Programs

Initiatives We Support

Our goal is to support the mission of CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, and we direct your gifts where you choose. Donations to CHRISTUS Foundation Shreveport-Bossier may always be designated to your preferred program or area of impact, or you may simply choose to support “where the need is greatest.” When you designate your preferred program, your generously donated funds are restricted for use within that specific program. If you prefer to support “where the need is greatest” your donations go to the Foundation general fund. Tribute gifts in honor or memory of someone may also be directed to support your preferred program. Individuals interested in making a lasting impact may select naming rights for areas of the health system to honor the legacy of your gift. Please contact our team if you would like more information on one of these programs or available naming opportunities.

Cancer Treatment Center

Finding out that you have cancer is frightening. Our cancer team works with you to plan a personalized course of treatment. We are here to help you beat cancer and offer advanced, comprehensive cancer care that is close to home and focused on healing the whole person, not just the cancer.

Accredited for 26 continuous years by the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer, the CHRISTUS Cancer Treatment Center provides comprehensive cancer care, including hematology, medical oncology and radiation, as well as genetic counseling. The health system offers state-of-the-art radiation therapy with the NovalisTX as well as robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer and gynecological conditions.

Our team of providers includes, Dr. Boniol, Dr. Chintapalli, Dr. Massingill and Dr. Snead.

Cardiology

From education and prevention to diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation, we offer comprehensive heart care services and prevention programs to help lower your risk of heart disease.  Our Cardiovascular Center on Excellence opened in 2021.

Our heart care does not end when you go home. We are here with care and support for you and your family throughout your healing process. Our specialists treat all types of heart and vascular conditions and disorders using the most advanced technologies and surgical treatments available. We provide emergency, preventive and restorative cardiac care, from diagnostic services and innovative research, to complex interventional procedures and open heart surgery.

Chapel Expansion Fund

The Chapel is located on the first floor of CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center. As our campus has grown over the past years, we want to grow our chapel to better meet the needs of patients, families, associates and community members. Our chapel is available to serve members of all faiths and many cherished heirlooms from the original Grace Home chapel and the Schumpert campus will be a part of the design to celebrate the rich history of the CHRISTUS ministry in Shreveport-Bossier.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals national partners raise donations throughout the year through balloon campaigns, so when you go into a store and the cashier asks if you would like to donate to CMNH—GIVE with confidence that your dollar will be used locally. The national partners in our own community that support our CHRISTUS children’s programs include CEFCO Food Fast, Dairy Queen, Game Stop, Great Clips, Love’s Travel Stops, RE/MAX, Take 5 Oil Change, Valvoline, Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, and Panda Express. Additional businesses and organizations in our local community who also share our goal of helping kids include Barksdale Federal Credit Union, and Phi Mu.

CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System Shreveport-Bossier became of member of this national organization in 2012. Since that time, CHRISTUS has added multiple CMN Hospital Programs including:

EXPAND CMNH PROGRAMS

  • Learn more about Extra Life, an effort uniting thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

 

Grace Home/Hospice

In 2017, Grace Home transitioned to beautiful suites within CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center. These newly designed suites allow for a private room for the patient, complete with comfortable and beautiful furnishings, attached to a family suite. Both patient room and family suite have sleeper recliners, private bathrooms with walk-in showers and large-screen televisions. The family suite also has a sofa that converts to a bed, desk and chair, microwave, refrigerator and Keurig coffee machine. A lounge space is available adjacent to the suites. Reserved, front-row parking is available for families of Grace Home patients. Grace Home at CHRISTUS Highland provides 24-hour nursing care for patients end-of-life hospice needs.  To reach the Grace Home team to explore hospice services, please call the 24-hour phone line: 318.383.6748.

Tribute bricks and signage placed at the former Grace Home location on Margaret Place will remain in place to offer a lasting legacy of these cherished individuals. Additional tribute signage, capturing the information from the original location, is being designed and created for installation at CHRISTUS Highland.

