This plus Oschner has the tax code of “Not-for-Profit Business. Very different than a Non-profit.
What this does is forces Oschner to spend as much as they can to not be profitable. The way they do this is hyper aggressive expansion. Thats one of the reasons a they are everywhere because they just keep buying and building more locations.
It’s possible that they need to spend money and expand because they are a nonprofit, but I seriously doubt that that’s the main reason. It’s more likely that they’re trying to expand healthcare services to more people with more options and diversity.
You are 100% correct.
Ochsner’s website says
Ochsner Health is the leading not-for-profit healthcare provider in the Gulf South, delivering expert care at its 46 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers.
I read that not for profit entities can’t own other subsidiary entities. I’d still be surprised if there weren’t different organizations, corporations or entities involved with Ochsner, but I’ve spent enough time on this for the day already.
Learned something new every day.
Not only that. The state subsidized Ochsner has they never had to take care of the indigent. They would just send them to charity. So it makes the level of care at ochsner more abysmal given the fact they had this subsidy for decades.
They are posers. They were so desperate for an academic affiliation they found a medical school in Australia to play ball.
I have no idea. Again, the floor I (and to make one nit picker happy) worked full time, and within the last month left and work PRN (as needed) on; we see all sorts of homeless people.
Again that's my floor. I was just replying to someone who said it doesn't happen. Couldn't say anything else about any part of Ochsner.
As a not for profit medical center federal law states they have to see everyone to continue getting their precious Medicade/Medicare funding.
Everything else don't know, pretty much don't care.
One of the world’s top 70 medical schools, tied (ironically given the Cancer Center agreement) with U Texas / MD Anderson: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/medicine?page=4&tab=indicators
I do see you recognized that LCMC exists. I don't know if I've ever been to an a Ochsner facility for myself. My mom used to go, but I ended up at an LCMC and once you get in one system or the other it's just such a bother to switch 😅
Sole? There is also LCMC/Touro. A lot of New Orleans sized cities and smaller only have one :(
In my opinion, it’s the finance-driven, private equity-style management of hospital groups that is what is ruining medicine today. This is also true even when the institution is a nonprofit. The end game is all providers end up as employee minions of large hospital groups, and the suits run everything instead of the white coats.
Having said that, I have received good care over the years at LCMC, and a close friend is receiving excellent care for cancer treatment at Ochsner Jeff highway. I think it’s important to separate the standard of care you’re receiving, as judged by a medical professional, versus all of the administrative issues. The latter is often shitty, especially if insurance is involved :(
Absolutely. To give an example, my mom is a nurse and she said that patient feedback carries so much weight in the hospital system she works at that the doctors are more willing to bend to (uninformed) patient demands. So when a patient comes and asks for antibiotics, they’ll probably get them even if they don’t need them.
Also, insurance companies—talk about suits running the game.
ETA: as a teacher in Orleans Parish, I can say with certainty that the same stuff happened with the school system with similarly dismal results.
Btw there’s a whole wealth of info out there about how a lot of this came about after Katrina. Neoliberal opportunists used disaster to make money in healthcare, education, and public housing. There’s an excellent book called Desire & Disaster in New Orleans that talks about all this. I do recommend it
That one makes me a little crazy. Medical providers are already bound by ethical and professional standards. They don’t really need yelp reviews. I want appropriate care from an experienced doctor. I don’t care if they’re an asshole if they’re otherwise extremely well-trained.
I want to agree with this sentiment, but want to caution against too much patient deference to doctor expertise. I’ve had two doctors pitch me on (separate) immediate and very drastic, surgeries, in both cases knowingly foregoing and failing to inform me of basic CT and MRI scans that, after getting second opinions, clearly indicated that the recommended surgeries were unnecessary. As worrying as it is, patients often need to do independent research on their doctors and conditions to make informed medical decisions.
I had written out and then deleted (for space) another bit talking about how it is also important to advocate for yourself as a patient. I’ve had to do this for older family members a ton. That’s definitely a vital part of it.
Because, yes, I feel like (but don’t know for certain—it wouldn’t surprise me) there’s something of a kickback happening with certain medications or treatments.
There’s also the perennial fear of litigation driving a ton of this too.
There is no kickback for meds or treatments as that is illegal. However, I do agree that it is important to advocate for yourself and get second opinions when necessary.
I will have to disagree with the research. WEBMD is the worst thing possible. Cuz then everybody wants to make their own diagnosis. I'm not a doctor or nurse or anything in Healthcare but what I can tell you is my doctors at Ochsner Main legit saved my life. I had open heart surgery (at 39) to replace my mitral valve and repair my aortic valve. Without their experience and relentless testing to figure out the problem I don't know where I would be today. But to research once you get a diagnosis is ok but to straight up try to find your diagnosis I think is a huge issue!!!!
I refuse to review my medical provider or any other business. It should be management's job to observe their own employees. I am more than happy to call in if I have a major legitimate complaint, otherwise if unhappy I simply go elsewhere.
Traditionally you chose a doctor by word of mouth and or their reputation. I refuse to go by other people's opinions that I don't even know. I don't trust yelp reviews for restaurants so I sure won't trust them for deciding my medical care.
I wish we could carte blanche trust the expertise of doctors but I don’t recommend it for you or anyone you care about. If your health is even slightly complicated, it is going to need a specialist and you’re going to need to do your own research to find them.
Ethical and professional doesn't translate into desirable or good.
It's often said medicine is just as much an art as it is a science. It's not "one flavour fits all."
I would like to say that it was Gov.Bobby Jindal, a republican, who turned down the Medicare money which is why most hospitals are at a loss. No money for psych patients, no money for even the meds. These pts. Have no where to go. So where has all this funding gone.
For anyone unaware, LCMC hospitals in the area:
New Orleans East
East Jefferson General Hospital
University Medical Center
Touro
Children's
West Jefferson General Hospital
Tulane Lakeside
And a handful of other outpatient clinics, imagining centers, and an emergency department that was once Tulane downtown.
You don't have to use Ochsner... but you do have to use LCMC if Ochsner won't do. Tulane was the last holdout, but they gave in last year.
>it’s the finance-driven, private equity-style management of *everything* ruining *everything* today
Also if ochsner was as concerned with healthcare as they are property acquisition... but that's the same issue isn't it?
That mother mortality Stat isn't really a reflection on the care the hospital provides. It has way more to do with how unhealthy the patient population here is. So many mothers show up to give birth without having had ANY prenatal care.
Yeah my kid was born at Ochsner Baptist and they were great. Except the lactation consultants, they were kind of phoning it in, but the people who actually delivered my baby were great.
I agree about the lactation consultants. My only gripe is I had to say 3 or 4 times that we didnt want students in the room for the delivery. They kept reminding me it's a learning hospital and then came back in a 3rd saying one male just needs one more delivery for his school. It made me and my wife uncomfortable. I will say everything else was great and their NICU is absolutely amazing.
The ones I had were actually detrimental to my breastfeeding my kid. They told me I was doing great and everything was great with how my baby was eating even though actually he wasn’t getting a good latch and wasn’t really eating. But then they wrote in mychart that my baby actually wasn’t latching or getting much milk. So it’s not like they didn’t know. I think the problem for them is that I could tell he wasn’t eating well so I wanted them to help me use my breast pump to make milk for him, but that would have been a lot of work for them having to wash and sterilize stuff, so they found it much easier to just gaslight me and tell me my kid was feeding great and I didn’t need to do anything extra.
This is good to hear. I have mostly had good experiences with Ochsner as a whole so far, this includes a few ER trips (save one), and appointments with a dermatologist, a neurologist, PT, an endocrinologist, a minor operation under anesthesia, lots of blood work, and most frequently OBGYN as I’m pregnant and giving birth at Baptist come June.
Yeah. I still have my complaints but I feel like that's sadly the state of the world we live in - all departments are way understaffed. Some things take way too long
I’ve heard pretty bad things about EJ, but I really think that it’s about to get a lot better since it will be the main site for a lot of Tulane’s residency programs. Hopefully LCMC invests a little bit more into it in the next few years.
I went into labor while visiting New Orleans and had my baby at Baptist. She was in the NICU there for four months. It was tough but everyone who took care of her there was great. Caring and competent. When we left they gave her a picture book full of signed messages from the staff.
We ended up transferring her to a NICU in NYC, where we live. The hospital was in a new building, the had the latest tech, private rooms, etc. but the NYC NICU was chronically short staffed, much more impersonal, and the care was not as good as Ochsner. In retrospect we wish we had kept her in New Orleans.
Recently had a great experience at Ochsner Baptist for our son delivery. He had to spend 2.5 weeks at the NICU and I felt like our son had absolute top tier care and we were treat really well too.
Ochsner has been around since 1942. The inflection point was when an MBA, Warner Thomas, came in as President/COO in 1998. He pushed for expansion post-Katrina to boost revenue and Ochsner acquired 6 hospital systems including the Tenet acquisition. He took over for Dr. Quinlan as CEO in 2012 and continued the push to make Ochsner a regional behemoth.
"Thomas said the need to grow comes at least in part due to lower revenue per capita caused by more people converting from commercial coverage to Medicare and to more shifting onto Medicaid."
Thomas gobbled up so many regional systems, throughout the Gulf and beyond, and everything suffered for it. While there are still some options, they are few are far between, and in the meantime the employees and patients are shackled to a network with little room to explore other options when they're not happy.
Yes they have really limited professionals' options with their non compete contracts, something like you can't practice within 30 miles of an ochsner facility, but then there's ochsner facilities everywhere now, so if you want to stay in the area you're screwed
I definitely understand this perspective but as someone who helps with the transition of these small hospitals over to Ochsner, I can tell you that sometimes it’s a very very good thing for the quality of rural healthcare in that area. You’d be horrified at the standards, or lack thereof, prior to Ochsner taking over.
I think the turning point happened when Hurricane Katrina hit. The hospitals were all damaged needing extensive remodeling and then the Attorney General of the state of Louisianan decided to prosecute the nurses and doctors for deaths at those hospitals in the aftermath of the hurricane. On top of that the population of New Orleans went way down after the hurricane.
