About Ochsner

On August 31, 2001, Ochsner Clinic and the Ochsner Medical Foundation agreed to consolidate into a single organization, the not-for-profit Ochsner Clinic Foundation, later designated the Ochsner Health System, with Dr. Patrick Quinlan as chief executive officer and a unified board from the predecessor organizations. The unified organization was viewed as essential to function and succeed in a changing medical and economic environment by eliminating duplicative and sometimes competing management, governing and operating structures.

Today, Ochsner is Louisiana’s largest nonprofit, academic health system serving more than 811,000 patients from across Louisiana, every state in the United States and more than 70 countries. Coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the Gulf South region by Ochsner’s 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 100 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner employs more than 25,000 employees and over 4,500 group practice and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies.

Ochsner was one of the only hospitals to remain open during and after Hurricane Katrina, with staff working tirelessly to care for anyone who needed it – first responders, the military and stranded residents. During those days, the people of Ochsner practiced the courage that would carry us forward as an organization as we stepped up, not back, writing our own story and choosing to lead the revitalization of healthcare in southeast Louisiana.

At the same time, Ochsner’s healthcare teams and the teams from other healthcare providers from Baton Rouge to the North Shore carried an incredible load, serving their own communities as well as those displaced by the storm. Their efforts helped sustain our region.

Ochsner Health Center – Elmwood opened in 2002 and since then has provided services including Orthopedics and Sports Medicine along with skilled nursing, telemedicine and several system business functions. In 2019, the new Ochsner Hospital for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine will open at this location.

Ochsner secured the future of Memorial, Meadowcrest and Kenner Regional hospitals through an acquisition from Tenet Healthcare as the city recovered following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. These acquisitions paved the way for more than a decade of focused growth and expansion as Ochsner reaffirmed its commitment to the people of New Orleans and its surrounding communities.

Ochsner partnered with St. Anne General in Raceland to provide enhanced local care to patients served by the Lafourche hospital. This partnership enabled Lafourche residents to spend less time traveling and more time accessing healthcare in their own neighborhood. The hospital's new name became Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital.

Ochsner St. Anne continues to be a leader in patient experience and earned the 2018 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence in CGCAHPS, a survey that measures patient satisfaction in a provider’s office setting. This award recognizes sustained performance in the top 5% in the nation.

As the population in greater Baton Rouge grew after Hurricane Katrina, having an expanded medical center like Ochsner just minutes away greatly benefited the region. Summit Hospital became Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge, a 201-bed hospital with over 280 physicians located near Livingston Parish. The Medical Center offers a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services, including cardiopulmonary, emergency, robotic surgery, oncology, physical therapy and rehabilitation, radiology and imaging, as well as same-day surgery.

Today, Ochsner Baton Rouge continues to grow to meet the needs of its communities, offering new and innovative services that are unmatched in Louisiana’s capital city. Ochsner opened the first O Bar in the Baton Rouge region and was named to IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals. It also welcomed Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove in early 2019. This 255,000-square-foot medical complex is the largest single project ever undertaken in Ochsner’s history and includes a five-story medical office building and next-generation surgical hospital, which includes 10 overnight-stay optimal hospital rooms. The facility offers primary and specialty care, full-service diagnostics, surgical suites, non-invasive procedures, and physical and occupational therapy spaces, among other services.

In 1986, Ochsner Clinic Mandeville became the first Ochsner clinic outside of the New Orleans area. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, access to healthcare became increasingly important on the North Shore as its population swelled to accommodate displaced flood victims. In 2010, Ochsner Health System purchased North Shore Regional Medical Center in Slidell, renaming it Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore and securing Ochsner’s eighth hospital in the state and our first on the North Shore.

Today, it is a regional healthcare network providing comprehensive care and specialties to more than 32,000 unique hospital and 90,000 unique clinic patients each year through its nine health centers and 165-bed acute care hospital. In 2018, the expansion of Ochsner Health Center – Covington was completed, offering patients access to a total of 45 services and specialties. OMC- North Shore received an ‘A’ from the Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade.

Ochsner Physician Partners (OPP) is an affiliation between physicians, Ochsner hospitals, and healthcare facilities within Ochsner Health Network (OHN). Members include community physicians, Ochsner employed physicians, Ochsner hospitals and facilities within OHN who employ evidence-based methodology and transparent data to improve quality performance and efficiency of care. OPP is governed by physician members through a committee structure designed to foster the growth, quality and outstanding levels of performance in the network. Active participation in a clinical integration network like Ochsner Physician Partners creates a high degree of interdependence and cooperation among participants leading them to contract jointly with payors to accelerate improvements in healthcare delivery.

