Ochsner Health looks back at 2020

Ochsner Health began as a single clinic 79 years ago, on Jan. 2, 1942. We’ve witnessed many milestones in our history, but no year has been more significant, or challenging, than 2020.

As COVID-19 began sweeping across the United States, #OchsnerHeroes met the challenge, putting patients – and teammates – first. Some quarantined away from their own families for days or even weeks. Others, like nurse practitioner Mary Truxillo, who works in the Emergency Department of Ochsner Medical Center – West Bank Campus, battled COVID themselves, but couldn’t wait to get back to work. As Mary said, “It was so important to return to work to assist my colleagues and remain on the front lines.’’

Ochsner didn’t just care for COVID-19 patients. We provided free childcare for employees, set up community testing sites across Louisiana, and participated with Pfizer in clinical trials for a vaccine, with Victoria Smith, MD, serving as a trial participant herself.

But 2020 wasn’t just about COVID-19. In July, we announced a $5 million commitment from the Brees Dream Foundation to help create community health centers in Louisiana. In September, we celebrated the expansion of the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center. In October, Lafayette General joined Ochsner Health, and later that month, we announced a new undergrad nursing program with Loyola University. And In November, we pledged $100 million to addressing healthcare inequities in Louisiana as part of a 10-year plan to improve the state’s health rankings.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are surging again, but we have new hope as we begin vaccinating our #OchsnerHeroes, and soon, the general public.

You may have heard that healthcare is a calling. If you have any doubt, view our #OchsnerHeroes through the lens of 2020.