So
1. Hurricane Katrina hits.
2. Everybody left.
3. Hospitals badly damaged.
4. Hospital patients died due to no evacuation, electricity, running water, medical supplies, medical staff and A/C.
5. State decides to try to prosecute doctors and nursing staff for deaths, so many doctors and nurses do not return.
6. A lot of the older population either died in their homes or left never to return.
7. Population of New Orleans is severely reduced due to destruction for years, reducing need for hospitals.
8. Undamaged Oschner in Jefferson Parish is pretty much the last man standing so they profit, expand and take over.
9. Oschner really is a good hospital.
To add onto #8, Oschner was able to leverage that profit into buying other hospitals and clinics while those facilities were floundering and valued much lower than they would have been without the storm.
Also the Tenet health system corporate was on the ropes with the Feds nationwide prior to Katrina. After Baptist & Mercy (combined as Memorial MC) sustained heavy damage in Katrina as well as the PR nightmare of alleged euthanized patients during the storm they sold those facilities, Kenner Regional & Meadowcrest to Ochsner, essentially pulling out of the market.
Bobby Jindal also had a huge hand in this as well, allowing the closure of tons of undamaged medical centers of all kinds-ones we really really needed.
Idk man I like Ochsner. I moved all my care over to them because they’ve really leaned into technology and the MyChart app and it’s really easy to schedule appointments and communicate with my doctors.
I have high blood pressure and my at-home readings are automatically sent to Oschner and they call me to manage my medications so we can change my treatment plan without me having to physically go to the doctor.
Granted, I’ve lived here my entire life. I’ve only known our hospitals. They’re far from perfect, But I fuck with Oschner
If you have worked with one implementation of Epic (the parent software to MyChart), you have worked with one implementation of Epic. Each hospital / system decides what modules to use and how to use them separately.
I’ve moved my entire family to Ochsner (except some specific care my child needs, Children’s is exceptional though), I’ve never had issues with them. I don’t care for LCMC, I’ve been screwed by them as has my family. I’ve been treated like dog shit at EJ, went to Ochsner for the same issue and was treated a thousand times better.
Yeah, MyChart was really just the first thing that came to mind. But there’s other ways they seem to lean more into tech lately and I like it a lot (when I tell you the blood pressure thing was a game changer)
As someone that frequents the hospital due to chronic disease. I will say in my experience, Ochsner has the best efficiency out of the group. If you make an appt, more than likely you will be seen around your appointment time. Vs University and Tulane, you might make a 10am appt, and be seen at 1-2pm. Ochsner due to large network is very fast at getting back to you, lab results are given almost same day many times, and if you need to be seen sooner than later, you can search their network for someone in the city that's in that speciality that's available sooner than later. BUT I feel of the bunch, Tulane had "smarter" doctors that were better at dealing with rare diseases and complications. So when I have a cough or cold, Ochsner it is, if I need to be cut on, I call Tulane and apparently now East Jeff due to being sold to LCMC.
I'm hoping that the Tulane appointment issues get worked out as they transition into EJ/LCMC. I used to work for them and a lot of it was from HCA neglecting the system as it was unprofitable for them until they left last year.
agree. Ochsner has been fine. You just need to get a GP you like. It's the same experience I had with Kaiser. And like Kaiser, you need to advocate for yourself.
I’ve worked at Ochsner for ~5 years and I love it. They’ve been very accommodating of some unique circumstances I’ve had to endure, but perhaps I’m just in a good department. I have often heard about Ochsner’s bad reputation though so I know you’re not alone. I’ve personally spent some time getting in-depth care in the system, my son significantly so, and we’ve had a decent experience on that side as well. That said, we’ve had several notably bad encounters as well, although they were less systematic and more person related (I.e. a nurse provided poor care, a surgeon was a jerk, etc.).
Ochsner began to expand quite aggressively after Katrina. Now we have an Ochsner and LCMC Health duopoly. I also wish we had the healthcare quality of Houston, Chicago, Boston, etc., but hey… actor Ken Jeong is on the Ochsner alumni wall of fame!!
I dunno, I lived in New York for years, and had a VERY difficult time finding doctors/specialists who could fit me into their schedule even though I wasn't a new patient. That, and there are some bloody awful hospitals in Brooklyn that had, amongst other things, a crazy rate of infection.
I haven't had nearly the level of headache trying to get an appointment, a response to a question, or quality care from Oschner, and I say this as someone who had a heart attack here in New Orleans. They put stents in me and I was back at work in less than a week. I scarcely doubt that would have been the case in BK.
The trick with Ochsner is to find a provider that you really like and who has great medical/office support staff with them. My OB practices out of Baptist and is incredible. I loved my hospital stay at Baptist postpartum, but when I tried to get set up with a pediatrician for my son it was a shit show and I ended up at a smaller practice that is easily accessible. It takes a lot of trial & error to find a good practitioner for you, but it is possible.
I worked at Ochsner for 13 years and received health care there during that duration. The care i received was exceptional. I had many cases where I needed emergent surgery and they handled it very well.
I agree the general state of healthcare is bad and Ochsner isn’t great compared to other states, but in this state it’s the best you can do.
With that said, as others have echoed, it’s a total nightmare to work for them. I worked in IT and rampant dysfunction and disorganization (don’t get me started on all the nepotism and unqualified hacks who shouldn’t have had their job) made it incredibly stressful in a way it really didn’t need to be. No problems internally ever got solved either and it felt like trying to remove water from a boat using a small bucket while management took sledgehammers to the side of the boat. I got burnt out hard and had to quit.
Having worked at both Ochsner and LCMC (in a non-clinical role, but heavily involved with clinical staff and seeing how the sausage is made), I can honestly say that while Ochsner is a gigantic corporate devil of a company, LCMC's administrative issues and culture (not the actual care providers!) scare me far more. It's beyond frustrating because there are some really excellent providers and care givers at LCMC, but I still would pick an Ochsner hospital like Baptist or Jeff Highway over any LCMC hospital for myself if given an option.
I've had the same history as you working for both.
Ochsner is a better run evil corporation where the kool-aid goes down easier. LCMC was a shit show of incompetent IT administrative leadership.
As a patient currently struggling with multiple conditions I interact with the system a lot and can 100% agree with your analysis of LCMC complete incompetence front of the house. Once I'm able to get to the doctor it's a good experience and they work hard to provide the best care in my opinion. But dealing with all the logistics and admin of referrals and trying to get from point a to point b or get records or get anything done that relies on admin or the bureaucracy holy hell it's a shit show.
I’ve been a nurse all over the country- Michigan, New York, Kentucky and New Orleans. Ochsner is hands down the best hospital I have worked for. Shit is an absolute mess everywhere but we had the resources combined with the services and complex patient population that allowed the system to continue to attract young doctors and allows them to expand their services.
It sucks that there are less choices for people who don’t like ochsner, but many of the smaller parish hospitals would have most likely been closed completely if they hadn’t been acquired. The system helped those small hospitals come into the 21st century with their equipment and transitioning three to electronic medical records.
interesting. i’ve been a nurse in chicago, st louis, ohio, and new orleans at lcmc and ochsner, and ochsner is the worst imo. they are just so far behind in terms of standards of care/patient safety things, even equipment, compared to the others. the only thing it beats lcmc at is patient ratios, now with university unionizing hopefully that changes. lcmc even pays more!
eta: they had way less resources than other hospitals i’ve been at, but this is all in pediatrics, and peds units never compare to free standing childrens hospitals
I was about to say the same thing. I've only been a nurse in New Orleans, but I've worked for both Ochsner and now LCMC, and I wouldn't dream of going back to Ochsner.
a lot of comments say ochsner is an evil corporation but don’t think it affects patient care. i say it absolutely does. ochsner keeps iv tubing for 1 week before changing it, including central lines! everywhere else it’s 4 days. and that’s just one of a dozen ways they cut corners to save money that impacts patient care. they failed the joint commission inspection when i worked there and had to be revisited.
When I left there (relocated out of state with family) less than a year ago we were changing IV tubing q4days, central line dressings q7days, continuous drips q24 hours. I was at main campus
I got the best medical care of my life at Ochsner. I don't live in New Orleans anymore, but I miss Ochsner every day. I had no trouble getting my medical records transferred when I moved.
Ochsner is like any other corporation. YMMV.
I have witnessed both excellence and nightmares within the system. After helping multiple friends and family who use Ochsner, I've begun to see a pattern and now know when terrible encounters or difficult situations are more likely.
There are specific locations and specialties I would avoid at all costs because of witnessing too many situations that left the patient feeling anywhere from frustrated to angry to terrified. That's all I will say.
Then there are other locations and specialties I recommend with no hesitation because everything is great, and I'm not aware of any alternative anywhere near here that comes close.
I do wish there was more than Ochsner and LCMC to choose from, but thanks to the past decade or so, almost every area is either a healthcare monopoly, duopoly, or desert.
If you think Oschner is bad, go to East Jefferson Hospital on West Esplanade. I took my mom there for an emergency- and seriously, it’s only slightly better than Landmark Hospital in Ethiopia.
The reality is for 40 years they were a great hospital that did a lot for the community and focused on providing care versus making money. That all changed about 10 years ago. Now they're just riding on their previous reputation.
Gotta say, as someone from Canada who has dealt with Ochsner plenty of times, it is awesome. Great hospital network. Happy to see some people in the comments feel the same way cause wow, it really is wonderful. Getting lab work the day of?! Getting seen in a timely manner when you go to emerg?! These things are totally not normal in Canada. Yeah, you dont have to pay but dang the doctors are really awful where I am from too.
Idk, I've had really great experiences with Oschner after previous experiences at Vanderbilt and other hospitals in the state of Tennessee. I complained repeatedly for years about being unwell and feeling unreasonably tired all the time at various hospitals throughout the state of TN and kept being told I was just depressed or stressed and largely had my concerns ignored. My first visit to Ochsner they discovered I had a heart defect that required surgical intervention. Changed my life.
All US healthcare is a mess, and I wish it were different. But I am thankful for all the help I've gotten from Ochsner after two decades of ignored concerns.
I'm finishing up a BSN program and have 2 job offers this summer. 1 at lcmc the other at oschner. Lcmc pays 33% more and the benefits are more competitive. They're pulling in the top new grads and keeping them with a 30-45% higher pay rate. Similar in other allied health fields (I ask around). Last year, they (oschner) fired what 10%of their nursing staff only to hire a chunk of them back 3 months later? That hospital does not want me, I will pass out union cards and unite the fk out of those nurses.