Since 1978, Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center has been caring for the underserved in the Bayou Region. In 2013, a public-private partnership between Ochsner Health System, Terrebonne General Medical Center and Chabert was initiated to develop sustainable solutions to deliver these crucial safety-net services for the region while achieving unprecedented access, service, and quality of care for its patients and preserving academic training at Chabert.

In 2018, Chabert received the Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award and was named in the top 5% in the nation for Outstanding Patient Experience. The Internal Medicine residency program at LJCMC has produced eight graduating classes with a total of 58 graduates (2008-2018), developing the region’s future physicians.

Hugging the West Bank of the Mississippi River midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, St. Charles Parish Hospital in Luling has served the residents of rural St. Charles Parish since 1959. As a public, non-profit facility, it is owned by the Hospital Service District of St. Charles Parish and has been managed by Ochsner Health System since 2014.

The community culture throughout St. Charles Parish is part of what makes this 260,000 square-foot, 59-bed, acute-care facility unique. Working closely together since 2008 to bring Ochsner’s Telestroke program, neurology and primary care services to St. Charles Parish, the hospital currently sees more than 12,500 patients a year while its investment in Epic allows better coordination of care for patients. Together we share more than 400 employees and 300 physicians, along with best practices, advanced, patient-centered technology and a focus on continued improvements in quality and access in primary care and new specialties. In 2018, St. Charles Parish Hospital recognized as a Top General Hospital by Leapfrog Group.

In 2014, St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Ochsner created a long-term strategic partnership focused on increasing local access to care, improving quality and reducing the cost of healthcare for patients in west St. Tammany. St. Tammany Parish Hospital became the first member of the Ochsner Health Network, and in 2015 Ochsner and St. Tammany Parish Hospital teamed up to bring subspecialty pediatric care previously unavailable on the North Shore through Ochsner Health Center for Children Pediatric Subspecialties – Covington.

The partnership has enabled expanded services, including enhancements to neurology, neurosurgery and stroke care, pediatrics, cardiology, orthopedics, and therapy and wellness. Neurological services have been infused with leading-edge technology, including robotic cameras, brain navigation devices and 3D visualization. The enhancements have led to significant growth in the number of patients treated in neurology, neurosurgery, cardiology and other specialties.

The five founding partners of the Ochsner Health Network (OHN) are St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Lafayette General Health, CHRISTUS Health, Terrebonne General Medical Center and Ochsner, representing an opportunity for the highest quality healthcare organizations to come together and provide more value for more patients. The network includes 25 facilities across the state and more than 2,600 physicians including physicians who are part of Ochsner Physician Partners and St. Tammany Quality Network.

Together, these partners are building upon unique strengths and sharing best practices to improve quality, safety and the patient experience, provide greater access to care for patients across the region and reduce healthcare costs. Today, OHN serves as the leader in healthcare delivery innovation and is the largest “super” Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) in the region. In 2018, OHN launched Blue Connect Network in partnership with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and announced a landmark partnership with Walmart to form the Ochsner Accountable Care Plan.

In 2015, Ochsner Health System and Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC) finalized a partnership that has transformed healthcare delivery in Houma, providing residents with comprehensive, integrated and innovative care. The collaboration has served as a catalyst for innovation, reducing healthcare costs for patients while improving quality and increasing local access to care.

The partnership has led to decreases in patient complications and better outcomes, as more patients with specialized care needs transfer to Ochsner Medical Center for seamless, coordinated care. By sharing best practices, integrating our technology, building a cross-organizational clinical teamwork model and making joint investments in new physicians and programs, we continue to expand patient services and resources in the region with a relentless focus on quality and value. New or expanded services at Terrebonne General Medical Center resulting from this partnership include pediatric subspecialties, maternal fetal medicine and NICU services, Telestroke, integrated oncology, cardiac surgery and urgent care.

