Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Community Service and Partnerships
Click on a link below to learn more about some of our numerous partnerships.
OchsnerServes | Discovery Schools | Second Harvest | Urban League of Louisiana | Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | American Cancer Society | American Heart Association | Louisiana High School Athletic Association | Son of a Saint | STEM NOLA | Southern University | Technical Colleges | Ochsner Eat Fit | Tobacco Prevention/Cessation
OchsnerServes
Through the OchsnerServes Employee Volunteerism program, Ochsner Health allows full-time employees to get involved in their communities with easy-to-access volunteer events offering paid community service time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, OchsnerServes provided volunteers for community COVID-19 testing sites and for virtual volunteering opportunities. Ochsner volunteers help “Stamp Out Hunger” in Louisiana during Second Harvest Food Bank’s annual food drive events. They also partner with Second Harvest to distribute Thanksgiving meals and groceries.
After Hurricane Ida, OchsnerServes was used to mobilize employees to help in recovery efforts throughout affected areas. Volunteers and leaders assisted with passing out hot meals and groceries, rebuilding homes with Rebuilding Together New Orleans, and improving the STEM Library Lab.
In support of (former) Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ statewide “Love the Boot, Don’t Pollute” initiative, Ochsner employees also participated in service events dedicated to cleanup and improvement projects around Ochsner’s campuses and in other regions of the community.
Learn more about OchsnerServes if you are an employee interested in volunteering..
To be considered for partnership support, please complete our Community Impact Partner Application..
Discovery Schools
The Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy (DJOD) is a successful, open-enrollment, fee-free, K-8 charter school that prepares a diverse student body to succeed in life and pursue careers in the health sciences field. Ochsner Health has made a large investment in education through its partnership with Discovery Schools since 2019. DJOD opened for students during the 2020-2021 school year. Ochsner Health and Discovery Schools partnered to open Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy (BROD) in fall 2023.
These schools will help prepare our kids for the future with a strong health sciences program and a focus on STEM education. The buildings offer science labs; a library and media center; a teaching kitchen and garden; a satellite Center for Child Development; a large gym and cafeteria; and specialized classrooms to provide wraparound services to the full student population.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana
The Second Harvest Food Bank leads the fight against hunger in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education and disaster response. Second Harvest gives food and support to more than 700 community partners and programs across 23 parishes. The food bank’s staff and volunteers distribute the equivalent of more than 32 million meals to more than 210,000 people per year.
Ochsner Health’s volunteers help “Stamp Out Hunger” in Louisiana during Second Harvest Food Bank’s annual food drive events. They also partner with Second Harvest to distribute Thanksgiving meals and groceries in Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, lower Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes.
Urban League of Louisiana
Having served Greater New Orleans since 1938 with a mission to assist underserved communities in securing economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights, the Urban League expanded to a statewide entity in 2016. They became the Urban League of Louisiana (ULLA). ULLA provides focused programs to ensure quality education and access to information, employment, entrepreneurial and economic inclusion, and shared dignity under the law.
In September 2022, ULLA and Ochsner Health held the Big Health Event: the first Healthy State community-focused event designed to address factors adversely affecting Louisiana’s health ranking (such as chronic conditions, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity).
- 1,146 community members attended.
- 3,419+ community health screenings and educational interactions were provided.
- Ochsner Health physicians were on-site, responding directly to health and wellness community questions.
- For the Movement Zone, Ochsner Fitness Center transformed the convention center space into a gym.
Learn more about the Urban League of Louisiana.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the largest charity funder of blood cancer research, investing more than $1.5 billion in the most pioneering science worldwide since 1949. The organization is the leading source of free education and support for blood cancer patients and families. It provides personalized one-on-one support, including assistance with identifying and enrolling in a clinical trial. The organization also drives policy changes that accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and break down barriers to care. Ochsner Health proudly supports many Leukemia and Lymphoma Society campaigns.
In 2022, Dr. Suma Satti (a thoracic medical oncologist with the Ochsner Cancer Institute) led a team that raised $107,436 to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s goal to find cures for blood cancers and ensure that patients have access to lifesaving treatments. For her efforts, she was honored as the 2022 “Woman of the Year” for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Mississippi-Louisiana Region.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is one of the leading cancer-fighting organizations with a vision of ending cancer as we know it for everyone. It is the only organization working to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families. The organization focuses on advocacy, research and patient support to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat and survive cancer.
