HJBR Nov/Dec 2020

56 NOV / DEC 2020  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Hospital Rounds displaced due to Hurricane Laura. Impacted indi- viduals can visit with a doctor on their phone, tab- let, or computer 24/7 by using the code LAURA- RELIEF. Free, same-day prescription delivery may also be available in select areas, located within 20 miles of an Ochsner Pharmacy. Hurricane Laura hit Lake Charles, Louisiana in the early hours of Aug. 27 as a strong category 4 storm – the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the state in more than 150 years. More than 1.5 million people in Louisiana and Texas were under evacuation orders prior to the storm’s arrival. It’s estimated that power and water restoration in the affected areas could take four-six weeks. Ochsner facilities have welcomed 48 adult and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients from Lake Charles hospitals, including CHRISTUS Och- sner St. Patrick Hospital and CHRISTUS Ochsner Lake Area Hospital. Ochsner’s Flight Care team worked around-the-clock for 48 hours to quickly transfer the area’s highest acuity patients via air and ground transport. Displaced Lake Charles- based Ochsner employees have also been given the opportunity to work in other facilities whose operations have not been impacted by the storm. This past Saturday, Ochsner delivered an 18-wheeler full of supplies to CHRISTUS Och- sner St. Patrick Hospital to help kickstart recov- ery efforts. “Our organization understands the chal- lenges that come with rebuilding following a nat- ural disaster and our hearts go out to all those impacted by Hurricane Laura,” said Robert Hart, MD, chief medical officer, Ochsner Health. “As our community continues to feel the impact of COVID-19, we want to remove barriers that may prevent people from receiving critical healthcare services. We hope that free telemedicine visits can help our neighbors from Southwest Louisiana as they recover and rebuild.” How Virtual Visits Work Launched in November of 2018, Ochsner Any- where Care is a virtual visit platform in which patients can instantly connect with board-certi- fied family medicine, internal medicine and pedi- atric physicians and advanced practice providers for secure, live, on-demand video visits via their smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. It’s an integrated and streamlined experience delivered through a free Ochsner Anywhere Care mobile app on iOS or Android or online through a com- puter at www.ochsner.org/ochsner-anywhere-care. Ochsner Anywhere Care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The visit is free to Lake Charles-area residents with the code LAURARE- LIEF. Other individuals interested using the plat- form can receive a visit for a discounted rate of $10. Our Lady of the Lake Sends Hurricane Relief Care Package to Lake Charles Our Lady of the Lake teammembers sent a hur- ricane relief care package to healthcare workers at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. In two days, Our Lady of the Lake Emergency Department team collected more than $8,000 and enough water, diapers, batteries, fans, snacks, tolietries, and many other items to fill two trailers. The trailers left for Lake Charles on the morning of Sept. 1. The team came up with the idea after being in Our Lady of the Lake employees sent a hurricane relief care package to healthcare workers at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. Our Lady of the Lake Emergency Department team members are pictured, left to right, bottom, Kristy Teekel, Olivia St. Pierre, Charnice Chinn, Leanne Jubin, Heather Best, and Kali Nicholson; middle, Kelsey Dewhist, Fallon Beemer,Anna Crater, Rosa Davis, Brittani Lemoine, Natalie Mumphrey, and Jessica Moran; and top, Sydni Bady, Marsha Flauss, Amber Munch, Amy Booth, Juliet Fundora, Ashley Kumler, Morgan Olivier, Glynnis Nordman, and Paulette Jones.