| Advisory Opinion request from Megan Marino, MD regarding her employment as the Director of Pediatric Prehospital Education at Ochsner Hospital for Children. |
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Dr. Megan Marino is employed at Ochsner as the Director of Pediatric Prehospital Education. In this role, she performs outreach with the emergency medical services ("EMS") community to provide pediatric education to EMS providers on how to keep kids safe outside of the hospital setting. As part of her duties, Dr. Marino has developed a full-day course for EMS providers called the "Pediatric Prehospital Education Symposium," which is hosted by collaboration of stakeholders from Ochsner's, Tulane, Children's Hospital, and state EMS agencies. The educational opportunities are offered for free to all EMS providers as part of Ochsner's commitment to the community.
Dr. Marino was recently hired as the Deputy Medical Director for the New Orleans EMS. Due to her expertise in pediatric emergency medicine, she also serves as an appointed member of two Louisiana Department of Health ("LDH") boards and/or commissions: (1) Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Board, and (2) Emergency Medical Services Certification Commission. Dr. Marino stated that her duties at Ochsner do not overlap with any of her responsibilities as Deputy Medical Director for the New Orleans EMS or any of her responsibilities as a member of the two LDH boards. She also stated that Ochsner does not have a contractual or financial relationship with any of her public agencies and is not regulated by any of those public agencies in which she serves.
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La. R.S. 42:1111A prohibits a public employee from receiving anything of economic value, other than compensation and benefits from the governmental entity to which he is duly entitled, for the performance of the duties and responsibilities of his office or position.
La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) provides that no public servant and no legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services rend ered, or to be rendered, to or for any person during his public service unless such services are: (d) Neither performed for nor compensated by any person or from any officer, director, agent, or employee of such person, if such public servant knows or reasonably should know that such person has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency; conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee's agency; or has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee's official duty.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
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