Lafayette General Health (LGH) and Ochsner formed a long-term, strategic partnership in 2015 focused on increasing local access to care, improving quality and reducing the cost of healthcare for patients across southwest Louisiana. As part of the Ochsner Health Network, both organizations have effectively collaborated to improve the health of the Louisiana communities across Acadiana through a comprehensive clinically integrated physician network, joint investments in the resources needed to start new programs and the expansion of patient services and resources in the region. Areas of initial partnership focus included expanding pediatric subspecialty care, comprehensive stroke care, a comprehensive telemedicine program and additional patient-focused initiatives aimed at improving the treatment of chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.

In 2017, LGH and Ochsner Hospital for Children opened a dedicated pediatric clinic to increase local access to highly-specialized cardiac care for our youngest patients and their families. And in 2018, the Ochsner and LGH oncology teams began a monthly virtual tumor board to review cases and determine the best plan of care, along with collaborating on clinical research and sharing best practices.

The partnership between Ochsner and CHRISTUS Health Louisiana provides benefits for both organizations, physicians and, most importantly, patients, who have the convenience of being treated close to home at the CHRISTUS Health facilities in Lake Charles, Shreveport-Bossier, Alexandria and surrounding areas while gaining more access to the depth and breadth of care for which Ochsner is nationally recognized. The two organizations announced several areas of initial focus for the partnership including building a comprehensive telemedicine program so that services like Telestroke and TeleNICU are available across the three CHRISTUS regions. They have also launched additional patient-focused initiatives aimed at improving the treatment of chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes and developed affordable solutions that enable employers to provide health care coverage to their employees and empower them to deliver health and wellness programs for their employees onsite. CHRISTUS Health and Ochsner are working to build a comprehensive, clinically integrated network of physician and hospital providers in Alexandria, Lake Charles and Shreveport-Bossier.

In 2016, Ochsner and Slidell Memorial Hospital (SMH) entered into a long-term, strategic partnership focused on the continuation of high-quality care, cost reduction through coordinating and improving resources, and increased local access to care for the residents of the Slidell community. This partnership created a unique, integrated environment to improve patient outcomes, share best practices and implement advanced, patient-centered technology in eastern St. Tammany Parish. As a member of the Ochsner Health Network, SMH joined other OHN partners to share best practices, reduce unnecessary expenses and develop innovative care solutions through technology and clinical teamwork.

Since that time, SMH and Ochsner have worked together to introduce new services, implement life-saving technological advances, and enhance expertise available in East St. Tammany. This work has included the launch of the Ochsner Telestroke Program at SMH, a 3rd cardiac catheterization lab, comprehensive weight loss center and Back and Spine Center at SMH. With 2,200+ combined employees and 22 new physicians added in the region, patients today have increased access to Orthopedics, Primary Care, Neurology, Gastroenterology, Physical Medicine & Rehab and Interventional Cardiology close to home.

The strategic partnership between Ochsner and St. Bernard Parish Hospital (SBPH) began with the opening of a health center in the St. Bernard Medical Office Building, offering women’s services and multi-specialty clinics, including some services that have been unavailable in St. Bernard since Hurricane Katrina. Cardiology, general surgery and pain management services also expanded as Ochsner specialists began seeing patients on the hospital’s campus.

The two organizations have brought new programs and services to improve healthcare in St. Bernard Parish, including implementation of telehealth platforms including eICU, TelePsych, TeleStroke, Inpatient TeleNeurology and TeleHospital Medicine which connect Ochsner specialists to the SBPH team. To expand access to care in St. Bernard Parish, we have focused our efforts on providing more convenient care for the communities we serve, extending hours of operation. In 2018, more than 75,000 patients were seen at SBPH.

This joint venture between Ochsner, CHRISTUS Ochsner Lake Area & CHRISTUS Ochsner St. Patrick included both CHRISTUS hospitals, a charitable foundation, an ambulatory surgery center, imaging centers and clinics. The partnership is also responsible for all future health care facilities and services operated by the two health systems in the Lake Charles area. The 13 clinic locations in the Lake Charles area are named Ochsner CHRISTUS Health Centers.

For the people of Southwest Louisiana, this partnership has brought together two strong organizations for greater access to care for Lake Charles and the surrounding communities. Together, Ochsner and CHRISTUS can now recruit additional physicians and make a continued investment in critically needed service lines such as pediatric services, women’s services, cancer services including expanded clinical trials and specialty care such as oncology and neurology for our aging population. Efforts are focused on integrating care, implementing innovative technology solutions, enhancing population health management initiatives and collaborating with physicians.