Where the Need is Greatest – Coushatta or Shreveport-Bossier

Where the need is greatest gift designation represents the CHRISTUS Foundation Shreveport-Bossier general unrestricted fund. These donations can be utilized to support needs of CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System (CSBHS) in fulfilling the mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.  CSBHS has 3 hospitals, CHRISTUS Bossier Emergency Hospital, CHRISTUS Coushatta Health Care Center and CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center, along with numerous outpatient care locations to better serve our community.

CHRISTUS Foundation — Shreveport-Bossier

7591 Fern Avenue, Suite 1903 • Shreveport, LA 71105

(318) 681-6781 • fax (318) 798-8317

CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center Celebrates
First Robotic Heart Bypass Surgery

Shreveport, Louisiana, Dec. 20, 2021– CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center is celebrating a landmark milestone in cardiovascular care with the announcement of the successful completion of the first minimally invasive robotic -assisted heart surgery.

On Thursday, December 16, Timothy Danish, M.D., CHRISTUS Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, and the CHRISTUS surgical heart team specially-trained in robotics used the daVinci XI Surgical System to perform a coronary artery single vessel bypass graft on a 68-year-old male.

“It was a smashing success-the patient is doing well and we’re extremely excited about it,” said Dr. Danish.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery is a common heart procedure; and now patients in the Ark-La-Tex have a less invasive option available at CHRISTUS Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. The robotics technology changes the field of vision for the surgeon, providing 10 to 15 times magnification-a significant increase over the standard surgical loops, which only provide 3 to 4 times magnification. The robotics increases the safety of the procedure by allowing the surgeon to control the viewfinder and surgical instruments in real time from a workstation instead of standing throughout a long and complex procedure. The computer interface also has the ability to provide more exact needle placement, which is critical to the success of heart surgery. The heart’s blood flow can be re-established to the affected area of the heart without having to open the chest cavity. Instead, the heart is accessed through small incisions made between the ribs.

During the procedure, the surgeon is seated at a workstation a few feet away from the patient, and controls three robotic arms on the operating table, which become his or her eyes and hands for the minimally invasive surgery. While viewing a video monitor to see the surgical site, the surgeon expertly maneuvers instrument handles on the surgical robot to replicate those movements with the instrument tips at the site of surgery. 

“The robotic approach of this procedure minimizes the trauma of the surgery,” said Dr. Danish. There is a huge benefit to not having a full sternotomy, having the chest fully opened during the procedure. We anticipate that it will lead to a quicker recovery, a shorter hospital stay, and less pain for the patient.”

Upon completion of the procedure, Dr. Danish and his team immediately transferred the patient from the operating room to the heart catheterization lab for a post-procedural angiogram to ensure proper blood flow and function of the newly bypassed artery. The morning after surgery, the patient reported minimal pain and was mobile and comfortable. He has since been discharged and is now recovering at home.

 “It was functioning beautifully, we are very pleased,” said Dr. Danish. “Our team is extraordinary. They’re very hard working and dedicated. I am one piece of the puzzle, with the whole team we were able to accomplish something amazing for this patient and for the future of heart surgery in our community.” 

The successful completion of this robotic heart surgery is the latest innovative achievement CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System unveiled as its new state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, a $43 million investment in facilities and technology at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center, nears completion. Patients now have access to cutting-edge robotic heart therapy without having to travel out of the region. 

“It truly is a remarkable accomplishment, being able to be one of the first to offer patients in north Louisiana a robotic bypass procedure that accelerates the healing process and allows the patient to get on with life with a new artery graft that traditionally required open heart surgery. Having this performed on our campus is historic for cardiac care in this region,” said Steen Trawick, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System.

For more information on cardiovascular services offered at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center, visit https://www.christushealth.org/trinity/clinic/locations-directions/cardiovascular-thoracic-surgery .