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.
SHREVEPORT and MONROE, La. – In addition to its virtual visits for outpatient needs, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport has expanded its telemedicine capabilities inside the hospital. To reduce healthcare workers’ exposure to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases while maintaining high-quality care to patients, Ochsner LSU Health has deployed iPads inside the hospital for the patient care teams, including the intensive care unit and emergency room environment.
“Telemedicine brings the Intensivist to the critically ill patient's bedside no matter where that patient is hospitalized. By providing standard of care critical care medicine, healthcare providers at any institution can stabilize and care for their patients closer to home without the need for transferring to a hospital hours away,” explained Dr. Laurie Grier, Chief Quality Officer and critical care specialist at Ochsner LSU Health. “In addition, in this time of crisis, telemedicine allows physicians in their own institution to communicate with the patient without repeatedly entering the room. Thus saving unnecessary exposure to infectious disease processes as well as PPE.”
Ochsner LSU Health’s TeleICU program, which began in March 2019 allowing Shreveport intensive care and specialty physicians to virtually round on Monroe Medical Center patients, is now being used inside the Shreveport hospital to further protect its critical care specialists and other multidisciplinary teams providing care to ICU patients.
In 2019, Ochsner LSU Health also launched the AvaSys TeleSitter Solution that includes a two-way camera and speaker, proven to increase patient safety.
“Reducing the number of times people enter the patient rooms, decreases exposure of infectious disease. Obviously, we are especially sensitive to COVID-19 right now. Keeping our healthcare workers healthy is not only the right thing to do, but it is vital to making sure we can take care of our patients,” says Dr. Mike Sewell, Chief of Hospital Medicine at Ochsner LSU Health.
For outpatient visits, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport currently provides patients with virtual visits with physicians through its MyChart app that is directly tied to the patient’s electronic health record. Patients can sign up for MyChart or download the app from my.ochsner.org/LSUHealth, or call 318-626-0500.
For urgent care visits and those who do not currently have a primary care physician, Ochsner LSU Health offers Anywhere Care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at a cost $10 or less. The Anywhere Care virtual visit is open to new patients and may be conducted through the app on a smart device or on its website at ochsnerlsuhs.org/anywhere.
Leading the area in telemedicine capabilities, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is also the only North Louisiana health system offering telemedicine stroke care for patients in other facilities through TeleStroke. The health system also offers virtual visits for psychiatry through its TelePsychiatry program.
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On Oct. 1, 2018, Ochsner Health System (Ochsner) and LSU Health Shreveport jointly formed Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport to oversee and coordinate activities between the health sciences center and the healthcare delivery system in Shreveport and Monroe, La. Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is a public private partnership with a vision to improve health and well-being of its communities, access to care, quality, and facilities, expand patient-centered technology, grow the medical school, and enhance research in North Louisiana by building on the strengths of Ochsner and LSU Health Shreveport. Under the new structure, Ochsner brings their nationally-recognized expertise to the management of operations for partner hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe, clinics and the clinical activity of the LSUHSC-S Faculty Group Practice. LSU will continue to successfully oversee the LSUHSC-S School of Medicine, School of Allied Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, Graduate Medical Education, and research initiatives.
Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport includes North Louisiana’s only Level 1 Trauma Center at its 452-bed hospital in Shreveport, La. The organization also operates a 244-bed hospital in Monroe, La. With more than 3,400 employees and the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Physician Group of approximately 500 physicians, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport serves more than 135,000 patients with more than 600,000 visits annually.
To find out more about Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, please visit www.ochsnerlsuhs.org.