Ochsner West Campus is a major milestone in the expansion of Ochsner’s Jefferson Highway campus that offers a skilled nursing facility, an inpatient rehabilitation hospital and a long-term acute care unit in one place. The state-of-the-art facility ensures patients receive integrated, post-acute care upon discharge from the hospital.

A skilled nursing unit with 30 beds provides highly-skilled medical care for patients working through a short-term rehabilitation or for those patients suffering with a chronic condition that require longer term care. The Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital in partnership with Select Medical – a national leader in inpatient rehabilitation – features 56 inpatient rehabilitation beds, including eight beds dedicated to brain injury patients. It serves as a regional destination for patients recovering from stroke, neurological disorders, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputation and specific diagnoses associated with transplant, cardiac, cancer and orthopedic conditions. The Ochsner Extended Care Hospital is a long-term acute care unit designed to provide care for the most critically-ill patients. The new unit is a joint venture with LHC Group and includes 32 private rooms with state-of-the-art equipment – five of those rooms are dedicated to patients who require critical care observation.

Through a joint venture, Ochsner partnered with Acadia, a national leader in behavioral healthcare services, to repurpose the existing River Parishes Hospital building to provide critically needed mental health services to residents across Louisiana.

Louisiana currently ranks 39th in national rankings regarding access to care for those in need of mental health treatment, and recent population estimates demonstrate a need for more than 400 behavioral health beds in the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas. This new 82-bed, four-unit psychiatric facility offers hope, healing and individualized treatment planning to address a wide range of mental health needs. It provides inpatient behavioral health services to adults and adolescents.

In 2018, Ochsner Health System entered into a long-term, capital lease agreement to operate Hancock Medical Center, expanding upon the strategic partnership the two organizations created in 2013. Under Ochsner’s management, Hancock Medical Center experienced positive operational cash flow for the first time in nearly a dozen years, significant and sustained improvements in quality metrics and higher patient experience scores in both the hospital and clinics. As part of the agreement, the facility was renamed Ochsner Hancock Medical Center.

Ochsner has illustrated its commitment to Mississippi’s coastal communities by improving our financial, quality and patient experience metrics across the board. We look forward to expanding local access to care and offering Hancock County residents the most advanced technology in partnership with one of the leading healthcare organizations in our region. Since the agreement, Ochsner has implemented Epic, an industry-leading electronic healthcare information software that will improve care coordination, the hospital’s revenue cycle, patient registration and scheduling and clinical integration. Ochsner will also expand digital health offerings to patients at Hancock Medical Center, empowering patients to take control of their own health. OMC-Hancock received ‘A’ grade for patient safety in Fall 2018.

After nearly two years of collaborative discussion and planning, Ochsner, the State of Louisiana and LSU signed a final agreement in 2018 creating a new partnership that will benefit patients, physicians, medical students and communities throughout north Louisiana. Jointly, these organizations formed Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport to oversee and coordinate activities between the health sciences center and the healthcare delivery system.

Together, the new health system will improve current facilities including renovating select operating rooms and the surgical intensive care unit in Shreveport; make technology enhancements such as improving the functionality of the electronic medical record for better coordination of care and to provide centralized, online appointment scheduling; and develop people and programs to improve quality and outcomes including launching a hospitalist program to provide additional care for our inpatients and more effective coordination with their primary care and specialty physicians. Additionally, we will improve access by opening new facilities outside of the current campuses such as an ambulatory care clinic, diagnostic imaging center, urgent care clinics and community-based primary care clinics, and recruit new physicians to support specialized needs; advance digital and telehealth capabilities as well as post-acute care to provide new options in north Louisiana; and emphasize a strong focus on community health and well-being by broadening our primary care network, implementing programs that empower patients to stay healthy while managing chronic disease, expanding preventive screenings and developing new community partnerships.

In less than one year, we’ve already achieved tangible benefits for patients and the community at large, including a significant reduction in the scheduling backlog, reducing time in the waiting room, and welcoming 70 new physicians who have come on board in key specialties like cardiology, surgery and orthopedics, as well as new primary care physicians to staff community practices.

In research and education, our goal is to jointly grow our Medical and Graduate Medical Education programs to recruit top candidates and train more healthcare providers. Initiatives include expanding the LSU medical school in Shreveport from 126 to 150 students annually and increasing investments in new technology and clinical care training. Adding the 280 residents at LSU to more than 500 residents at Ochsner makes us the largest educator of physicians in the state.