Dear Partners in Care,
By now you have certainly heard the news. If not, then I am happy to be the one to tell you: Braswell’s pharmacy has joined the St. Tammany Health System family.
On Sept. 15, we closed on the purchase of the iconic Covington business, which has been serving local residents since 1981. This union of two longtime fixtures of our Northshore medical community is important for a number of reasons, but in my mind two rise above the rest.
First, it keeps Braswell’s in local hands. More than that, though, it puts it in the hands of an organization that has been dedicated to caring for our community for the past seven decades.
To be honest, this purchase was a no-brainer for us. Every decision we make – every new building we erect, every new venture we announce, every new colleague we hire – is made with the ultimate goal of increasing access to quality healthcare for residents of St. Tammany Parish.
Of course, “quality” is the operative idea in that sentence. It is one of those tricky concepts that can be hard to put into words – although you definitely know it when you see it.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines it through what it calls the six “domains” of healthcare quality: safety, effectiveness, timeliness, efficiency, equity and delivery of patient-centered care.
To me, that boils down to one simple concept: compassion.
With compassion for the community – and a passion for bettering it – quality is certain to follow.
Gratefully,