DMA Spring 2009

A Newsletter for Our Clients and Friends
Diagnostic Management Affiliates PPO, LLC
Spring 2009
Springtime Festivities
The Mardi Gras festivities are now behind us, but with Springtime and crawfish season in full-force, Louisianans will now
look to our Spring festivals to keep us entertained. A season
packed with food, fun, and music; the Louisiana Springtime
spares no expense to perpetuate the decadent, fun-loving Cajun
spice that accompanies our Louisiana
heritage. While it would be impossible
to include all of the festivities of the
Louisiana Springtime in this one little
newsletter, here are a few of my personal
favorites that might be worth looking
into this Spring:
Cajun Hot Sauce Festival,
New Iberia, LA
Every April, the Cajun Hot Sauce Festival spices up the Acadiana fairgrounds
with a huge Louisiana carnival featuring
cook-offs, live music and entertainment,
and lots and lots of Cajun hot sauce.
The carnival also includes fun for the
entire family featuring helicopter rides,
hot air balloons, crafts, kite flying, and
an exotic petting zoo.
Unlike any other carnival, this four
day festival adds a little kick with its hot
sauce theme: a Tabasco jambalaya cookoff, people’s choice hot sauce competition, and the ‘Queen of the Hot Sauce Festival’ pageant.
French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, LA
The French Quarter Festival opened its doors in 1983. It is
already known to be the largest free-music event in Louisiana,
and is soaring to new heights every year. In 2008, the Festival
was awarded ‘Best Festival’ by both offBeat Magazine and
New Orleans Magazine, who also awarded the festival ‘Best
Event Open to the Public’, where it even managed to beat out
Mardi Gras.
French Quarter Festival is dedicated to supporting the local
music community. The Festival only schedules local musicians.
No matter what style of music you enjoy, you’ll find it at French
Quarter Festival. Seventeen outdoor stages feature every genre
from gospel to jazz, from funk to classical, and from Cajun &
zydeco to brass band.
The Festival offers over 250 hours of entertainment featuring more than 150 musical performances
on seventeen stages throughout the
French Quarter over a three-day weekend. You will also find the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch,” which showcases the
festival food booths operated by nearly
60 local chefs and restaurants throughout the entire weekend.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage
Festival, New Orleans, LA
In announcing the first Jazz and Heritage
Festival, jazz impresario George Wein
proudly declared, “The New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Festival represents a new
and exciting idea in festival presentation.
This festival could only be held in New
Orleans because here and here alone is
the richest musical heritage in America.”
From the very beginning, the Festival
was envisioned as an important event
that would have great cultural significance and popular appeal. The Festival
was the culmination of years of discussions and efforts by city
leaders who wanted to create an event worthy of the New Orleans legacy as the birthplace of jazz. This two weekend festival
brings in artists and visitors alike from all over the world to create a bold blend of national and international flavors.
Over the years Jazz Fest has received many honors, including being named the ‘Festival of the Year’ four times by Pollstar
magazine. The 2004 event marks the 35th anniversary of Jazz
Fest, which the Wall Street Journal says “showcases a wider,
deeper lineup of essential American musical styles than any
festival in the nation,” and which Life magazine has called “the
country’s very best music festival.’’
continued on page 2
Springtime Festivities (continued)
Inspired by the spirit of Mahalia Jackson and the Eureka
Brass Band back in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage
Festival continues to celebrate the culture of Louisiana with the
combined fervor of a gospel hymn and the joy of a jazz parade.
New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, New Orleans, LA
Every Memorial Day weekend, the New Orleans Wine &
Food Experience brings together a wealth of culinary and viticultural talent against a backdrop of New Orleans’ art, architecture, music and rare antiques. This event – one of the most
prestigious of its kind – brings food connoisseurs and wine-o’s
together for a five day feast and celebration that takes aim at
all of the senses. The event brings together world-renowned
winemakers, celebrated chefs, and industry insiders for a
showcase of signature events designed to entertain, educate,
and inspire.
The events include culinary seminars, demonstrations,
vintner dinners, wine tastings, and the ever-popular “Krewe of
Cork” parade through the French Quarter; a rollicking event
of marchers in wine-themed costumes celebrating food, wine,
and fun. The Wine and Food festival Experience participants
include a who’s who of New Orleans chefs along with an Alist of chefs and vintners from around the world.
Jambalaya Festival, Gonzales, LA
The town of Gonzales proudly declares itself as the “Jambalaya Capital of The World”. In 1967, the town formed the
Jambalaya Festival Association to put together a Memorial
Day weekend event to celebrate this great distinction. Every
year you will find a variety of food, fun, music and activities
that have made the Jambalaya Festival a must-see springtime
festival in Louisiana.
