BATON ROUGE –Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) met with the Healthier Northshore Advisory Council, an initiative which brings hospitals across the Northshore together to provide free cancer screenings, nutritional guidance and preventive and behavioral health support for residents of St. Tammany and Washington Parishes. At the meeting, Healthier Northshore announced their Joint Community Health Needs Assessment, which will help direct resources to best address the health needs of Northshore residents.
“We want every family in Louisiana to have opportunity for themselves and for their children and grandchildren,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Healthier Northshore is taking a total view of how to achieve this. It’s my privilege to partner with many of their members along this pathway.”
As a physician and the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Cassidy has made improving access to health care a priority. In May, he helped pass through the HELP Committee a host of legislation to address public health challenges, including the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act, which renews programs improving detection of Alzheimer’s.
Additionally in April, he urged transparency from the Biden administration when they update their 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In February, he criticized the administration’s proposed rule to limit patients’ access to short-term and supplemental insurance coverage, which increases the cost of health care and makes it harder to access preventive care. Finally in December, he encouraged the committee to support medical advancements that help people with diabetes, and for NIH to research genetic predisposition to Type 2 diabetes.
As part of its work, Healthier Northshore reaches thousands of people a year through its partner hospitals and hosts 4 community events each year which provide skin and breast cancer screenings, blood pressure and glucose screenings, lung cancer risk assessments and diabetes education, all for free with the support of St. Tammany Health System’s Be Well Bus. It also sponsors smoking and vaping cessation programs. The President and CEO of St. Tammany Health System, Joan Coffman, welcomed Cassidy to the meeting.
“On behalf of St. Tammany Health System and Healthier Northshore, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Senator Cassidy for his leadership, collaboration and support as we work together to improve the overall health and quality of life for our community and broader region – as we navigate the challenges we face,” said Coffman. “His guidance and commitment to ensuring this iteration of our Community Health Needs Assessment in the Northshore region is a success is invaluable and much appreciated.”
Later, Cassidy met with a group of Northshore pastors at the Mandeville campus for Celebration Church where they discussed the needs of the community and issues facing Congress.
“These pastors minister to couples with broken marriages and families struggling with debt. They serve the poor and help those fleeing hurricanes. They spread the Gospel not just through words but through action. They make America great,” said Dr. Cassidy.
Rev. Dennis Watson, the Pastor of Celebration Church, thanked Cassidy for coming to their Mandeville campus.
“We were grateful to host Senator Bill Cassidy and some area pastors to discuss important issues related to our region and Nation,” said Pastor Watson.
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