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, La. – The Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Board of Directors approved an increase to minimum wage today for all full-time and part-time employees to $12.00 per hour, effective March 10, 2019. The new pay rate will impact more than 320 employees at the health system’s Shreveport and Monroe, La. facilities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, in 2017 approximately 3.6% of hourly workers in Louisiana – nearly 40,000 people – earn at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour . The decision follows Ochsner Health System’s minimum wage rate increase earlier this year, also to $12.00 per hour, as a result of a comprehensive environmental assessment of employee needs and direct input from stakeholders.
“Increasing minimum wage is an example of our commitment to the communities we serve. By investing in our people, our most important asset, we improve their quality of life while supporting recruitment and retention efforts that positively impact patient care,” says Chuck Daigle, CEO, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport.
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On Oct. 1, 2018, Ochsner Health(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.
[1] Source: U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2017/home.htm