The Festival features lots and lots of Jambalaya served
daily, live music and entertainment, carnival rides, cooking
contests, a variety of food, and so much fun it takes four days
to get it all in. The Festival highlight is the World Champion
Jambalaya Cooking Contest, a two-day cook-off that features
chefs from all over Louisiana. Each chef is given the exact
same ingredients to compile their dish over a wood fire, but
only one has the honor of coming away with the coveted title
of “World Jambalaya Champion.”
Back to the Beach Festival, Kenner, LA
The Back to the Beach Festival is put on annually by the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. Since the floodgates opened
in 1989, revelers have poured into Laketown in Kenner, LA
to enjoy great local bands, Louisiana festival foods, arts and
crafts, car shows, and a scenic run/walk through the Lakeshore.
“Our goal is to get people of all ages out to the lake,” says
Sheila Ehren, the foundation’s development and outreach director. All of the benefits from this festival are put towards benefiting the Louisiana Coast and Lake Pontchartrain River Basin.
* Sources: Whereyat.com, nojazzfest.com, nola411.com, cajunradio.org,
saveourlake.org, nowfe.com, fqfi.com, jambalayafestival.org, goneworleans.com,
louisianafairsandfestivals.com, nola.com
Dr. Michael Francis - Pain Medicine
Diagnostic Medicine Affiliates welcomes our newest Pain
Medicine provider for the North Shore and New Orleans areas, Dr. Michael Francis. In addition to his pain medicine and
anesthesiology work, Dr. Francis is the Medical Director at the
Integrative Pain Medicine Center in Covington, LA. He also
practices out of many quality facilities around the North Shore
including Slidell Memorial Hospital, Fairway Medical Center,
Southern Surgical Hospital, and the Louisiana Medical Center
and Heart Hospital in Lacombe. As a New Orleans resident, Dr.
Francis is available to the New Orleans population as well.
Dr. Francis began his undergraduate work at Xavier University in New Orleans before completing his Bachelor of Science
at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI in 1977. He went
on to receive his Medical Degree (MD) from the LSU Medical
Center of New Orleans in 1981.
In 1984, Dr. Francis completed his postgraduate training
in anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and affiliated hospitals. He was appointed in 1986 to fellowships in
Pediatric Anesthesia at the Denver Children’s Hospital, and in
Pain Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
From 1989 until 2000, Dr. Francis served on the faculty of
Tulane Medical Center in the Dept. of Anesthesiology. After
Katrina, he was on the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin as the Assistant Director of Interventional Pain Medicine
teaching the Pain Fellows until he returned home to serve the
Southeastern Louisiana community.
Dr. Francis is an honored diplomate of both the American
Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain
Medicine. He also holds memberships in many honorary and
professional societies such as The American Academy of Pain
Medicine, The American Pain Society, The American Society
of Interventional Pain Physicians, The American Academy of
Physicians Executives, and the International Spine Intervention Society.
As the Co-Editor of ‘What’s new in Pain Medicine’, Dr.
Francis is on the progressive end of a rapidly changing medical
field. He also works to promote strong ethical values and treatment modalities in his practice, as reflected in his membership in
the Ethics Committee for the American Academy of Pain Medicine where he has been positioned since 2005. Also serving as a
member of the Communications Committee for the American
Academy of Pain Medicine, Dr Francis works to communicate
and promote modernized treatments and ethical values in hopes
to provide a positive influence to the field of pain medicine.
DMA Lowers MRI Prices
DMA’s provider plan offers the most
comprehensive selection of Imaging
Services in Southern Louisiana. In
order to complement our vast selection
of facilities, DMA’s MRI pricing is
now more competitive than ever. Our
goal is for these pricing changes to
help make MRI’s more affordable for
our customers throughout the entire
Southern Louisiana region.
Our basic plan for MRI services
affords attorneys the ability to defer
payment for 24 months or until your case
settles. For attorneys whose cases require
multiple MRI orders, this option can go
a long way to help keep your cash flow
open to your practice.
In the New Orleans metropolitan
area, we offer a price of $690 on both
open and closed MRI scans. Our closed scans through Magnolia
Diagnostics offer high-resolution imaging services, as well as
a comfortable wide-tunnel magnet. Magnolia specializes in
attorney MRI work, and promises top-quality imaging along with
radiology readings that are geared toward building your cases.
We also offer Open MRI scans at the same price through
Metairie Imaging. Metairie Imaging works to provide a
comfortable, patient-oriented setting.
This facility offers very 4.5 ft wide
open MRI unit with can comfortably
accommodate patients who are
claustrophobic or overweight. They
proudly stand as one of the only
privately held facilities to be awarded
ACR Certification for quality and
safety by the American College of
Radiology.
On the North Shore, DMA’s
competitive pricing plan offers MRI’s
at $700 through North Shore MRI.
