of 13Number For the second year in a row, Ochsner Medical Center New Orleans has been named the Best Hospital in Louisiana and the No. 1 hospital in metro New Orleans by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking includes Ochsner Medical Center West Bank and Ochsner Baptist Hospital. Ochsner Children’s Hospital received the same honor last year and is now named U.S. News’ Best Children’s Hospital in Louisiana.
U.S. News also named Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center the Best Hospital in Southwest Louisiana for the second year in a row, which includes Ochsner Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, Ochsner Lafayette General Orthopedic Hospital and Ochsner Cancer Center of Acadiana. The center was also named the No. 4 hospital in Louisiana and the Best Regional Hospital for Equitable Access.
“These rankings demonstrate that we care for our community at the highest level. We follow established, nationally recognized best practices for every situation and every patient,” said Tiffany Murdock, MSN, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Ochsner Health. “I believe what sets Ochsner apart is that we take a global view of health care – caring for the whole patient and their family. As a regional destination center of excellence in specialty care, patients come to Ochsner from many other states because of that commitment, which speaks to the level of service we provide.”
U.S. News calculates its Best Hospitals rankings by assessing each hospital’s performance on objective criteria such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care.
Murdock said ensuring all patients receive the same high level of care starts with hiring people who fit Ochsner Health’s culture and are committed to the company’s values of care, respect and patient empathy.
“Education and skills are very important, but it’s the humanity that people show that really makes the difference,” she said. “You can teach the skills you need, but the compassion has to come from within.”
U.S. News also recognized several specialties at Ochsner Medical Center New Orleans as among the best in the nation. Six specialties were ranked in the top 10 percent nationally for “excellent performance” — gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and pulmonary surgery, and urology. Additionally, 16 of the 20 procedures and conditions ranked by U.S. News were designated “excellent performance,” including cardiac surgery and cardiovascular care, multiple types of cancer treatment, care for patients with COPD and kidney failure, hip and knee replacement surgery, and stroke recovery. This designation places Ochsner in the top 10 to 20 percent nationally for treating patients with these conditions.
Tiffany Murdock, MSN, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief nursing officer, Ochsner Health
Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center was also recognized for treating seven “excellent” surgeries and conditions: congestive heart failure, colorectal cancer surgery, hip replacement, kidney failure, knee replacement, leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and stroke. “Excellent” surgeries and conditions were also awarded to Slidell Memorial East for treating kidney failure and pneumonia, and Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center for treating leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Best Hospitals’ specialty rankings and surgery and condition ratings are based on patient outcomes and objective quality measures.
This recognition of expertise in a variety of specialties speaks to Ochsner’s system-wide program strategy.
“We spend a lot of time thinking about how to grow our program to achieve the best outcomes for our patients. It takes a team of people who are extremely good at many different things to make a program successful,” says Robert Hart, MD, chief medical officer for Ochsner Health and president of the Ochsner Clinic. “It’s not just one surgeon or doctor who does something extremely well. It’s a collaborative effort, from the reception staff who guides patients, to the nurses and medical technicians in the exam rooms, to the food service staff who serve meals to patients and visitors, to the environmental services team who keep the hospital clean and safe. That’s why we’ve been the number one hospital in the state for so many years. There’s a lot of individual effort, but what we create collectively is what sets us apart.”
Hart added that Ochsner Health’s leadership team encourages all departments to continually think about how they can improve quality outcomes and patient experience in both the short and long term.
Robert Hart, MD, chief medical officer, Ochsner Health and president, Ochsner Clinic
“Innovation is coming from all sides of healthcare right now,” Dr. Hart said, “We’re seeing huge growth in areas like augmented intelligence. The COVID-19 pandemic has probably made 10 years’ worth of advances in telehealth and virtual care in a matter of months because everyone has had to adapt. We’re looking at these advances and asking ourselves, how can we continue to improve, what can we learn from these innovations, and how can we integrate that into our processes to continue to provide patient-centered care.”
Dr. Hart said being recognized as the best hospital in Louisiana for 13 consecutive years will never be boring or old news for the team at Ochsner Health.
“This is a testament to the hard work everyone at Ochsner puts in every day. This is a major accomplishment,” he said. “We are always looking to drive innovation in healthcare and ensure Louisiana is at the forefront of what’s best in healthcare. This U.S. News ranking proves that we have the team and resources to contribute and participate in the highest level of treatment and compassionate care.”
For more information on the U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, visit health.usnews.com/best-hospitals. For more information about Ochsner Health and its hospitals across Louisiana, visit www.ochsner.org.