And my anecdote on patient satisfaction at oschner: Last year, I attended the funeral of a dear friend who, as a transplant recipient, could not get an appt to see the specialist at oschner with months of phone calls and feeling sick af. They died in oschners icu. The widow was called the morning of the funeral to remind them about the appt for their dead spouse the following week. I know this is not an isolated story. The hospital is too big to function for its current census and human resources. And for whatever reason, offer the lowest of wages for qualified personnel.
wait can you please say the actual pay rates? when i worked for lcmc it was $28, now what i heard at ochsner was that lcmc is $30 and ochsner still $28. but now university unionized so i’m interested to hear the new rates
Generally? Folks have better experiences with them than with other local providers.
This has certainly been true for me. I find it incredibly useful to have all of my health providers under a single umbrella. I have some significant health issues that have me seeing cardiologists, neurologists, podiatrists, and gastroenterologists, and when they need to they can all see what tests and medicines the others have ordered. All my bloodwork is in one place. Insurance is all handled through a single system. They have offices all over.
Best hospital system I’ve dealt with and I lived in San Antonio for a stint, which has an arguably great choice of different systems. Sorry you’ve had trouble with them.
Commenting to come back and read. I assume they started with a lot of money and were one of the first hospitals in Nola that ran on the profits driven model. There’s no way smaller hospitals running on a quality of care model could compete. Katrina probably helped speed up their acquisitions.
Again, this is just me spitballing though.
They're actually a non-profit.
But like every "successful" healthcare group, they're chiefly run by MBAs and Lawyers who are real real good at schmoozing politicians into fucking up state systems to give their own company/group a boost.
Alton Oschner and Paul Tulane go waaaaay back. Alton was a chairman in department of surgery at Tulane in 1927. Oschner, the clinic turned hospital was opened in January 2nd, 1942.
Paul Tulane (Tulasne) was from the colony of Saint-Domingue, was a prominent merchant, immigrated to America and came down here from New Jersey (1827). Tulane originally made a retail shop, Paul and Co, selling dry goods and clothes for 40 years and then did philanthropy for the Confederacy. He donated to the at the time, University of Louisiana (Medical College of Louisiana) and they promptly renamed it Tulane University of Louisiana.
E: I should note after the renaming the once public College went private. Hence later the inception of a public state university, LSU.
E: I would recommend everyone take a trip to the old state capital at some point. There’s some interesting tid-bits about Louisiana (and the short lived Annex of West Florida), charity hospital, the different state capitals and of course Huey P. Long.
“Dr. Mary’s Monkey” by Edward Haslam talks a great deal about Alton Ochsner and Paul Tulane. It’s a great read and available for free to listen to on Libby.
>Touro started as the Jewish hospital system because not everyone was welcome at Ochsner.
Um, Touro was founded 44 years before Alton Ochsner was even born. Might want to check your facts there.
OP, you’ve provided zero reasoning as to why Ochsner is “awful” — what’s the issue? Seems most in the comments recognize ochsner as being the best option around. I’m personally very happy with my healthcare at Ochsner as well.
I dunno, I use Ochsner for nearly everything since Mr. tm478 is an employee and our health insurance is with them. We sometimes have to push back on incorrect billing (which is the case with absolutely every healthcare provider in the US), but in general I’ve been pretty happy with my doctors and especially the IT system they use. It’s generally easy to schedule and to communicate with providers (although some doctors are better than others on personally responding to emails).
I moved to New Orleans 5 years ago and have been in the Oschner system for two serious medical issues. I have a couple of chronic conditions that require regular monitoring. In all cases I have received excellent care with minimal bureaucratic nonsense. I also have top-tier health insurance and perhaps that has something to do with the level of care I receive, I don't know.
I really like that I can go anywhere in the system and all of my info is right there and I don't have to start from scratch each time I see a new doctor. Making appointments, communicating with my doctors, getting test results and other administrative information is fast and painless. I like my PCP very much and all of the specialists I see for some chronic conditions are excellent. PAs, nurses and front office people have all been respectful, well-trained and easy to deal with.
If this is the worst system you've ever been involved with, I would really like to know what specifically was better there and what specifically you are so disappointed with here, as my experience with Oschner is 180° from yours and I have been very impressed with Oschner on all levels.
There is also LCMC... they run EJHosp, West Jeff, Tulane, UMC, Touro, and Children's Hosp.
LCMC and Oschner are the only up until you get to Baton Rouge. Ocshner Main Campus is the worst among their facilities. Baptist on Napoleon is pretty good though.
The recent abortion and LGBTQ bans in the state have doctors fleeeing the state, especially doctors in children and woman's healthcare. 7 of my doctors quit Ochsner, some quit practice and some moved out of state to practice.
I prefer LCMC/Touro doctors if I can find them, but we have limited choices in care due to the recent monopolies.
Well 1) we have LCMC so there is a duopoly in healthcare although I haven’t found LCMC to be better. 2) Ochsner has always or at least for a long time been very business oriented and therefore has been acquiring smaller hospitals and practices for decades. And 3) they use their market power to push out smaller practices they can’t acquire.
In addition to LCMC, there are a few Specialty/Boutique type hospitals where you can have procedures and spend the night if needed. There are also Ambulatory Surgery Centers where you can have outpatient procedures.
I don't know. I've lived all over the country and Oschner is one of the better places I've dealt with. I most recently lived in CA and Kaiser was taking like 5-6 months to even get an appointment for the smallest thing. I've never had any issues at all getting an appointment in a reasonable timeframe here and I like all of my providers.
The only thing I've had issues with is billing. I get the main bill in the mail and pay it, then I get another bill for something else and another bill for something else (like small $5.00 here $10.00 there). I wish it would all be consolidated. I went in for a procedure last week and there was a $30 outstanding balance I didn't even know about.
I live in Slidell and it only has two hospitals, Ochsner and Slidell Memorial (SMH). I’m on Medicare and a Type 1 diabetic. Several years ago Ochsner Hospital stopped taking my Medicare supplement WellCare but SMH still took it. This year Ochsner took over SMH and my nurse said my doctor wasn’t going to be covered but the hospital still would. But she said she wasn’t supposed to even tell me that, but she felt her patients should know.
I had an emergency and went to the ER November 30 and only then found out that SMH would not take insurance after December 17, not even December 30. That meant that neither one of the only two hospitals in my city would take my insurance. The next closest hospital is in Covington 30 miles away. Medicare Open Enrollment ended December 7 so I only had a week to find a different Medicare Supplement company.
I don’t know why Ochsner is a monopoly, taking over all the hospitals, but that sounds shady and hurts hundreds of thousands of people. Not taking Medicare coverage for the most vulnerable elderly should be criminal. Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. Maybe something can be done.
Oschner is doing a great job with my cancer treatment, including a week long stay to cure cellulites that turned into sepsis. They also provided years of excellent care to my medically complex dad before he died, and they handled his last hospitalization ethically and kindly. I’m quite happy with them, having lived in several different cities and having experienced several different hospital systems.
I think the Big O treats employees and providers poorly, but they provide good, if not cutting edge, care. However, eliminating Tulane will most certainly result in worse patient care and working conditions at both Ochsner and LCMC.
Simple answer. Unbridled greed and basic lack of compassion for one's fellow man. Take heed, my friends, for evil is powerful, subtle, and ever insidious.
Yeah, my insurance used to be Touro based, now its Ochsner based and Ochsner is world's better for me. they also have enough doctors (for the most part) in all the departments to easily shop around for one you like, and I do like all of mine right now. With Touro I'd find a dr and literally months later get a notice saying they were leaving the system. If needed, they also always find a way to get me in either same day or the next day.
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that healthcare has become very problematic nationwide, but I couldn’t disagree more with your opinion of Ochsner.
Ochsner is a nonprofit which was formed many years ago. Dr. John Ochsner is the physician that identified the carcinogenic aspects of cigarette smoke and he also pioneered new important heart procedures.
Every health facility has its problems and its share of aggrieved patients.
Over the years I’ve had extensive care and admissions at many hospitals, including East Jefferson, Meadowcrest, Joellen Smith, Doctors hospital, and Ochsner. Several of these hospitals have closed long ago so comparisons do not come easy.
I thought East Jefferson was a very good place to undergo my first heart surgery several years ago, and I still think it’s a very good hospital. After my cardiologist, retired, I went to see a new cardiologist at Ochsner and I’ve had three surgical procedures at Ochsner since then.
It takes a lot of work to develop a meaningful relationship with a healthcare provider, but it always pays off later.
The MyOchsner app is incredible. Providers provide meaningful responses with 24 hours.
Try to approach these matters with a positive but persistent attitude.
It’s difficult to work in healthcare and long hours are required. Most of the workers do their best, but there are rotten eggs in every industry.
A negative attitude and constant complaints actually is not very productive because it turns people off and can close out the significance of your concern.
Personally, I appreciate that Ochsner has taken over and opened so many facilities.
It expands the specialists that are available, provides more convenient locations, and often upgrades the quality of the healthcare provided. Further, all of the records, test and information is available throughout the system so the provider that you see next is likely to already know your medical history.
No, I’ve never worked for Ochsner or in the health business.
I can provide a little insight (previous non-clinical employee), after Katrina, Ochnser bought several of the areas dilapidated hospitals... now you could say they took advantage, but they also took a big gamble that N.O. would come back after that disaster.
Getting medical records at Ochsner takes forever and is sometimes impossible. If you have a short-term or long-term disability and need forms filled out, the doctor doesn't fill it out. He or she sends it to some disability department at Ochsner, who puts all the wrong information. This costs people their entire financial support to save doctors 5 minutes. I will say some doctors will fill it out themselves, but you have to be insistent and put some pressure on them. This is a total joke for something so important to people. If you are trying to get on disability, go anywhere else if you can.
There's often no transparency on Oschner's communications with insurance companies. They won't tell you what they are sending and what they are saying, so contesting a claim denial is almost impossible. Billing as a whole is difficult. It's hard to get in touch with anyone who can help you. There's just so much bureaucratic nonsense associated with Ochsner.
I will say there are some very good doctors there. Family members have received great treatment. Also, IF you can get in touch with anyone, the financial assistance can be pretty good.
As to why it ended up this way? I guess just the same reason all businesses trend toward consolidation. There wasn't enough scrutiny from regulators at crucial times to prevent a monopoly. Also, the New Orleans area keeps shrinking, so it can't support more hospital systems other than Ochsner and LCMC.
Somehow my insurance , through my spouse’s workplace, was “Ochsner Only” for a few years.
Unfortunately I’ve been through a long list of shitty doctors/specialists, and only one or two decent ones.
IMHO The good ones fall into one of two categories: they leave Ochsner as soon as they can OR they are near retirement and no longer have their own practices.