Since 2001, North Shore MRI has been
committed to providing the highest
quality in patient and imaging care.
This outstanding facility will also work
to get the reports for your case into
your hand within 24 hours. As if that
were not enough, our great prices on North Shore MRI’s
quality services also extend to the company’s other locations:
Champion Diagnostics in Baton Rouge and Ascension Open
MRI in Gonzales.
DMA will continue to work towards lowering our MRI prices
throughout Southern Louisiana. For more information, please
contact us at (504) 484-7077.
LSU Health Care Network
Douglas Bostick, III
Diagnostic Management Affiliates has received a huge boost
to our provider list with the acquisition of the LSU Health
Care Network. The LSU Health Care Network (LSUHN) is a
group of medical practices consisting of specialized physicians
who seek to deliver quality care and service in a convenient,
affordable manner.
LSUHN’s doctors have been ranked among the best in
the city wide surveys and these doctors are among the most
respected in their specialties. Since these physicians are
employed as faculty members of LSU Medical School, patients
can expect to receive treatment from doctors who remain on the
cutting edge of medical and technological development.
Most patients through LSUHN can be seen as same or
next day appointments. With office locations throughout the
Garden District, Uptown, Kenner, and the Westbank, the LSU
Healthcare Network is accessible for your clients anywhere
throughout the city of New Orleans.
In all, the addition of the LSU Healthcare Network
has allowed DMA to incorporate 11 new physicians into
our provider plan, including two Neurosurgeons and nine
Orthopedic Surgeons. For more information on the LSU
Healthcare Network, or for a list of the LSUHN providers who
will be available to you through DMA’s provider plan, please
contact us at (504) 484-7077.
DMA is happy to announce our new orthopedic surgeon on
the New Orleans West Bank, Dr. Douglas Bostick, III. Dr. Bostick
is a New Orleans native who received his undergraduate training at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Upon
completing his undergraduate work in 1991 with a BS in Biology,
Dr. Bostick returned home to complete his medical training. He
received his medical degree (MD) from the LSU School of Medicine in 1996 before completing his orthopedic training at the LSU
School of Medicine in 2001. During the course of his training,
he was nominated for both Charity Hospital Intern of the year in
1997 and Charity Hospital Resident of the year in 1998.
After completing his medical and orthopedic training, Dr.
Bostick received his certification from the American Board of
Orthopaedic Surgery. He has also received specialized training
in areas such as arthroscopic and minimally invasive procedures,
as well as computer assisted surgery.
Dr. Bostick has been practicing at the Jefferson Orthopedic
Clinic since completing his orthopedic training in 2001. The
Jefferson Orthopedic team of physicians seeks to offer their patients “a friendly environment with a courteous staff to care for
your orthopedic problems,” and members of the clinic have been
nominated for such awards as ‘Best Doctors in America’ and ‘Best
Doctors in New Orleans’.
Orthopedic Surgeon
Letter from the Marketing Manager
It has been an exciting start to the 2009 year for DMA. As I noted in the last newsletter, our biggest goals coming into the year
included the expansion of our provider list as well as developing a more competitive pricing structure.
Things are looking great for our provider list. Over the first quarter of the year, we have managed to incorporate six Orthopedic
Surgeons, two Neurosurgeons, and one Pain Management provider. We have also added to our plan the option of bracing, prosthetics,
and electrotherapy equipment for your clients through RS Medical. I will be doing my best to keep all of our customers updated as
we continue to expand our provider network. We still have plenty of new providers to come and don’t forget that if you ever have a
provider you would like to see in our network, all you have to do is let me know.
Everybody wants to see lower prices. So far this year, we have been able to slash our MRI prices throughout the state. We hope
to continue this trend, as well as to extend these lower prices into the other areas of our network. As you know, DMA charges no
markups upon provider rates, however we are working closely with our providers in hopes of establishing a discounted price which
we can then pass on to you.
Things have been especially exciting for DMA on the attorney end. We have been seeing a lot of new faces in our network, and
we now are now financing medical costs for over 350 attorneys throughout Southern Louisiana. We hope to continue this expansion,
as well to bolster our customer base throughout New Orleans, the North Shore, and Houma, as well as the smaller markets and
surrounding areas. Our numbers are reaching their highest points since pre-Katrina, and we are hoping to surpass those numbers
in the near future.
Sincerely,
Stuart Schmidt
Inside DMA is a quarterly newsletter published by Diagnostic Management Affiliates PPO LLC. DMA does not prescribe
medical advice. Comments are welcome. For additional information, call or write us as follows: DMA, Attention: Stuart Schmidt,
Marketing Manager, 3532 Canal Street, Suite 6, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119, (504) 484-7077 or (888) 663-7077.
3532 Canal Street, Suite 6
New Orleans, LA 70119