Louisiana Department Of Health And Hospitals

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) (French: Département de La Santé de Louisiane) , formerly known as the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (French: Département de La Santé et des Hôpitaux) , is a state agency of Louisiana, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It is Louisiana's largest state agency with a budget of $15 billion and approximately 6,300 personnel. The agency oversees the health of the population under its current secretary, Dr. Courtney N. Phillips.

Leadership

Dr. Courtney N. Phillips was appointed secretary in 2020 by Governor John Bel Edwards. Prior to her role as secretary, she served as executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services, which included the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Department of State Health Services. Before that, she served as chief executive officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. She also previously spent 12 years at LDH in a variety of roles, including deputy secretary.

Mark A. Thomas has served as deputy secretary, the chief operating officer of LDH, since 2018. His previous role was assistant secretary of LDH's Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities from 2013 to 2018. The deputy secretary is the coordinator for LDH's Regional Coordinating Councils and oversees the coordination and implementation of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Mission

The mission of the Louisiana Department of Health is to protect and promote health and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all citizens of the state of Louisiana.

Offices of the Louisiana Department of Health

LDH's agencies include:

* Office of Public Health
** Monitors food and safe drinking water
** Fights chronic and communicable disease
** Ensures readiness for hurricanes, disasters and other threats
** Manages, analyzes and disseminates public health data
** Ensures access to vital records for births, deaths, fetal deaths and Orleans Parish marriage records
** Offers preventive health services
* Office of Behavioral Health
** Manages and delivers supports and services for citizens with mental illness and addictive disorders
** Delivers direct care through hospitalization
** Oversees behavioral health community-based treatment programs through the human services districts and authorities
* Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities
** Single point of entry into the developmental disabilities services system
** Oversees public and private residential services and other services for people with developmental disabilities
* Office of Aging and Adult Services
** Manages and delivers supports and services for senior citizens and people with adult-onset disabilities
** Provides and enhances services for people in need of long-term care
* Bureau of Community Partnerships & Health Equity
** Operationalizes community engagement and health equity best practices and standards agency wide
* Healthy Louisiana (Medicaid)
** Provides medical benefits to low-income individuals and families
** Expanded under Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2016 through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
** Medicaid expansion has provided nearly 480,000 previously uninsured residents with coverage, dropping the state's uninsured rate to 8.4% in 2017

LDH also plays a role in the State of Louisiana's emergency preparedness network.

Geographic Structure

The Louisiana Department of Health provides public health services and oversight across Louisiana in nine regions.

*Within the Office of Behavioral Health, Region 1 comprises Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes. An additional Region 10, based in Metairie, serves Jefferson Parish exclusively.

References

External links

Louisiana Department of Health

{{authority control

health
Medical and health organizations based in Louisiana
State departments of health of the United States