Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham spoke to the Louisiana School-Based Health Alliance (LASBHA) at its 2025 State Conference in Pineville on May 1. Dr. Abraham showed immense gratitude to LASBHA’s efforts in improving the health status of children and youth.
“A lot of these health-based schools are in rural parishes,” Abraham said. “Our students sometimes lack access to health care providers. These health care centers, these health care clinics at these schools, they bridge that gap between hospitals and somebody like me as a private practitioner. We don’t want to miss those children that we can influence in a positive way. Treating disease is one thing, but intervening with these children and these students when they’re having some mental issues and some health issues that can be preventable; that’s where these centers are critical for access.”
Dr. Abraham stated that his office needs to bring more attention to vaping among youth and highlighting its health risks.
“The perception is that, ‘No, vaping is not nearly as bad as smoking.’ Well, we certainly don’t want them to smoke, but we don’t want them to vape either,” Abraham said to the audience. “Because now, as we know, there are many things that go into that vape that can kill you.”
The LASBAH conference changes locations each year. This year, the association chose Central Louisiana, but organizations and entities from across the state participated.
“We have agencies and organizations coming from New Orleans all the way to Shreveport, so it’s great to have it here,” said Jennifer Firmin, President of LASBHA.
Michelle Harris, a physician assistant for Natchitoches Parish School-Based Health Centers, said, “We’re excited. We’re from Natchitoches, so we didn’t quite have to drive as far. Just having all the people from the state every year, it moves around the state. Having everyone come here, and we get to kind of show off our area and our highlights.”
But the conference also allowed Dr. Abraham to reflect on health care in Louisiana and how the work of his office reflects the intentions of the governor.
“We in Louisiana right now are struggling to get our health care up to what I consider national levels, a multifactorial reason that has happened,” said Abraham. “But what I can tell you since Governor Landry has taken the helm 15 months ago, he has made us at his cabinet level positions, a charge and a mandate to start working start fixing this problem. He gets it, he understands it.”