In 2022, the American Cancer Society awarded a $200,000 transportation grant to Ochsner Health. These types of funds help adult and pediatric cancer patients living in Louisiana and Mississippi access reliable and safe transportation to and from appointments. The American Cancer Society has been a consistent supporter of transportation and lodging assistance funds for Ochsner patients for many years. In 2021, the American Cancer Society provided $320,000 to Ochsner Health for transportation and lodging assistance across the state of Louisiana.
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is the largest not-for-profit funding source for cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease research (next to the federal government). The association helps people understand the importance of healthy lifestyle choices and provides science-based treatment guidelines to healthcare professionals. It also educates lawmakers, policymakers and the public.
The Ochsner Community Training Center signed a contract with the American Heart Association (AHA) to be an authorized Training Center in 1998. It seeks to provide high-quality, effective life-support training. Ochsner’s Training Center provides support and quality control to more than 1,200 AHA instructors, as well as more than 40 training sites covering Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Ochsner Health’s owned and affiliated hospitals have regularly received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s “Get With The Guidelines” Stroke Quality Achievement Awards. These awards recognize the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. Ochsner regularly participates in the AHA’s Heart Walk, along with supporting other fundraising and volunteer events.
Louisiana High School Athletic Association
Since 1920, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) executive directors, staff and member-school principals have led education-based athletics in the state of Louisiana.
In 2021, Ochsner Health and LHSAA agreed to a five-year partnership in which Ochsner will be the title sponsor for all 21 of the LHSAA’s annual championship events. It also provides healthcare training and education for LHSAA member programs.
Ochsner Health is currently the official healthcare provider of (and provides sports medicine athletic trainers for) the LHSAA. It will care for all participating student-athletes competing in LHSAA State Championship Events. Ochsner Sports Medicine leads the Ochsner Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, which spearheads the statewide implementation of health and safety protocols through a multidisciplinary representation of sports specialists. The committee educates coaches on the most up-to-date medical, health and wellness best practices. Ochsner is curating a sports medicine program that includes a wide range of sports-focused topics, including sports medicine, psychology, nutrition and business. This workforce training program is a key element of Ochsner’s 10-year vision to transform Louisiana into a healthier state by 2030.
Learn more about the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
Son of a Saint
Son of a Saint is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of fatherless boys in New Orleans. Son of a Saint provides mentorship, education, recreation, camaraderie, cultural enrichment and emotional support. It helps to fill the void for dozens of fatherless boys and young men. Each year, Son of a Saint selects a group of boys ages 10 to12 to join the existing kids in the program. The boys must be fatherless due to their father’s death or incarceration. Each boy remains an official Son of a Saint mentee until age 18, and Son of a Saint continues to advise these young men into young adulthood. The organization’s goal is to graduate self-sufficient, independent thinkers who are leaders that give back to their community.
In 2020, Ochsner Health donated $1 million to Son of a Saint. Funds help support important program staff, including healthcare educators, social workers and mental health providers. They also enhance the organization’s services that support the health of the whole person (mind, body and spirit).
STEM NOLA
STEM NOLA is a national leader in the design and delivery of science, technology, engineering and math activities, programs and events to K-12 students, families and communities.
Ochsner Health partners with STEM NOLA to increase fair access to hands-on STEM. At the Urban League of Louisiana and Ochsner Health’s Big Health Event in September 2022, STEM NOLA was featured as part of the Ochsner STEM Zone. They offered engaging activities for young students in New Orleans and surrounding areas, ultimately reaching 344+ children. Ochsner staff have also collaborated with STEM NOLA to support the organization’s STEM Saturday events. Ochsner provides subject-matter knowledge to connect the fun hands-on learning to an important career path.
STEM NOLA plans to create an Innovation Center in New Orleans East on property donated to the nonprofit by Ochsner Health.
Southern University and A&M College
Southern University and A&M College is a complete institution offering four-year, graduate, professional and doctorate degree programs that are fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Southern University is the largest historically Black land-grant university system in Louisiana.