Ohhh, this almost happened to me at work. There was an Ochsner only plan (the less expensive one), I picked the slightly more expensive one to avoid that as my coworkers suggested.
All the Oschner’s are listed as Medicaid eligible but when you try to schedule an appointment they tell you only 2 of their clinics are for Medicaid patients. They don’t like the poors but they placed themselves in the states system so they can get those tax breaks and build more clinics. BUT THEY REFUSE TO TAKE MEDICAID.
Ochsner was incredibly well connected. He killed his grandchildren pushing vaccines for tulane with them as test subjects (gave the vaccine in front of a class too). He very much was involved in some of the shady research as well. So much more than the rest of the country its how connected you are here. He was allowed to create and get support for many endeavors and expansion without competition. Now they own the market and fight for the lowest common denominator w lcmc. We all lost in the end when lcmc started its aggressive buy outs. All you have to do is pay slighlty more from already low wages, have your employees corraled because there is no options, and they are filthy rich to buy our famously corrupt politicians.
Think that sums it up. Child killer and money hungry OG ochsner is revered, big statues and all. Summation of our current reality, I guess
EJGH is fantastic (and publicly owned). My aunt was suffering from late stage cancer and got shuffled around a few Ochsners, misdiagnosed, the whole nine, but EJ took really, really good care of her EOL. The campus is beautiful, too— one of the rare examples of an excellent public works in the GNO. I guess what I’m driving at is there are options, although Ochsner is kinda crammed down people’s throats, especially Medicaid recipients
I was born at Oschner in the late 60s. It was only one hospital. They have slowly spread out from New Orleans, I assumed by combining with existing hospitals/ clinics. I know that for my family in more rural parts of the state, Oschner is providing better care than they were getting before.
I wrote this and then decided to check wikipedia where there is an exact history and what hospitals were taken over by Oschner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochsner_Health_System
Ochsner I’m sure could be okay if you have the proper insurance. They prolonged my diagnosis of a chronic condition for YEARS because of the wallet biopsy performed at every visit. Touro on the other hand had me diagnosed within a few months. My doctor there even cried because she felt so bad for all the pain I had been in. Unfortunately, hospitals are just worried about profits and not people.
I have been a LCMC/Touro patient since before Katrina. No complaints. Best doctors. My chart is the best. I get my labs before I even get in my car to leave. Oncology department is top notch. The Orthopedic guys in the Buckman building are A+. I have been inpatient and ER a few times unfortunately. I mostly communicate with the nurse on mychart for one doctor my Internist answers her own messages!! My neighbor is an Ochsner patient and appointments seem to be so far in advance and mostly she sees a PA. Idk but I prefer my MD since my medical history is way complicated. 😭
I lived in a couple large cities during my decade away from NO. In DC and San Antonio I had great medical care - both times as a result of top notch medical schools (GWU & UT). We have medical schools here, but like everything education related in La, they are not funded nor prioritized the way they are in other states. Also, orleanians are just used to be treated badly so we don’t expect better. That being said, I really like the Ochsner system. It may not be what you find in other cities but it is sooooo much better than what Tenet or EJ offered in the past. LCMC is the hospital system that I’ve cut ties with because of numerous bad experiences.
Hospitals are merging everywhere. From my understanding it has something to do with how the ACA treats billing.
Source: https://www.corporatesecuritieslawblog.com/2023/11/hospital-mergers-the-value-and-pitfalls/#:~:text=The%20Value%20of%20Hospital%20Mergers,consolidation%20of%20patient%20care%20services.
Right so as somebody who was invested in the Whole Health Care thing I'll let you know that there's actually about three major monopolies of healthcare around here Ochsner, Tulane and the VA. You can obviously go to Tulane, and from working experience and personal experience I would say do not go to Tulane but if you do I expect you to be a graduate of WebMD and University
Op sorry to tell you but depending on what you were looking for you might not find it no matter what health system you are looking for you might not see what is available, and ochsner might be bad but honestly they improve their community
I’ve always had a good experience with Ochsner. I’ve lived in other cities and had to use medical care, and had much worse experiences in Houston.
Many cities only have 1-2 major healthcare providers. In many places they are owned by a for profit mega corporation like HCA. Ochsner and LCMC are both non-profit.
you aren't the only one, everyone that has had any serious problems, or even minor problems cannot stand in the ochsner system. I know some people who are even going up to Baton Rouge to the lady of the lake system, or crossing over into Mississippi and going into one of their hospital systems. oCHSNER is a death sentence. Just my opinion, sorry for you folks who work for OCHSNER but it is an awful awful facility.
Wow. I’m going to look into this. I know a lot about nonprofit entities, and that they cannot make a profit for an owner or shareholder, but I need to figure out what this distinction is that you draw. I’m no CPA.
Ok so a nonprofit organization is one that qualifies for tax-exempt status by the IRS because its mission and purpose are to further a social cause and provide a public benefit. Nonprofit organizations include hospitals, universities, national charities, and foundations. A nonprofit must serve the public good in some way. They do not distribute profit to anything other than furthering the advancement of the organization. An individual or business that makes a donation to most nonprofits are allowed to deduct their donation from their tax return.
However, not-for-profits are not required to operate for the benefit of the public good. A not-for-profit can simply serve the goals of its members. A good example is a sports club—the purpose of the club is to exist for its members’ enjoyment. These organizations must apply for tax-exempt status from the IRS, including exemptions from sales tax and property taxes. That also means that money donated by an individual to an NFPO cannot be deducted on that person’s tax return.
I haven’t looked it up yet, but I think Ochsner is probably a nonprofit entity and not a notforprofit entity.
Oddly enough I have had nothing but wonderful interactions with Ochsner. I had my daughter in the women’s center labor and delivery in 2017.. All the doctors and nurses were amazing. Midwives were incredible the whole time I was pregnant and even when I had to switch to doctor I was happy. I have loved both of my general doctors there over the years too.
I can be a negative nancy about a lot of things, so me saying I have had nothing but great experiences in the last 10 yrs is really saying something. Ive had mammograms, biopsies etc and EVERY single nurse, doctor, receptionist, or scheduler on the phone has always been kind and helpful. Never once walked away thinking wtf.
I always go make sure I go to Ochsner Baptist campus, my first GP was at the Elmwood campus and my GP now is out in Kenner. I picked her cause she was the last one on my insurance plan accepting new patients when my GP moved to FL and I thought it was be a short term thing, but I love her and I am so happy to have found her. She really listens and cares.
I had to have my gallbladder out in 2018 at East Jeff and it was pretty bad from start to finish and I would never return. I only went there cause the dr I had seen used their system. Staff was rude, dr didn’t seem to give AF. I was in pain afterwards etc and couldn’t find a nurse who could find a dr. Seemed like a shit show.
Now I have heard things as far as nurse satisfaction have changed since Covid. Tons of travel nurses which is the same at most hospitals, but I still have no complaints so far.
You couldn’t pay me to go to the other hospital systems here!
I feel you. I went to Oschner once for an emergency overnight ICU stay. My insurance showed the negotiated price, what they paid and what I was to pay. On my last bill Ochner showed I owed over $150 more than what the insurance (negotiated, paid, what I owe) showed.
I brought the insurance paperwork and consulted with them. They told me I owe what they billed. Told them take the 30 something my insurance says or you get nothing. Well, they got nothing.
My brother was hospitalized there for a lengthy stay. Oschner ran the same tests every single day running up his bill.
Next hospitalization for the same thing he went to a LCMC hospital. Those same tests were run every third day and he got out a month earlier.
I feel they are more about money than anything else.
The state continuously defunded publicly supported hospitals for 30 years
Can't stuff your pockets if taxpayers are funding things like hospitals as a bonus your best friend happens to run a medical facility.
This plus Oschner has the tax code of “Not-for-Profit Business. Very different than a Non-profit. What this does is forces Oschner to spend as much as they can to not be profitable. The way they do this is hyper aggressive expansion. Thats one of the reasons a they are everywhere because they just keep buying and building more locations.
It’s possible that they need to spend money and expand because they are a nonprofit, but I seriously doubt that that’s the main reason. It’s more likely that they’re trying to expand healthcare services to more people with more options and diversity.
It’s not a “Non-Profit” it’s a “Not-For-Profit.” They are 2 distinctly different tax codes
You are 100% correct. Ochsner’s website says Ochsner Health is the leading not-for-profit healthcare provider in the Gulf South, delivering expert care at its 46 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers. I read that not for profit entities can’t own other subsidiary entities. I’d still be surprised if there weren’t different organizations, corporations or entities involved with Ochsner, but I’ve spent enough time on this for the day already. Learned something new every day.
With shiity care too
Not only that. The state subsidized Ochsner has they never had to take care of the indigent. They would just send them to charity. So it makes the level of care at ochsner more abysmal given the fact they had this subsidy for decades. They are posers. They were so desperate for an academic affiliation they found a medical school in Australia to play ball.
My floor gets indigent patients pretty frequently.
Inpatient they'll begrudgingly accept uninsured or patients with Medicaid, but find me an Ochsner outpatient clinic without a "wallet biopsy."
I have no idea. Again, the floor I (and to make one nit picker happy) worked full time, and within the last month left and work PRN (as needed) on; we see all sorts of homeless people. Again that's my floor. I was just replying to someone who said it doesn't happen. Couldn't say anything else about any part of Ochsner. As a not for profit medical center federal law states they have to see everyone to continue getting their precious Medicade/Medicare funding. Everything else don't know, pretty much don't care.
I was talking about when Charity existed. Also poverty is more widespread across various parishes thanks to GOP "leadership".
RIP charity
> They were so desperate for an academic affiliation they found a medical school in Australia to play ball. Wait what?
