Emily Woodruff

4 days ago | nola.com | Emily Woodruff

Louisiana is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds over the next decade, but the state has no designated authority to enforce how those funds are used, according to a new audit that recommends giving stronger oversight to the state's opioid task force. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor on Monday said millions of dollars from the state's portion of the opioid settlement fund remain unspent amid the ongoing opioid crisis.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Emily Woodruff

The efforts underway by Louisiana lawmakers to ban fluoride from public drinking water are bringing warnings from dentists and health experts, who said Thursday that the mineral has improved dental health and that removing it from water supplies is likely to lead to more cavities and tooth decay. Senate Bill 2, which passed the Louisiana Senate and is now headed to the House, would repeal the state’s fluoridation program and prohibit any public water system from adding the mineral.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Emily Woodruff

Across a white-carpeted stage in a pavilion-sized tent on Ochsner Health’s Jefferson Highway campus, hospital executives, politicians, business leaders, and patients turned the first ceremonial dirt Tuesday on the Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital — a moment Ochsner staff described as a long-planned investment in the future of pediatric health care in Louisiana.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Emily Woodruff

It’s common for pregnant patients to check into labor and delivery with family in tow. But when a nurse noticed something was off during an intake at Willis-Knighton Bossier Health Center in north Louisiana, she offered to help the expectant mother into a gown in the bathroom. Once they were alone, the nurse asked about substance use — a question she’d been newly trained to pose discreetly. “She got a positive screen,” recalled Traci Latiolais, a patient care coordinator at the hospital.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Emily Woodruff

Greg Lutz still remembers his first crawfish season. Working toward his doctorate and living in a trailer outside Lafayette, he split time between research at LSU and working a 64-acre crawfish pond with a seasoned Louisiana fisherman. “At the end of the day, there’d always be a few pounds left over,” Lutz said. “He’d say, ‘Well, they don’t want that. They’re not gonna buy that. You take that home.’”By the end of the season, Lutz joked, he would’ve traded crawfish for hot dogs.