The Annual Giving Program is responsible for most of the annual campaigns conducted by the Department of Philanthropy. These campaigns are geared toward raising renewable operational and patient care support. The Annual Giving department conducts multiple campaigns throughout the year. These include direct mail, The Dr. Alton Ochsner Society appeal and the Employee Giving Campaign. Each year, we appeal to the community for support – and each year, we are grateful for the response we receive.

Give NOLA Day

GiveNOLA Day is a 24-hour event hosted by the Greater New Orleans Foundation to inspire people to give generously to nonprofits making our region stronger, creating a thriving community for all. At Ochsner, funds raised from GiveNOLA Day go to the Excellence Fund. The Excellence Fund at Ochsner is an unrestricted fund that is supported entirely by the generosity of our donors. Annually, applications are submitted and a committee selects projects to receive support from the fund. These projects create opportunities for improvements and innovations in patient care that are changing and saving lives every day. In 2016, the Excellence Fund provided $500,000 to the 25 projects that were chosen.

The following list details the approved projects and their intended impact on patient care at Ochsner.

• Aerodynamic Measures of Voice - Ochsner Voice Center
  • A PAS machine will assist in measuring a patient’s progress with voice and respiratory functions and provide biofeedback to the patient and family to engage them in the healing process and collect data.
• Annual Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Picnic
  • Inaugural Congenital Heart Center Patient and Family Picnic will celebrate successes and encourage families to bond with each other as resources and a support network.
• Baby Safe Sleep Boxes
  • Ochsner St. Anne will pilot the use of safe sleep boxes to engage and educate parents and give them supplies for creating a safe sleep environment for their baby. Program includes online community for peer support and resources. The sleep box can be repurposed for play or storage after the child outgrows it.
• Baptist Bassinets
  • State-of-the-art bassinets that adjust to the height of the mother's bed, enhancing opportunities for mother-baby bonding and care on the Mother Baby Unit at Ochsner Baptist.
• Building a Comprehensive Metabolic Program
  • New device for metabolic analysis will be provided in the new bariatric medicine clinic, which until now has been a strictly surgical program. Device will give clinicians more tools to suggest the best weight loss solution for the patient.
• CovePoint Educational Resource for Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease
  • This online PedHeart resource is a robust, organized source of information on the full spectrum of congenital heart disease lesions and treatments and is geared to not only caregivers, but patient families so that they may better understand their child's diagnosis and treatment options. There are tutorials, an image library, prepared PowerPoint slides for provider use and other tools provided.
• Dermatology Telemedicine Consults
  • ​Funding will be provided for a pilot dermatology project which will use three handheld cameras in three primary care clinics. Primary care provider can photograph or videotape a patient's rash, lesion and more and upload it to their record for prescreening by a dermatologist to determine if a referral to a specialist is warranted or if it can be treated by the primary care clinic.
• Equipment and Capital Needs for the Slidell Endocrine Clinic
  • A Body Comp device will better assess body fat and body fat distribution; a MedGem device will evaluate metabolic rate; and bariatric chairs in exam rooms will increase patient comfort.
• Heidelberg Widefield Lens
  • The Widefield lens detects and monitors peripheral changes in the eye and will enhance patient education and engagement by showing progress and monitoring monthly injections and laser treatments.
• High Definition Video Cameras for Monitoring Studies in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
  • High definition cameras will capture seizures and seizure-like events for diagnostic review by caregivers and educational review with family members to discuss nature of disease.
• Implementation of Supportive Care Services Program
  • Supportive care services and programs will be funded for Baton Rouge patients and families fighting cancer. Funding will provide yoga mats and equipment, marketing and educational materials, massage therapist, yoga instructors, nutritional educator, etc. Programs will support patients and families and engage them in therapeutic and stress-relieving options that may be out of reach financially.
• Mirror Medical Imaging Software
  • Funding will provide imaging software program that formulates more accurate outcomes for patients and their family members to see the outcome prior to surgery when reconstructive surgery is necessary for patients.
• Mouthpiece for Operating Microscope
  • Mouthpiece for operating microscope will give provider ability to continually focus during cranial procedures, providing better quality operative video for resident education and for reviewing with families to understand disease and treatment.
• Neuro-Integrative Functional Rehabilitation and Habilitation (Neuro-IFRAH) 14-Day Course
  • Equipment and training will be provided to implement Neuro-IFRAH movement approach to stroke rehabilitation in Acute, Post-Acute and Outpatient settings to maximize functional outcomes.
• Nezzie Patient Ambulation Device
  • 4 Nezzie devices will be provided to help patients with early ambulation by facilitating all of the tubes, equipment, monitors, etc. that inhibit patient's early mobility.
• Parents Empowering Every Parent (PEEPs)
  • Peer mentoring program and access to online resources for NICU families to empower parents to engage in their child's care in the NICU and to have confidence and a network of support upon discharge. Team hopes to pilot this concept in the NICU and then expand to other specialties.
• Patient Driven Mobile Technology
  • ​Funding will provide 35 touch screen tablets for patient data entry in various neurology clinics to better assess conditions, collect data for Neurology Based Practice Research Network (NBPRN) projects and engage patients more fully in care. Ochsner is one of 11 facilities across the country in the NBPRN, which was recognized as one of the most promising practices in Neurology Today.
• Patient-Centered Functional Restoration Pilot Program for Chronic Pain
  • ​This fund would provide treadmills, elliptical trainers, multi-station weight machines and dumbbells for a Functional Restoration Pilot serving chronic pain patients in Interventional Pain Management. The program would be the first of its kind in Louisiana and would help patients with pain coping techniques and rehab strategies in order to help them return to a productive lifestyle at home and at work without the need for future treatment or pain pills/opioids.
• Playground for Interdisciplinary Therapy
  • Adaptive, wheelchair accessible enclosed playground to assist with the development and assessment of children's gross and fine motor skills, language and social skills in an exciting way. Most of the children to be served have not had the opportunity to be in a playground setting that accommodates their unique needs.
• Retinal Eye Camera
  • Optovue I Cam camera would provide diabetic patients in the Endocrinology clinic to have non-dilated eye exams jointly with their visits within a matter of minutes.
• RT 300 Supine Leg Cycler
  • RT 300 Supine is a leg cycler that provides cycling for patients with critical health issues in ICU and bariatric patients for 20-minute sessions. This machine allows the patients with prolonged bed rest to receive passive, active-assisted and active-resistive exercise to strengthen their muscle mass to decrease its loss even if they are sedated.
• Single Ventricle Home Monitoring Program
  • This equipment would allow children with ventricle defects to be monitored at home safely during the most critical stages between surgeries with the proper equipment and education for parents and caregivers.
• Stroke Hero Stories
  • Funding will enable therapeutic use of pictures to describe a patient's stroke healing journey to engage them, their families and other patients along their stroke journeys. Stories will include patients of all backgrounds and will highlight the impact strokes have on the patients, their families and the community.
• Teaching Our Women the ABC's of D(iet), E(xercise), and F(itness)!
  • Expansion of the Ochsner Centering Pregnancy Program that will provide low-income mothers with affordable meal-planning and nutrition information, a collaborative cookbook and price lists, exercise equipment in the waiting rooms and education on the importance of fitness.
• Using 3D Printing to Help Patients Understand Their Neurological Diseases
  • Using 3D printing to help patients understand neurological diseases may aid in the communication of complex health care data (specifically neuroadiographic information) to patients, aid providers in formulating care plans, assist proceduralists with plan interventions and assist the patients in the increased involvement that they and their families are engaged in their care.