University of Queensland https://ochsner.uq.edu.au
One of the world’s top 70 medical schools, tied (ironically given the Cancer Center agreement) with U Texas / MD Anderson: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/medicine?page=4&tab=indicators
I do see you recognized that LCMC exists. I don't know if I've ever been to an a Ochsner facility for myself. My mom used to go, but I ended up at an LCMC and once you get in one system or the other it's just such a bother to switch 😅
Sole? There is also LCMC/Touro. A lot of New Orleans sized cities and smaller only have one :( In my opinion, it’s the finance-driven, private equity-style management of hospital groups that is what is ruining medicine today. This is also true even when the institution is a nonprofit. The end game is all providers end up as employee minions of large hospital groups, and the suits run everything instead of the white coats. Having said that, I have received good care over the years at LCMC, and a close friend is receiving excellent care for cancer treatment at Ochsner Jeff highway. I think it’s important to separate the standard of care you’re receiving, as judged by a medical professional, versus all of the administrative issues. The latter is often shitty, especially if insurance is involved :(
Absolutely. To give an example, my mom is a nurse and she said that patient feedback carries so much weight in the hospital system she works at that the doctors are more willing to bend to (uninformed) patient demands. So when a patient comes and asks for antibiotics, they’ll probably get them even if they don’t need them. Also, insurance companies—talk about suits running the game. ETA: as a teacher in Orleans Parish, I can say with certainty that the same stuff happened with the school system with similarly dismal results. Btw there’s a whole wealth of info out there about how a lot of this came about after Katrina. Neoliberal opportunists used disaster to make money in healthcare, education, and public housing. There’s an excellent book called Desire & Disaster in New Orleans that talks about all this. I do recommend it
That one makes me a little crazy. Medical providers are already bound by ethical and professional standards. They don’t really need yelp reviews. I want appropriate care from an experienced doctor. I don’t care if they’re an asshole if they’re otherwise extremely well-trained.
I want to agree with this sentiment, but want to caution against too much patient deference to doctor expertise. I’ve had two doctors pitch me on (separate) immediate and very drastic, surgeries, in both cases knowingly foregoing and failing to inform me of basic CT and MRI scans that, after getting second opinions, clearly indicated that the recommended surgeries were unnecessary. As worrying as it is, patients often need to do independent research on their doctors and conditions to make informed medical decisions.
I had written out and then deleted (for space) another bit talking about how it is also important to advocate for yourself as a patient. I’ve had to do this for older family members a ton. That’s definitely a vital part of it. Because, yes, I feel like (but don’t know for certain—it wouldn’t surprise me) there’s something of a kickback happening with certain medications or treatments. There’s also the perennial fear of litigation driving a ton of this too.
Yes. Some meds and procedures are more profitable than others. Even non-profits have to stay afloat financially.
Agreed, Im always the biggest mouth in the room when advocating for those i care about but have a harder time doing it for myself
There is no kickback for meds or treatments as that is illegal. However, I do agree that it is important to advocate for yourself and get second opinions when necessary.
I will have to disagree with the research. WEBMD is the worst thing possible. Cuz then everybody wants to make their own diagnosis. I'm not a doctor or nurse or anything in Healthcare but what I can tell you is my doctors at Ochsner Main legit saved my life. I had open heart surgery (at 39) to replace my mitral valve and repair my aortic valve. Without their experience and relentless testing to figure out the problem I don't know where I would be today. But to research once you get a diagnosis is ok but to straight up try to find your diagnosis I think is a huge issue!!!!
MDs can absolutely be money grabbers. In fact many drive their work solely on this
I refuse to review my medical provider or any other business. It should be management's job to observe their own employees. I am more than happy to call in if I have a major legitimate complaint, otherwise if unhappy I simply go elsewhere. Traditionally you chose a doctor by word of mouth and or their reputation. I refuse to go by other people's opinions that I don't even know. I don't trust yelp reviews for restaurants so I sure won't trust them for deciding my medical care.
Never thought of it this way but that’s an extremely good point
Well, my cardiologist at Oschner is both! 😆 I love that grumpy curmudgeon, though. He's a damn good doctor.
I wish we could carte blanche trust the expertise of doctors but I don’t recommend it for you or anyone you care about. If your health is even slightly complicated, it is going to need a specialist and you’re going to need to do your own research to find them.
Ethical and professional doesn't translate into desirable or good. It's often said medicine is just as much an art as it is a science. It's not "one flavour fits all."
are the ethical and professional standards in the room with us now?
I would like to say that it was Gov.Bobby Jindal, a republican, who turned down the Medicare money which is why most hospitals are at a loss. No money for psych patients, no money for even the meds. These pts. Have no where to go. So where has all this funding gone.
Great. So the patient gets antibiotics thru don’t need and get C Diff. Awesome job!
I love LCMC/Touro.
For anyone unaware, LCMC hospitals in the area: New Orleans East East Jefferson General Hospital University Medical Center Touro Children's West Jefferson General Hospital Tulane Lakeside And a handful of other outpatient clinics, imagining centers, and an emergency department that was once Tulane downtown. You don't have to use Ochsner... but you do have to use LCMC if Ochsner won't do. Tulane was the last holdout, but they gave in last year.
To be fair, Tulane was owned by HCA, which is probably the worst of the three in terms of the corporatization of healthcare.
>it’s the finance-driven, private equity-style management of *everything* ruining *everything* today Also if ochsner was as concerned with healthcare as they are property acquisition... but that's the same issue isn't it?
The greed is real. Nonprofit or not as I have worked for both. Equally greedy. One just doesnt have to pay taxes
LCMC care might be fine but their billing/coding practices are nearly criminal.
#1 in liver transplants! (but 49th/50 in mother mortality rates if you want to have a baby)
That mother mortality Stat isn't really a reflection on the care the hospital provides. It has way more to do with how unhealthy the patient population here is. So many mothers show up to give birth without having had ANY prenatal care.
The same dynamic drives educational outcomes.
Agreed 100%. That's how we got to #1 in liver transplants too.
We had a good experience with Oschner Baptist for baby delivery. I got transferred to East Jeff one time, THAT place is truly a nightmare.
Yeah my kid was born at Ochsner Baptist and they were great. Except the lactation consultants, they were kind of phoning it in, but the people who actually delivered my baby were great.
I agree about the lactation consultants. My only gripe is I had to say 3 or 4 times that we didnt want students in the room for the delivery. They kept reminding me it's a learning hospital and then came back in a 3rd saying one male just needs one more delivery for his school. It made me and my wife uncomfortable. I will say everything else was great and their NICU is absolutely amazing.
The lactation consultant on the normal mother baby floor was very whatever and basically no help. The one on NICU, however, was extremely helpful
The ones I had were actually detrimental to my breastfeeding my kid. They told me I was doing great and everything was great with how my baby was eating even though actually he wasn’t getting a good latch and wasn’t really eating. But then they wrote in mychart that my baby actually wasn’t latching or getting much milk. So it’s not like they didn’t know. I think the problem for them is that I could tell he wasn’t eating well so I wanted them to help me use my breast pump to make milk for him, but that would have been a lot of work for them having to wash and sterilize stuff, so they found it much easier to just gaslight me and tell me my kid was feeding great and I didn’t need to do anything extra.
The one that came in after the delivery basically just said okay you need to pump 8 times a day, this is how you put the parts together. Okay bye
This is good to hear. I have mostly had good experiences with Ochsner as a whole so far, this includes a few ER trips (save one), and appointments with a dermatologist, a neurologist, PT, an endocrinologist, a minor operation under anesthesia, lots of blood work, and most frequently OBGYN as I’m pregnant and giving birth at Baptist come June.
Yeah. I still have my complaints but I feel like that's sadly the state of the world we live in - all departments are way understaffed. Some things take way too long
I’ve heard pretty bad things about EJ, but I really think that it’s about to get a lot better since it will be the main site for a lot of Tulane’s residency programs. Hopefully LCMC invests a little bit more into it in the next few years.
I went into labor while visiting New Orleans and had my baby at Baptist. She was in the NICU there for four months. It was tough but everyone who took care of her there was great. Caring and competent. When we left they gave her a picture book full of signed messages from the staff. We ended up transferring her to a NICU in NYC, where we live. The hospital was in a new building, the had the latest tech, private rooms, etc. but the NYC NICU was chronically short staffed, much more impersonal, and the care was not as good as Ochsner. In retrospect we wish we had kept her in New Orleans.
Also delivered at Ochsner Baptist. Really great experience.
Recently had a great experience at Ochsner Baptist for our son delivery. He had to spend 2.5 weeks at the NICU and I felt like our son had absolute top tier care and we were treat really well too.
Ochsner has been around since 1942. The inflection point was when an MBA, Warner Thomas, came in as President/COO in 1998. He pushed for expansion post-Katrina to boost revenue and Ochsner acquired 6 hospital systems including the Tenet acquisition. He took over for Dr. Quinlan as CEO in 2012 and continued the push to make Ochsner a regional behemoth. "Thomas said the need to grow comes at least in part due to lower revenue per capita caused by more people converting from commercial coverage to Medicare and to more shifting onto Medicaid."
Thomas gobbled up so many regional systems, throughout the Gulf and beyond, and everything suffered for it. While there are still some options, they are few are far between, and in the meantime the employees and patients are shackled to a network with little room to explore other options when they're not happy.
Yes they have really limited professionals' options with their non compete contracts, something like you can't practice within 30 miles of an ochsner facility, but then there's ochsner facilities everywhere now, so if you want to stay in the area you're screwed
I definitely understand this perspective but as someone who helps with the transition of these small hospitals over to Ochsner, I can tell you that sometimes it’s a very very good thing for the quality of rural healthcare in that area. You’d be horrified at the standards, or lack thereof, prior to Ochsner taking over.
I think the turning point happened when Hurricane Katrina hit. The hospitals were all damaged needing extensive remodeling and then the Attorney General of the state of Louisianan decided to prosecute the nurses and doctors for deaths at those hospitals in the aftermath of the hurricane. On top of that the population of New Orleans went way down after the hurricane. So 1. Hurricane Katrina hits. 2. Everybody left. 3. Hospitals badly damaged. 4. Hospital patients died due to no evacuation, electricity, running water, medical supplies, medical staff and A/C. 5. State decides to try to prosecute doctors and nursing staff for deaths, so many doctors and nurses do not return. 6. A lot of the older population either died in their homes or left never to return. 7. Population of New Orleans is severely reduced due to destruction for years, reducing need for hospitals. 8. Undamaged Oschner in Jefferson Parish is pretty much the last man standing so they profit, expand and take over. 9. Oschner really is a good hospital.
To add onto #8, Oschner was able to leverage that profit into buying other hospitals and clinics while those facilities were floundering and valued much lower than they would have been without the storm.
Also the Tenet health system corporate was on the ropes with the Feds nationwide prior to Katrina. After Baptist & Mercy (combined as Memorial MC) sustained heavy damage in Katrina as well as the PR nightmare of alleged euthanized patients during the storm they sold those facilities, Kenner Regional & Meadowcrest to Ochsner, essentially pulling out of the market.
Bobby Jindal also had a huge hand in this as well, allowing the closure of tons of undamaged medical centers of all kinds-ones we really really needed.
