Northshore Healthbeat

What does autism acceptance look like in a healthcare setting? In this episode, we sit down with clinical leaders to talk about the real-world impact of autism-specific training, sensory-aware care and clear communication – and how these efforts are transforming the patient experience at St. Tammany Health System.

In recognition of National Nutrition Month, "Northshore Healthbeat" goes inside the world of clinical nutrition this week with St. Tammany Health System dietitians Kimberly Ellison and Christina Waguespack. From a day in the life of a hospital dietitian to the science behind patient care, they break down common misconceptions, explain the difference between dietitians and nutritionists, and share why nutrition plays a critical role in healing and overall well-being – among many other topics.

This isn't your average episode of Northshore Healthbeat. With podcaster Kati LeBreton preparing for her own big day, Amy Bouton, STHS Director of Communication and Marketing unleashes her on the STHS labor and delivery team to get the insider scoop all expectant parents crave. From practical tips to surprising truths, this episode delivers can't‑miss guidance for anyone counting down to baby.

You know the saying: Prevention is the best medicine – but it works best with a plan. In today's episode, diabetes experts Terry Compton and Melissa Gispert join us to unpack PreventT2, a free new diabetes-prevention program from St. Tammany Health System that helps people with prediabetes and other at-risk patients take control early. Consider this your roadmap for staying ahead of Type 2 diabetes.

This is not exactly a tell-all tale – but it is close. Dr. Merrill Laurent, a local physician and member of the St. Tammany Health System Board of Commissioners, joins us to help pull back the curtain on the health system's hidden gems, revealing the overlooked services and behind-the-scenes care that quietly power our community's health.

As we embark upon a new year, STHS clinical dietitians and friends of the show Jessica Greer and Sarah Brignac separate nutrition fact from fiction, breaking down which popular diets actually work and which ones deserve a healthy dose of skepticism. In the course of what is a lively and informational conversation, we tackle some of the biggest misconceptions around food and offer practical, realistic tips for turning over a healthier leaf in the new year – no fads required.

We kick off 2026 with a conversation featuring St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman, who reflects on the year that was and looks ahead to the priorities shaping the year to come. In this candid, free-flowing discussion she talks about the lessons learned; momentum gained; and how our mission continues to guide strategic growth, innovation and the care we deliver to the Northshore community.

It's beginming to look a lot like Christmas, and to help you find the perfect gift for that special child in your life, we sit down with the experts from the St Tammany Parenting Center to talk about what to look for when shopping for toys - including some of their favorite picks of the year. 

As Baby Boomers continue to enter their golden years at record pace, many of their Gen-X children are struggling with a new, unexpected caregiver role thrust upon them. It doesn't have to be a surprise though. To talk about ways parents, and their adult children, can plan for the future - and gain some peace of mind in the process - we visit with St Tammany Health System Assistant Vice President of Care Coordination Paula Day and Director of Care Coordination Monique Brewster, who share tips and strategies for making sure those golden years don't lose their luster. 

November isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore. It's also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. To mark the occasion, we sit down with Caroline Blanchard, a lung cancer patient and changemaker working to educate others who may be genetically predisposed to a lung cancer diagnosis; and Caitlin Hunter from Chevron, who joins us to talk about why Chevron remains committed to joining St. Tammany Health System in education, screening and prevention.

"It takes a village," the old proverb tells us - and St. Tammany Health Foundation is once more putting that concept to the test this October with its monthlong Power of Pink breast cancer awareness campaign, an annual observance built around broad community support.  To learn more, in this episode we visit with the foundation's Kathleen Thomas as well as Dilly & Sons Bagelry co-owner Dana Tune – whose business is conducting a monthlong give-back campaign in support of cancer care – about the power of community, the power of early detection, and, of course, the Power of Pink. 

On Dec. 2, 1954, St. Tammany Health System's flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital welcomed its first baby into the world. Now, 70 years later, more than 60,000 babies have joined that first one, and St. Tammany Parish Hospital has become the premiere destination for maternity care on the Northshore. But what does that mean, exactly?

How prepared are you and your loved ones to weather the next major hurricane from a health standpoint? Twenty years ago Hurricane Katrina changed the game, and so much more, from a healthcare perspective. Now Amy and Mike get some pro tips from St Tammany Health System Vice President Mike Hill and Braswell's Pharmacy Sondra Ard. 

When the weather gets hot, and the days get long, the Emergency Department at St Tammany Health System gets busy, busy, busy. To mark the season, we welcome St Tammany Health System trauma experts Joe St. Phillip and Bethany Monistere to our (mercifully air-conditioned) podcast studio to discuss what to do when the summer break goes sideways.  