Congratulations to the selected projects for 2016, and thank you to the 2016 donors to the Excellence Fund, the project committee and all of the project applicants. A special thank you to our GiveNOLA donors! You all make excellence possible.

The Dr. Alton Ochsner Society

All Ochsner donors receive an invitation to join The Dr. Alton Ochsner Society. The Ochsner Society is a distinguished group of people who desire to help advance all of the services available at Ochsner. With their compassionate participation, Ochsner Society members and their unrestricted gifts guarantee that lifesaving treatment, excellent medical education and innovative research will always be available. Contact us to learn more about The Ochsner Society.

Research

Annual Giving campaigns raise funds for Research. Physicians and scientists at Ochsner are involved in a variety of cutting-edge research projects aimed at prevention and early diagnosis as well as the comprehensive treatment of disease. With over 400 active clinical trials, Ochsner is the largest clinical research system in the Gulf South. To further enhance the quality of clinical care and to integrate it with research and discovery, Ochsner has created Centers of Excellence in Cardiology, Oncology, Neurosciences, Transplantation, Maternal and Fetal Health and Health Services Research. It is envisioned that these Centers of Excellence will become a beacon of discovery and innovation and continue to enhance their national and international reputation.

Service Line Appeals

The Annual Giving Program conducts multiple mail appeals a year Support from our donors makes our mission to serve, heal, lead, educate, and innovate possible. We are focused on providing safe, high-quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare while meeting the demands of the changing healthcare landscape. Contact us to learn more about the Annual Giving Program.