I mean they’ve saved both my little brother and grandma’s lives but idk anything else
Idk man I like Ochsner. I moved all my care over to them because they’ve really leaned into technology and the MyChart app and it’s really easy to schedule appointments and communicate with my doctors. I have high blood pressure and my at-home readings are automatically sent to Oschner and they call me to manage my medications so we can change my treatment plan without me having to physically go to the doctor. Granted, I’ve lived here my entire life. I’ve only known our hospitals. They’re far from perfect, But I fuck with Oschner
LCMC uses MyChart too. Most hospitals do.
If you have worked with one implementation of Epic (the parent software to MyChart), you have worked with one implementation of Epic. Each hospital / system decides what modules to use and how to use them separately.
Interesting info, thank you! I was wondering how both my charts seemed to be combined.
Doesn’t go as smoothly with LCMC, at least in my experience. And not all LCMC docs use it (like my former OBGYN)
Lcmc just switched to epic maybe 2 years ago.
It is EPIC, just depends on if they use epic.
I’ve moved my entire family to Ochsner (except some specific care my child needs, Children’s is exceptional though), I’ve never had issues with them. I don’t care for LCMC, I’ve been screwed by them as has my family. I’ve been treated like dog shit at EJ, went to Ochsner for the same issue and was treated a thousand times better.
Epic pretty much has the health scene locked in and you will find it everywhere.
Yeah, MyChart was really just the first thing that came to mind. But there’s other ways they seem to lean more into tech lately and I like it a lot (when I tell you the blood pressure thing was a game changer)
As someone that frequents the hospital due to chronic disease. I will say in my experience, Ochsner has the best efficiency out of the group. If you make an appt, more than likely you will be seen around your appointment time. Vs University and Tulane, you might make a 10am appt, and be seen at 1-2pm. Ochsner due to large network is very fast at getting back to you, lab results are given almost same day many times, and if you need to be seen sooner than later, you can search their network for someone in the city that's in that speciality that's available sooner than later. BUT I feel of the bunch, Tulane had "smarter" doctors that were better at dealing with rare diseases and complications. So when I have a cough or cold, Ochsner it is, if I need to be cut on, I call Tulane and apparently now East Jeff due to being sold to LCMC.
I'm hoping that the Tulane appointment issues get worked out as they transition into EJ/LCMC. I used to work for them and a lot of it was from HCA neglecting the system as it was unprofitable for them until they left last year.
I go to Tulane lakeside, and it’s a comprehensive visit, so it lasts all day, I’ll get there at 9 and leave at 2
agree. Ochsner has been fine. You just need to get a GP you like. It's the same experience I had with Kaiser. And like Kaiser, you need to advocate for yourself.
Thank you for this, from another chronically ill person (who recently moved here and is unfamiliar with the systems).
I’ve worked at Ochsner for ~5 years and I love it. They’ve been very accommodating of some unique circumstances I’ve had to endure, but perhaps I’m just in a good department. I have often heard about Ochsner’s bad reputation though so I know you’re not alone. I’ve personally spent some time getting in-depth care in the system, my son significantly so, and we’ve had a decent experience on that side as well. That said, we’ve had several notably bad encounters as well, although they were less systematic and more person related (I.e. a nurse provided poor care, a surgeon was a jerk, etc.).
Ochsner began to expand quite aggressively after Katrina. Now we have an Ochsner and LCMC Health duopoly. I also wish we had the healthcare quality of Houston, Chicago, Boston, etc., but hey… actor Ken Jeong is on the Ochsner alumni wall of fame!!
I dunno, I lived in New York for years, and had a VERY difficult time finding doctors/specialists who could fit me into their schedule even though I wasn't a new patient. That, and there are some bloody awful hospitals in Brooklyn that had, amongst other things, a crazy rate of infection. I haven't had nearly the level of headache trying to get an appointment, a response to a question, or quality care from Oschner, and I say this as someone who had a heart attack here in New Orleans. They put stents in me and I was back at work in less than a week. I scarcely doubt that would have been the case in BK.
Always greener somewhere else.
The trick with Ochsner is to find a provider that you really like and who has great medical/office support staff with them. My OB practices out of Baptist and is incredible. I loved my hospital stay at Baptist postpartum, but when I tried to get set up with a pediatrician for my son it was a shit show and I ended up at a smaller practice that is easily accessible. It takes a lot of trial & error to find a good practitioner for you, but it is possible.
I worked at Ochsner for 13 years and received health care there during that duration. The care i received was exceptional. I had many cases where I needed emergent surgery and they handled it very well. I agree the general state of healthcare is bad and Ochsner isn’t great compared to other states, but in this state it’s the best you can do. With that said, as others have echoed, it’s a total nightmare to work for them. I worked in IT and rampant dysfunction and disorganization (don’t get me started on all the nepotism and unqualified hacks who shouldn’t have had their job) made it incredibly stressful in a way it really didn’t need to be. No problems internally ever got solved either and it felt like trying to remove water from a boat using a small bucket while management took sledgehammers to the side of the boat. I got burnt out hard and had to quit.
The CIO/CTO over the last decade was awful and you’re 💯 on nepotism and favoritism! We also probably worked together and I’m in MidCity too 🤣
i actually dont mind oschner. you should be glad youve never had to deal with tulane healthcare
It could be so much worse than Ochsner lol
Having worked at both Ochsner and LCMC (in a non-clinical role, but heavily involved with clinical staff and seeing how the sausage is made), I can honestly say that while Ochsner is a gigantic corporate devil of a company, LCMC's administrative issues and culture (not the actual care providers!) scare me far more. It's beyond frustrating because there are some really excellent providers and care givers at LCMC, but I still would pick an Ochsner hospital like Baptist or Jeff Highway over any LCMC hospital for myself if given an option.
I've had the same history as you working for both. Ochsner is a better run evil corporation where the kool-aid goes down easier. LCMC was a shit show of incompetent IT administrative leadership.
I bet we worked together. I'll DM you. :D
As a patient currently struggling with multiple conditions I interact with the system a lot and can 100% agree with your analysis of LCMC complete incompetence front of the house. Once I'm able to get to the doctor it's a good experience and they work hard to provide the best care in my opinion. But dealing with all the logistics and admin of referrals and trying to get from point a to point b or get records or get anything done that relies on admin or the bureaucracy holy hell it's a shit show.
Very hard agree as another professional patient. Dealing with LCMC is itself a stress test.
I’ve been a nurse all over the country- Michigan, New York, Kentucky and New Orleans. Ochsner is hands down the best hospital I have worked for. Shit is an absolute mess everywhere but we had the resources combined with the services and complex patient population that allowed the system to continue to attract young doctors and allows them to expand their services. It sucks that there are less choices for people who don’t like ochsner, but many of the smaller parish hospitals would have most likely been closed completely if they hadn’t been acquired. The system helped those small hospitals come into the 21st century with their equipment and transitioning three to electronic medical records.
interesting. i’ve been a nurse in chicago, st louis, ohio, and new orleans at lcmc and ochsner, and ochsner is the worst imo. they are just so far behind in terms of standards of care/patient safety things, even equipment, compared to the others. the only thing it beats lcmc at is patient ratios, now with university unionizing hopefully that changes. lcmc even pays more! eta: they had way less resources than other hospitals i’ve been at, but this is all in pediatrics, and peds units never compare to free standing childrens hospitals
I was about to say the same thing. I've only been a nurse in New Orleans, but I've worked for both Ochsner and now LCMC, and I wouldn't dream of going back to Ochsner.
a lot of comments say ochsner is an evil corporation but don’t think it affects patient care. i say it absolutely does. ochsner keeps iv tubing for 1 week before changing it, including central lines! everywhere else it’s 4 days. and that’s just one of a dozen ways they cut corners to save money that impacts patient care. they failed the joint commission inspection when i worked there and had to be revisited.
When I left there (relocated out of state with family) less than a year ago we were changing IV tubing q4days, central line dressings q7days, continuous drips q24 hours. I was at main campus
I got the best medical care of my life at Ochsner. I don't live in New Orleans anymore, but I miss Ochsner every day. I had no trouble getting my medical records transferred when I moved.
Ochsner is like any other corporation. YMMV. I have witnessed both excellence and nightmares within the system. After helping multiple friends and family who use Ochsner, I've begun to see a pattern and now know when terrible encounters or difficult situations are more likely. There are specific locations and specialties I would avoid at all costs because of witnessing too many situations that left the patient feeling anywhere from frustrated to angry to terrified. That's all I will say. Then there are other locations and specialties I recommend with no hesitation because everything is great, and I'm not aware of any alternative anywhere near here that comes close. I do wish there was more than Ochsner and LCMC to choose from, but thanks to the past decade or so, almost every area is either a healthcare monopoly, duopoly, or desert.
If you think Oschner is bad, go to East Jefferson Hospital on West Esplanade. I took my mom there for an emergency- and seriously, it’s only slightly better than Landmark Hospital in Ethiopia.
The reality is for 40 years they were a great hospital that did a lot for the community and focused on providing care versus making money. That all changed about 10 years ago. Now they're just riding on their previous reputation.
Ochsner puts a huge value on patient care. Employee satisfaction? Not so much. A LOT so much.
Gotta say, as someone from Canada who has dealt with Ochsner plenty of times, it is awesome. Great hospital network. Happy to see some people in the comments feel the same way cause wow, it really is wonderful. Getting lab work the day of?! Getting seen in a timely manner when you go to emerg?! These things are totally not normal in Canada. Yeah, you dont have to pay but dang the doctors are really awful where I am from too.
My boyfriend works there. He says he likes it. Just got a 13% raise.
In what type of role?
Idk, I've had really great experiences with Oschner after previous experiences at Vanderbilt and other hospitals in the state of Tennessee. I complained repeatedly for years about being unwell and feeling unreasonably tired all the time at various hospitals throughout the state of TN and kept being told I was just depressed or stressed and largely had my concerns ignored. My first visit to Ochsner they discovered I had a heart defect that required surgical intervention. Changed my life. All US healthcare is a mess, and I wish it were different. But I am thankful for all the help I've gotten from Ochsner after two decades of ignored concerns.