Ochsner Health and the School of Nursing at Southern University partnered to launch the 38-foot-long Jag Mobile: a state-of-the-art, custom mobile health unit that provides services to medically underserved communities within a 50-mile radius of the Baton Rouge campus. The wheelchair-accessible mobile health clinic is fully equipped with two examination rooms. Pediatric and adult patients are treated through this program. Southern University nursing students utilize the mobile clinic to meet clinical learning objectives.
Ochsner has already teamed up with Southern University to offer free breast cancer screenings; blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body mass index (BMI) checks; and medication reviews.
Learn more about Southern University and A&M College.
Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges
Ochsner has committed $15 million to workforce development programs in partnership with Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges to grow the supply of nursing and allied health professionals in Louisiana. The investment supports school fees and workforce programs. It will positively impact more than 3,000 students (including Ochsner employees) within the first five years.
Ochsner Health, Terrebonne General Health System and Fletcher Technical Community College have partnered to train the next generation of healthcare professionals in Louisiana. Ochsner and Terrebonne General each invested $1 million to expand the college’s nursing and allied health programs. The investments also help with construction for the new, state-of-the-art facility set to open in 2023.
A partnership between Ochsner and Delgado Community College launched an evening and weekend track for pre-nursing and allied health students. Classes are set to begin in spring 2023 in the state-of-the-art Ochsner Center for Nursing and Allied Health building. Ochsner committed $20 million for this center, including $10 million toward the new building. The remaining $10 million will be used to cover full-time school fees for Ochsner employees to pursue degrees and credentials in nursing and allied health programs at Delgado.
Learn more about Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges.
OPTIMUS
OPTIMUS is a program at Ochsner Health with the mission of helping to eliminate healthcare differences by increasing diversity in medicine. OPTIMUS stands for the Ochsner Program to Introduce Medicine to Underrepresented Students. It was founded by Dr. Tamika Webb-Detiege: a senior rheumatologist and the Deputy Head of Admissions and Enrollment for the Ochsner Clinical School at the University of Queensland Medical School.
Mission: Ochsner Program to Introduce Medicine to Underrepresented Students provides education about career options in medicine, hands-on simulations and experiments.
OPTIMUS began in 2019. It is a foundational part of Ochsner’s commitment to improving diversity in the fields of medicine and surgery.
Contact educationoutreach@ochsner.org for more information.
Ochsner Eat Fit
Ochsner Eat Fit is a nonprofit initiative designed to help community members live their healthiest, strongest lives. Eat Fit dietitians work closely with schools, restaurants, markets, food festivals, and more to identify and develop dishes that meet the Eat Fit health standards.
- 599 Eat Fit partners throughout Louisiana served 1.2 million Eat Fit meals in 2021.
- Eat Fit has presented at more than 115 community events, including nutrition presentations and chef cooking demonstrations.
- 12 schools feature Eat Fit options on their menus.
- In 2021, the Eat Fit CHOP (Kids in the Kitchen Program) and Eat Fit Nutrition Roadshow launched.
Eat Fit CHOP: Kids in the Kitchen is a cooking program designed for kids ages 8 to 18. It provides cooking toolkits, recipes, workbooks and activities to local schools, camps, recreational departments and youth programs. Each eight-lesson series supports and encourages kids as they learn dozens of basic cooking skills and important nutrition information. Classes include basic knife skills, sauteing, baking, healthier fast-food and lower-sugar sweet treats.
Tobacco Prevention/Cessation
Tobacco use is the single most avoidable cause of early death. It is the leading risk factor for cancer, lung disease, hypertension and heart disease. Louisiana ranks the third-highest death rate for cancer and the fourth-highest rate of smoking.
Ochsner’s Tobacco Control and Prevention Program provides information about the health risks of tobacco use, including best practices for quitting, the newest products and future tobacco issues. The program regularly partners with area schools and community organizations. It also works with various groups during national events like Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action (formerly Kick Butts Day) and World No Tobacco Day.
The Tobacco Control Program attends health fairs, corporate wellness events and school events to continue reaching out to the community. The program also supports the Louisiana Quitline and other aids for quitting tobacco use. Please contact communityoutreach@ochsner.org for more information.
The Ochsner Healthy Schools Program offers important connections to community resources for tobacco prevention and quitting tobacco.
