When Alton Ochsner and four colleagues opened New Orleans’ first multi-specialty group practice in 1942, they envisioned providing residents of the city with the highest quality medical care delivered with an unwavering attention to the needs of patients. They had a vision for a model of care that harnessed the expertise of a team of doctors to make sure patients received individualized, comprehensive care.

The history of Ochsner tells the fascinating story about how the five founders overcame opposition from the New Orleans medical community in the early years and later joined Ochsner Clinic to the Ochsner Foundation Hospital to become the standard for medical care in New Orleans and south Louisiana.

Ochsner Health has now evolved into Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals, and more than 100 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” in two specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 70 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs nearly 32,000 employees and over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, and conducts more than 700 clinical research studies.

Ochsner’s history is also a spellbinding story of a healthcare system that continuously reaches out to the communities it serves, becoming to many the model for what a twenty-first-century healthcare system should be.

Visit the interactive timeline of Ochsner's history and view archival images.