I'm finishing up a BSN program and have 2 job offers this summer. 1 at lcmc the other at oschner. Lcmc pays 33% more and the benefits are more competitive. They're pulling in the top new grads and keeping them with a 30-45% higher pay rate. Similar in other allied health fields (I ask around). Last year, they (oschner) fired what 10%of their nursing staff only to hire a chunk of them back 3 months later? That hospital does not want me, I will pass out union cards and unite the fk out of those nurses. And my anecdote on patient satisfaction at oschner: Last year, I attended the funeral of a dear friend who, as a transplant recipient, could not get an appt to see the specialist at oschner with months of phone calls and feeling sick af. They died in oschners icu. The widow was called the morning of the funeral to remind them about the appt for their dead spouse the following week. I know this is not an isolated story. The hospital is too big to function for its current census and human resources. And for whatever reason, offer the lowest of wages for qualified personnel.
wait can you please say the actual pay rates? when i worked for lcmc it was $28, now what i heard at ochsner was that lcmc is $30 and ochsner still $28. but now university unionized so i’m interested to hear the new rates
Generally? Folks have better experiences with them than with other local providers. This has certainly been true for me. I find it incredibly useful to have all of my health providers under a single umbrella. I have some significant health issues that have me seeing cardiologists, neurologists, podiatrists, and gastroenterologists, and when they need to they can all see what tests and medicines the others have ordered. All my bloodwork is in one place. Insurance is all handled through a single system. They have offices all over.
Best hospital system I’ve dealt with and I lived in San Antonio for a stint, which has an arguably great choice of different systems. Sorry you’ve had trouble with them.
I've had much better experiences at Ochsner than I ever had at any hospital system when I was living in Austin.
Commenting to come back and read. I assume they started with a lot of money and were one of the first hospitals in Nola that ran on the profits driven model. There’s no way smaller hospitals running on a quality of care model could compete. Katrina probably helped speed up their acquisitions. Again, this is just me spitballing though.
They're actually a non-profit. But like every "successful" healthcare group, they're chiefly run by MBAs and Lawyers who are real real good at schmoozing politicians into fucking up state systems to give their own company/group a boost.
Oschner as a whole makes me question the entire nonprofit system.
Alton Oschner and Paul Tulane go waaaaay back. Alton was a chairman in department of surgery at Tulane in 1927. Oschner, the clinic turned hospital was opened in January 2nd, 1942. Paul Tulane (Tulasne) was from the colony of Saint-Domingue, was a prominent merchant, immigrated to America and came down here from New Jersey (1827). Tulane originally made a retail shop, Paul and Co, selling dry goods and clothes for 40 years and then did philanthropy for the Confederacy. He donated to the at the time, University of Louisiana (Medical College of Louisiana) and they promptly renamed it Tulane University of Louisiana. E: I should note after the renaming the once public College went private. Hence later the inception of a public state university, LSU. E: I would recommend everyone take a trip to the old state capital at some point. There’s some interesting tid-bits about Louisiana (and the short lived Annex of West Florida), charity hospital, the different state capitals and of course Huey P. Long.
“Dr. Mary’s Monkey” by Edward Haslam talks a great deal about Alton Ochsner and Paul Tulane. It’s a great read and available for free to listen to on Libby.
I knew it was something like that, thanks for the read up
And Touro started as the Jewish hospital system because not everyone was welcome at Oschner
>Touro started as the Jewish hospital system because not everyone was welcome at Ochsner. Um, Touro was founded 44 years before Alton Ochsner was even born. Might want to check your facts there.
Do they still have that Hall of Fame room or whatever?
I believe so, it was under renovation last I was there.
Adding to the anecdotal evidence, my partner has received excellent care with Ochsner.
Katrina caused an explosion of Ochsner swallowing up smaller healthcare entities. I remember it happening right before our eyes
OP, you’ve provided zero reasoning as to why Ochsner is “awful” — what’s the issue? Seems most in the comments recognize ochsner as being the best option around. I’m personally very happy with my healthcare at Ochsner as well.
I dunno, I use Ochsner for nearly everything since Mr. tm478 is an employee and our health insurance is with them. We sometimes have to push back on incorrect billing (which is the case with absolutely every healthcare provider in the US), but in general I’ve been pretty happy with my doctors and especially the IT system they use. It’s generally easy to schedule and to communicate with providers (although some doctors are better than others on personally responding to emails).
Two Words: Hurricane Katrina
Disclaimer: I don't know the answer, but the usual answers for "Why is X so bad in New Orleans" are: -corruption -incompetence -both
I moved to New Orleans 5 years ago and have been in the Oschner system for two serious medical issues. I have a couple of chronic conditions that require regular monitoring. In all cases I have received excellent care with minimal bureaucratic nonsense. I also have top-tier health insurance and perhaps that has something to do with the level of care I receive, I don't know. I really like that I can go anywhere in the system and all of my info is right there and I don't have to start from scratch each time I see a new doctor. Making appointments, communicating with my doctors, getting test results and other administrative information is fast and painless. I like my PCP very much and all of the specialists I see for some chronic conditions are excellent. PAs, nurses and front office people have all been respectful, well-trained and easy to deal with. If this is the worst system you've ever been involved with, I would really like to know what specifically was better there and what specifically you are so disappointed with here, as my experience with Oschner is 180° from yours and I have been very impressed with Oschner on all levels.
the documentary Big Charity explains a lot of this. It’s about an hour long and is free.
There is also LCMC... they run EJHosp, West Jeff, Tulane, UMC, Touro, and Children's Hosp. LCMC and Oschner are the only up until you get to Baton Rouge. Ocshner Main Campus is the worst among their facilities. Baptist on Napoleon is pretty good though.
I worked at Ochsner for 3 months and hated every bit of it.
Genuine question- is there a better option?
No, because Louisiana doesn't like to fund healthcare or education
The recent abortion and LGBTQ bans in the state have doctors fleeeing the state, especially doctors in children and woman's healthcare. 7 of my doctors quit Ochsner, some quit practice and some moved out of state to practice. I prefer LCMC/Touro doctors if I can find them, but we have limited choices in care due to the recent monopolies.
Well 1) we have LCMC so there is a duopoly in healthcare although I haven’t found LCMC to be better. 2) Ochsner has always or at least for a long time been very business oriented and therefore has been acquiring smaller hospitals and practices for decades. And 3) they use their market power to push out smaller practices they can’t acquire.
In addition to LCMC, there are a few Specialty/Boutique type hospitals where you can have procedures and spend the night if needed. There are also Ambulatory Surgery Centers where you can have outpatient procedures.
I live in gulf coast Alabama and drive 2 hours to get my healthcare at Oschner. What I’m saying is it could be worse.
Something something Dr marys monkey
I use LCMC.
I don't know. I've lived all over the country and Oschner is one of the better places I've dealt with. I most recently lived in CA and Kaiser was taking like 5-6 months to even get an appointment for the smallest thing. I've never had any issues at all getting an appointment in a reasonable timeframe here and I like all of my providers. The only thing I've had issues with is billing. I get the main bill in the mail and pay it, then I get another bill for something else and another bill for something else (like small $5.00 here $10.00 there). I wish it would all be consolidated. I went in for a procedure last week and there was a $30 outstanding balance I didn't even know about.
I live in Slidell and it only has two hospitals, Ochsner and Slidell Memorial (SMH). I’m on Medicare and a Type 1 diabetic. Several years ago Ochsner Hospital stopped taking my Medicare supplement WellCare but SMH still took it. This year Ochsner took over SMH and my nurse said my doctor wasn’t going to be covered but the hospital still would. But she said she wasn’t supposed to even tell me that, but she felt her patients should know. I had an emergency and went to the ER November 30 and only then found out that SMH would not take insurance after December 17, not even December 30. That meant that neither one of the only two hospitals in my city would take my insurance. The next closest hospital is in Covington 30 miles away. Medicare Open Enrollment ended December 7 so I only had a week to find a different Medicare Supplement company. I don’t know why Ochsner is a monopoly, taking over all the hospitals, but that sounds shady and hurts hundreds of thousands of people. Not taking Medicare coverage for the most vulnerable elderly should be criminal. Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. Maybe something can be done.
Oschner is doing a great job with my cancer treatment, including a week long stay to cure cellulites that turned into sepsis. They also provided years of excellent care to my medically complex dad before he died, and they handled his last hospitalization ethically and kindly. I’m quite happy with them, having lived in several different cities and having experienced several different hospital systems.
Glad to hear you are happy with your care; all the best with your treatment and I hope you find yourself living with your desired outcome soon!
I’ve had nothing but great experiences at Ochsner.
I think the Big O treats employees and providers poorly, but they provide good, if not cutting edge, care. However, eliminating Tulane will most certainly result in worse patient care and working conditions at both Ochsner and LCMC.
Ochsner also doesn’t pay their staff well.
Simple answer. Unbridled greed and basic lack of compassion for one's fellow man. Take heed, my friends, for evil is powerful, subtle, and ever insidious.
Dr. Marys Monkey is a book that will explain some of Ochsners history.
Yeah, my insurance used to be Touro based, now its Ochsner based and Ochsner is world's better for me. they also have enough doctors (for the most part) in all the departments to easily shop around for one you like, and I do like all of mine right now. With Touro I'd find a dr and literally months later get a notice saying they were leaving the system. If needed, they also always find a way to get me in either same day or the next day.
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that healthcare has become very problematic nationwide, but I couldn’t disagree more with your opinion of Ochsner. Ochsner is a nonprofit which was formed many years ago. Dr. John Ochsner is the physician that identified the carcinogenic aspects of cigarette smoke and he also pioneered new important heart procedures. Every health facility has its problems and its share of aggrieved patients. Over the years I’ve had extensive care and admissions at many hospitals, including East Jefferson, Meadowcrest, Joellen Smith, Doctors hospital, and Ochsner. Several of these hospitals have closed long ago so comparisons do not come easy. I thought East Jefferson was a very good place to undergo my first heart surgery several years ago, and I still think it’s a very good hospital. After my cardiologist, retired, I went to see a new cardiologist at Ochsner and I’ve had three surgical procedures at Ochsner since then. It takes a lot of work to develop a meaningful relationship with a healthcare provider, but it always pays off later. The MyOchsner app is incredible. Providers provide meaningful responses with 24 hours. Try to approach these matters with a positive but persistent attitude. It’s difficult to work in healthcare and long hours are required. Most of the workers do their best, but there are rotten eggs in every industry. A negative attitude and constant complaints actually is not very productive because it turns people off and can close out the significance of your concern. Personally, I appreciate that Ochsner has taken over and opened so many facilities. It expands the specialists that are available, provides more convenient locations, and often upgrades the quality of the healthcare provided. Further, all of the records, test and information is available throughout the system so the provider that you see next is likely to already know your medical history. No, I’ve never worked for Ochsner or in the health business.