During the heat of the summer Mike Scott sits down with Dr Merrill Laurent, a long time local primary care physician. The two discuss the dangers of high temperatures - and the importance of staying cool when it gets hot outside - as well as series of other frequently asked questions.  

On the morning after Thanksgiving 2022, Covington attorney Jeff Schoen underwent an emergency heart procedure at St. Tammany Health System's flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital. It saved his life. It also changed it in ways he never imagined. In this episode of "Northshore Healthbeat", which arrives during Men's Health Month, Mr Schoen sits down with Mike Scott and Bridget Lobello to talk about his journey - and to offer some sage advice to others like him.     

Like most women, Erin Stover wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting her annual mammogram. She did it anyway, though - and it may have saved her life. Now, in addition to being a breast cancer survivor, she's also a breast cancer advocate, helping educate others about the life-saving value of regular health screenings. In this episode Mike and Bridget sit down with Erin to learn her story, as well as with Dr. Christopher Porter, MD, a surgical oncologist with St. Tammany Health System's High Risk Breast Disease Clinic, to discuss the finer points of breast health. 

In this episode Amy Bouton, Director of Communication and Marketing for St. Tammany Health System and Bridget Lobello, Director of Business Development, talk to the long-tenured surgery team at the newly opened St. Tammany Health System Surgery Center —the most advanced center of its kind in the Gulf South Region. Amy Wade, BSN, RN Director, STHS Surgery Center, Pre-Op/PACU/Extended Recovery Unit and Brian Grissom, CRNA — Director of Anesthesia discuss the unmatched care of the surgery team and the excellent facility. 

The Family Medicine Formula: St Tammany Health System/Ochsner Family Medicine Residency Program.    In this episode Dr Lisa Casey and first year resident, Dr. Meghan Castillo, share the successes and goals of the St Tammany Health System/Ochsner Family Medicine residency program at the St Tammany Physicians Network North Covington Clinic. 

It's the conversation that no one wants to have but that everybody should. It is Advance Care Planning, or putting your healthcare decisions in writing now, while you're still able to communicate them. In this show, St Tammany Health System Palliative Medicine Supervisor Emily Pupo helps understand how tackling this quick and easy chore now can spare you and your loved ones enormous heartache in the future.  

In just four years the nonprofit St Tammany Health Foundation has led the way in its efforts to transform healthcare for patients on the Northshore with Autism. We sat down with foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre and Board of Trustees member Sunny McDaniel to talk about their work in the autism arena, and why it is so profound for patients with autism and those who love them. 

Fans of the New Orleans Saints likely remember Rich Mauti from his playing days, but since hanging up his cleats, he has worked tirelessly to support local cancer causes - including a recent gift to St. Tammany Health System that is being called transformational when it comes to lung cancer. He joins us to talk about why the cause is so personal to him and what he hopes his advocacy work accomplishes.  

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so we sit down with two experts on the matter- gastroenterologist Dr. Brandon Brousse and family medicine specialist Dr. Maria Roberts - about ways to take control of your gut health, as well as signs that it might be time to have a deeper conversation with your primary care physician. 

At St. Tammany Health System, we always have one goal in mind - You! Go deeper and meet four of our oncologists in Part One of Cancer is a Team Sport.  Host: Amy Bouton; Director of Communication and Marketing; Executive Producer of Northshore Healthbeat Dr. Suma Reddy-Satti is a medical oncologist at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is board certified in medical oncology. Dr. Brian Pettiford, MBA, MMM, FACS, is a surgical oncologist with a focus on thoracic surgery at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Pettiford is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Erik Lappinen specializes in radiation oncology at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Renee Christman NP, practices hematology oncology at Ochsner Health. 

Just three months after the founding of St Tammany Parish Hospital in 1954, the all-volunteer St Tammany Hospital Guild was created to help it in its healing mission. Now, 70 years later, we sit down with some of its current members to talk about the organization and why they choose to donate their time to it. 

Well, we did it. Together we have put a bow on 2024, but there's no time to rest. As busy as the past 12 months have been, the new year is shaping up to be just as busy at St. Tammany Health System as President and CEO Joan Coffman tells us in our first episode of 2025. 

It is the diagnosis nobody wants to hear, but the truth is that diabetes can be managed, if you know how! Amy and Mike talked to STPSO Deputy Mark Christman about his diabetes journey and how the STHS's Diabetes Education Department has help put him on track to continue living his best life. 

It's the holiday season, and you know what that means: parties, potent potables and packing on the pounds. But what about those health minded revelers hoping to curb the season's excesses? St Tammany Health System clinical dieticians Sarah Brignac and Jessica Greer join Mike and Tim to judge our first ever mocktail contest, featuring recipes submitted by our health system colleagues. 

