Ochsner Health Opens InnovationHub in Lakeside Shopping Center

First-of-its-kind interactive health and wellness station offers education, resources and products

Ochsner Health(Ochsner) is pleased to announce the opening of the Ochsner InnovationHub, a health and wellness experience that utilizes technology to inform and empower people to lead healthier lives. The InnovationHub shares engaging health and wellness content through a variety of devices and activities, including tablets, a 3-D hologram and a 9-foot tall, curved, three-sided display from LG Electronics, believed to be the first-of-its-kind in the world. Located near Macy’s at Lakeside Shopping Center, InnovationHub’s features are free and open to the public.

Ochsner’s InnovationHub will celebrate its grand opening with giveaways and special appearances by the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans Monday, May 27 – Saturday, June 1.

InnovationHub is staffed by a team of InnovationAmbassadors who guide you through 29 activities and experiences including:

• Phone Soap – Disinfects cell phones using UV light.
• Interactive Human Body Model– Shows the functions of the body’s organs, muscles and skeleton.
• Augmented Reality Experience– Takes visitors through a virtual visit experience.
• New Orleans Saints Hologram – Hologram featuring a Saints player, with accompanying facts about performance-related fitness and nutrition habits.
• Product Demo Bar – Showcases innovative, at-home products that improve health and wellness including a Hydracoach Water Bottle, iHealth Scale, Ochsner Health Kit (Tyto), KardiaMobile EKG and more.
• Wellness Quizzes and Apps – Tests your wellness IQ and provides personalized recommendations to meet your health and fitness goals.
• Behind the Scenes Videos – Brings you behind the scenes of Ochsner’s Optimal Hospital, walks you through a day in the life of a Child Life Specialist and offers an inside look at artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
• Career Exploration – Highlights innovative careers in healthcare via videos with Ochsner team members.

“Building a healthier community means that we need to provide education, resources and technology to people outside of the walls of a hospital or doctor’s office,” said Warner Thomas, President and CEO, Ochsner Health System. “We’ve designed Ochsner’s InnovationHub to be approachable, entertaining and interactive. We want people to walk away from a visit to the Hub feeling inspired to take small steps towards a healthier lifestyle.”

The idea for Ochsner InnovationHub began in 2018 and was partly inspired by pop-up health clinics in retail spaces and experiential retail, which focuses on engaging the public, versus selling products. Thomas and Ochsner leaders saw an opportunity to connect with the community and create a healthcare experience that was fun, interactive and informative. Ochsner partnered with ThreeSixtyEight, Luminary Design Co. and LG Business Solutions USA to turn the idea into a reality.

“At LG, we embrace healthy living, embodied in our motto Life’s Good,“ said Dan Smith, Vice President, Business Development, LG Electronics USA Business Solutions “Partnering on this installation with our curved LG OLED commercial displays (model 55EF5E) brings Ochsner’s vision to life, delivering compelling wellness content to consumers in a unique unconventional environment.”

Ochsner is a national leader in healthcare innovation, offering digital medicine programs to manage chronic conditions, virtual visits via Ochsner Anywhere Care and mobile and hospital-based O Bars, retail experiences that offer technology to manage your health and wellness. Ochsner announced innovationOchsner (iO) in 2015, which utilizes cutting-edge technology and partnerships with innovative companies to provide life-changing care for patients. This innovation lab uses technology and data to create personalized, patient-centered solutions to empower patients to live heathier lives while also reducing costs. Since its launch, iO has received numerous accolades, including being the HIMSS Davies and the Microsoft Corp.’s Health Innovation Awards.

“More than ever before, our team is able to provide healthcare services and resources to patients, when and where they need it,” said Dr. David Houghton, System Chair of Telemedicine, Ochsner Health System. “We’ve seen an opportunity to connect with our patients and community in an even more convenient way by bringing personalized tips and tools to people in an unexpected and approachable setting.”

Ochsner plans to open additional InnovationHubs in community spaces across Louisiana in the future. Additionally, a mini version of the InnovationHub will be established at Junior Achievement’s BizTown. BizTown is a reality-based learning environment for middle and high school students.

To see how the InnovationHub works, take a virtual tour  https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=C73iSm5TTmd .

For more information on Ochsner InnovationHub, please visit https://www.ochsner.org/io. 

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Ochsner Health is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 100 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” across three specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 70 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs nearly 25,000 employees and over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies. Ochsner Health is proud to be a tobacco-free environment. For more information, please visit ochsner.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.