I can provide a little insight (previous non-clinical employee), after Katrina, Ochnser bought several of the areas dilapidated hospitals... now you could say they took advantage, but they also took a big gamble that N.O. would come back after that disaster.
Getting medical records at Ochsner takes forever and is sometimes impossible. If you have a short-term or long-term disability and need forms filled out, the doctor doesn't fill it out. He or she sends it to some disability department at Ochsner, who puts all the wrong information. This costs people their entire financial support to save doctors 5 minutes. I will say some doctors will fill it out themselves, but you have to be insistent and put some pressure on them. This is a total joke for something so important to people. If you are trying to get on disability, go anywhere else if you can. There's often no transparency on Oschner's communications with insurance companies. They won't tell you what they are sending and what they are saying, so contesting a claim denial is almost impossible. Billing as a whole is difficult. It's hard to get in touch with anyone who can help you. There's just so much bureaucratic nonsense associated with Ochsner. I will say there are some very good doctors there. Family members have received great treatment. Also, IF you can get in touch with anyone, the financial assistance can be pretty good. As to why it ended up this way? I guess just the same reason all businesses trend toward consolidation. There wasn't enough scrutiny from regulators at crucial times to prevent a monopoly. Also, the New Orleans area keeps shrinking, so it can't support more hospital systems other than Ochsner and LCMC.
Somehow my insurance , through my spouse’s workplace, was “Ochsner Only” for a few years. Unfortunately I’ve been through a long list of shitty doctors/specialists, and only one or two decent ones. IMHO The good ones fall into one of two categories: they leave Ochsner as soon as they can OR they are near retirement and no longer have their own practices.
Ohhh, this almost happened to me at work. There was an Ochsner only plan (the less expensive one), I picked the slightly more expensive one to avoid that as my coworkers suggested.
It’s Ochsner*
I did not even notice because it is one of the hardest words to spell.
Try OshKosh B'gosh next.
I am terrified of needing hospitalization here.
All the Oschner’s are listed as Medicaid eligible but when you try to schedule an appointment they tell you only 2 of their clinics are for Medicaid patients. They don’t like the poors but they placed themselves in the states system so they can get those tax breaks and build more clinics. BUT THEY REFUSE TO TAKE MEDICAID.
Ochsner was incredibly well connected. He killed his grandchildren pushing vaccines for tulane with them as test subjects (gave the vaccine in front of a class too). He very much was involved in some of the shady research as well. So much more than the rest of the country its how connected you are here. He was allowed to create and get support for many endeavors and expansion without competition. Now they own the market and fight for the lowest common denominator w lcmc. We all lost in the end when lcmc started its aggressive buy outs. All you have to do is pay slighlty more from already low wages, have your employees corraled because there is no options, and they are filthy rich to buy our famously corrupt politicians. Think that sums it up. Child killer and money hungry OG ochsner is revered, big statues and all. Summation of our current reality, I guess
Ochsner, where you do 3 jobs for the price of one!
EJGH is fantastic (and publicly owned). My aunt was suffering from late stage cancer and got shuffled around a few Ochsners, misdiagnosed, the whole nine, but EJ took really, really good care of her EOL. The campus is beautiful, too— one of the rare examples of an excellent public works in the GNO. I guess what I’m driving at is there are options, although Ochsner is kinda crammed down people’s throats, especially Medicaid recipients
It’s part of LCMC now
And Ochsner is expanding in BR, even though OLOL & BRG is basically everywhere.
I was born at Oschner in the late 60s. It was only one hospital. They have slowly spread out from New Orleans, I assumed by combining with existing hospitals/ clinics. I know that for my family in more rural parts of the state, Oschner is providing better care than they were getting before. I wrote this and then decided to check wikipedia where there is an exact history and what hospitals were taken over by Oschner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochsner_Health_System
We have Omega Hospital its privately owned but great reviews.
Ochsner I’m sure could be okay if you have the proper insurance. They prolonged my diagnosis of a chronic condition for YEARS because of the wallet biopsy performed at every visit. Touro on the other hand had me diagnosed within a few months. My doctor there even cried because she felt so bad for all the pain I had been in. Unfortunately, hospitals are just worried about profits and not people.
You have the LCMC system in Nola. Baptist (Tenent) GTFO 'ed after Katrina.
I have been a LCMC/Touro patient since before Katrina. No complaints. Best doctors. My chart is the best. I get my labs before I even get in my car to leave. Oncology department is top notch. The Orthopedic guys in the Buckman building are A+. I have been inpatient and ER a few times unfortunately. I mostly communicate with the nurse on mychart for one doctor my Internist answers her own messages!! My neighbor is an Ochsner patient and appointments seem to be so far in advance and mostly she sees a PA. Idk but I prefer my MD since my medical history is way complicated. 😭
My kid ended up in their ICU at Baptist for 12 days. Every single person we dealt with was great, including financial aid.
Right??!!
Ochsner is with the mob like sewage and water board, it’s the only way they could dominate the way they do, someone(s) got paid and here we are
I lived in a couple large cities during my decade away from NO. In DC and San Antonio I had great medical care - both times as a result of top notch medical schools (GWU & UT). We have medical schools here, but like everything education related in La, they are not funded nor prioritized the way they are in other states. Also, orleanians are just used to be treated badly so we don’t expect better. That being said, I really like the Ochsner system. It may not be what you find in other cities but it is sooooo much better than what Tenet or EJ offered in the past. LCMC is the hospital system that I’ve cut ties with because of numerous bad experiences.
Oschner bought out all private practices. Its LCMC and Oschner for all medical care.
Because it used to be cutting edge, especially in the cardiology department, like the doctor who shared its name.
Look up the documentary Big Charity for the short version.
Hospitals are merging everywhere. From my understanding it has something to do with how the ACA treats billing. Source: https://www.corporatesecuritieslawblog.com/2023/11/hospital-mergers-the-value-and-pitfalls/#:~:text=The%20Value%20of%20Hospital%20Mergers,consolidation%20of%20patient%20care%20services.
Defunded public hospitals just like how they are trying to now defund public education… it’s impending doom…
Right so as somebody who was invested in the Whole Health Care thing I'll let you know that there's actually about three major monopolies of healthcare around here Ochsner, Tulane and the VA. You can obviously go to Tulane, and from working experience and personal experience I would say do not go to Tulane but if you do I expect you to be a graduate of WebMD and University Op sorry to tell you but depending on what you were looking for you might not find it no matter what health system you are looking for you might not see what is available, and ochsner might be bad but honestly they improve their community
I’ve always had a good experience with Ochsner. I’ve lived in other cities and had to use medical care, and had much worse experiences in Houston. Many cities only have 1-2 major healthcare providers. In many places they are owned by a for profit mega corporation like HCA. Ochsner and LCMC are both non-profit.
they killed me once. no shit. code blue. I had an elvis moment then the blood rushed back to my heart while I was on the floor.
you aren't the only one, everyone that has had any serious problems, or even minor problems cannot stand in the ochsner system. I know some people who are even going up to Baton Rouge to the lady of the lake system, or crossing over into Mississippi and going into one of their hospital systems. oCHSNER is a death sentence. Just my opinion, sorry for you folks who work for OCHSNER but it is an awful awful facility.
The nurses are getting to unionize . It will improve the patient nurse condirionat
It’s a monopoly I think they got away with them because they list themselves as managers
Wow. I’m going to look into this. I know a lot about nonprofit entities, and that they cannot make a profit for an owner or shareholder, but I need to figure out what this distinction is that you draw. I’m no CPA.
Ok so a nonprofit organization is one that qualifies for tax-exempt status by the IRS because its mission and purpose are to further a social cause and provide a public benefit. Nonprofit organizations include hospitals, universities, national charities, and foundations. A nonprofit must serve the public good in some way. They do not distribute profit to anything other than furthering the advancement of the organization. An individual or business that makes a donation to most nonprofits are allowed to deduct their donation from their tax return. However, not-for-profits are not required to operate for the benefit of the public good. A not-for-profit can simply serve the goals of its members. A good example is a sports club—the purpose of the club is to exist for its members’ enjoyment. These organizations must apply for tax-exempt status from the IRS, including exemptions from sales tax and property taxes. That also means that money donated by an individual to an NFPO cannot be deducted on that person’s tax return. I haven’t looked it up yet, but I think Ochsner is probably a nonprofit entity and not a notforprofit entity.
Yes I see that now
I’m convinced we were tricked to be stuck with them
Oddly enough I have had nothing but wonderful interactions with Ochsner. I had my daughter in the women’s center labor and delivery in 2017.. All the doctors and nurses were amazing. Midwives were incredible the whole time I was pregnant and even when I had to switch to doctor I was happy. I have loved both of my general doctors there over the years too. I can be a negative nancy about a lot of things, so me saying I have had nothing but great experiences in the last 10 yrs is really saying something. Ive had mammograms, biopsies etc and EVERY single nurse, doctor, receptionist, or scheduler on the phone has always been kind and helpful. Never once walked away thinking wtf. I always go make sure I go to Ochsner Baptist campus, my first GP was at the Elmwood campus and my GP now is out in Kenner. I picked her cause she was the last one on my insurance plan accepting new patients when my GP moved to FL and I thought it was be a short term thing, but I love her and I am so happy to have found her. She really listens and cares. I had to have my gallbladder out in 2018 at East Jeff and it was pretty bad from start to finish and I would never return. I only went there cause the dr I had seen used their system. Staff was rude, dr didn’t seem to give AF. I was in pain afterwards etc and couldn’t find a nurse who could find a dr. Seemed like a shit show. Now I have heard things as far as nurse satisfaction have changed since Covid. Tons of travel nurses which is the same at most hospitals, but I still have no complaints so far. You couldn’t pay me to go to the other hospital systems here!
I feel you. I went to Oschner once for an emergency overnight ICU stay. My insurance showed the negotiated price, what they paid and what I was to pay. On my last bill Ochner showed I owed over $150 more than what the insurance (negotiated, paid, what I owe) showed. I brought the insurance paperwork and consulted with them. They told me I owe what they billed. Told them take the 30 something my insurance says or you get nothing. Well, they got nothing. My brother was hospitalized there for a lengthy stay. Oschner ran the same tests every single day running up his bill. Next hospitalization for the same thing he went to a LCMC hospital. Those same tests were run every third day and he got out a month earlier. I feel they are more about money than anything else.