Every three years, Ochsner Lafayette General and Our Lady of Lourdes conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). This year, these long-standing healthcare organizations have partnered together with United Way of Acadiana to intentionally listen and respond to the needs of the community.
The three entities are now asking for community input in the form of a survey. The survey can be found by clicking on the link here. Adults 18 and over in the Acadiana region are asked to respond, and survey responses will be collected through Friday, June 4.
The CHNA must take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospitals, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in healthcare, and it must be made widely available to the public. The two nonprofit health systems are required by law to lead a CHNA and adopt an implementation strategy to meet the needs identified.
As such, focus groups with community leaders, including those who work in healthcare and those who do not, will be conducted. To get a broader sense of community needs and more accurately represent the needs of patients, the group is encouraging any adult over the age of 18 to complete the survey.
Once complete, the assessment will be adopted by the boards of Ochsner Lafayette General and Our Lady of Lourdes and will help inform both institutions’ work in the community to improve health outcomes. United Way of Acadiana will use the assessment to inform its community investments to improve the social determinants of health.
Our Lady of Lourdes
Founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady in 1949, Our Lady of Lourdes is a regional acute care medical center focused on the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The local health care system employs more than 2,800 people and offers a physician staff of over 600 doctors in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. Lourdes’ services include Centers of Excellence in the areas of Orthopedics, Stroke and a Robotics Surgery Program. Lourdes is home to the only burn unit in Southwest Louisiana and a Commission on Cancer-accredited oncology program. Our Lady of Lourdes operates Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital, a premier 32-bed cardiac facility, and Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s and Children’s Hospital, offering the area’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Level 3 Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With additional services including multiple clinics, four imaging locations and a primary care physician network, Lourdes provides easy access to comprehensive care throughout the community.
About Ochsner Lafayette General
Ochsner Lafayette General has more than 4,500 employees and serves 220,000 patients per year. The organization includes Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC), Ochsner Lafayette General Orthopedic Hospital, Ochsner Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, Ochsner St. Martin Hospital, Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics (UHC), Ochsner Acadia General Hospital and Ochsner Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital and a number of clinics, urgent cares and professional centers. Ochsner LGMC is the only Level II Trauma Center in Southwest Louisiana. Both Ochsner LGMC and Ochsner UHC are major teaching hospitals, providing graduate medical education across many disciplines.
About United Way of Acadiana
United Way of Acadiana fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. We win by LIVING UNITED. By forging unlikely partnerships. By finding new solutions to old problems. By mobilizing the best resources. And by inspiring individuals to join the fight against their community’s most daunting social crises.
