; $45 for guests. Get complete details.
Take two: The Louisiana Public Service Commission could decide today to reconsider its decision last month to reject the proposed sale of Cleco Corp., The Town Talk reports. A motion to rehear the application of an investor group to buy Pineville-based Cleco is on the agenda for the LPSC meeting in Baton Rouge. Cleco, which is Central Louisiana’s only publicly traded company, agreed in October 2014 to the sale proposal from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors. The deal was approved by Cleco shareholders and received other regulatory clearance, but fell short at the final hurdle when it was rejected by the Public Service Commission on Feb. 25. Read the full story.