We're talking about the holidays for a good reason. It is almost Thanksgiving, which means Black Friday, which means the holiday shopping season is officially in full swing. If you've got little ones on your list, you'll want to listen to this episode because our St Tammany Parenting Center and the parenting experts there have pulled together their annual toy gift guide, and we unveil it for you in this episode. 

For Megan Broussard, early detection in lung cancer is not only her job, it is her vocation in life. Megan's vision brought St Tammany United in Lung Health--The Power of Pearl, to life. And for Caitlin Hunter, it's personal. Megan and Caitlin share why this cause is so close to their hearts, and how you can share in this month rich in resources for early detection and education. 

You know already that St Tammany Health System is the Northshore's premier destination for maternity care. You also know its St Tammany Pediatrics practice is the best place to go for expert pediatric care. But what happens when your little ones have an emergency? Local mother of three Sarah Montgomery learned the answer the hard way. She joins Tim and Mike to tell her story. 

Anne Pablovich is a busy woman, especially now. As a point person for St Tammany Health System's third annual breast cancer awareness campaign, which continues all October, she's putting serious mileage on the Be Well Bus, which will be crisscrossing the the community and offering mammograms to whoever needs one. It's exhausting work, but it's also all for a good cause, as Anne and Nicole tell us in our latest episode. 

You wouldn't want your football team to go without a signal caller. Your healthcare team is much the same, which is why having a primary care physician is so important, especially for women. In this episode we dive into the primary care playbook --- and strain the football metaphor to its limits --- with MVP level help from Dr. Karmynah Helaire and Dr. Victoria Blossman. 

Often, there's more to healthcare than treating a patient's physical ailments. St Tammany Health System Chaplain Dana Trahan and NAMI SE Louisiana Executive Director Nick Richard join us this episode for a closer look at the role of mental health and spiritual care in the healing journey. 

It's football season -- which in South Louisiana means it's also tailgating season. But what's a health conscious person to do in the face of myriad nutritional pitfalls that come with fandom? In this episode St Tammany Health System Clinical Dieticians Sarah Brignac and Jessica Greer huddle up with Mike and Tim to game-plan suggestions for feeding our appetites for good football and good health all at once. 

It is a sad but true fact, children do not come with an instruction manual. Luckily, we've got the next best thing, as we sit down with Dr. Seth McVea - one of the kid experts at St Tammany Health System's newly opened St Tammany Perdiatrics and Express Care Kids Clinic in Mandeville - to answer listeners' questions and discuss all things pediatrics. 

In south Louisiana we like to spend our time on the water, camping in one of our many state parks, outside at festivals, and on weekend trips to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. In this episode Amy and Tim sat down in the St Tammany Cancer Center - A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center to talk with Dr. Shahraam Kamalpour, Dermatologist, Ochsner Health and fellowship trained in Mos Micrograhic Surgery and cosmetic surgery and Liz Garland, who shares her patient story about how a skin cancer check at a community event resulted in an early catch. Listen in and learn how to know your skin, how to check your skin, and how to recognize when something is amiss. 

Healthier Northshore, an initiative dedicated to bringing people, organizations and resources together to amplify healthy living in St Tammany and Washington Parishes, is approaching the triennial Community Health Needs Assessment from a fresh, collaborative lens. In this episode hear Amy Bouton and Anne Pablovich from St Tammany Health System, speak with United Way SELA President and CEO Michael Williamson about this collaborative effort to document and improve health on the Northshore. 

Men are unique creatures, and in more ways than one. In recognition of that undeniable fact, and in recognition of June as Men's Health Month, Tim and Mike sat down with Dr. Michael K. Hill for some manly talk about men's health needs - including those screenings nobody seems to want to discuss. (You know what we're talking about.) 

With Cancer Appreciation Day on the horizon, hosts Amy Bouton and Tim San Fillipo sat down for a conversation with Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Kathy Ann Howard, who had the tables turned on her, going from care provider to patient, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. They also spoke with Lindsay Gomez, Manager of Cancer Services at the St Tammany Cancer Center, about Lagniappe Services. 

In this episode of Northshore Healthbeat Amy and Mike sit down with two women who have experienced the same thing from very different perspectives. Payten Figurino was an expectant mother who delivered her baby at STHS at 25 weeks due to preeclampsia. Dr. Adela Narcisse is an STHS OB Hospitalist who will discuss what preeclampsia is and how they treat it. 

Hosts Amy Bouton and Mike Scott got a chance to sit down with St Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman. In a wide ranging conversation Joan discussed her suprising start in healthcare, where the health system is right now, and where they are headed.