Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport And Oceans Healthcare Open New Behavioral Health Facility

SHREVEPORT, La., Jan. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport and Oceans Healthcare today announced the opening of Louisiana Behavioral Health. The facility, located at 9320 Linwood Avenue in Shreveport, expands access to behavioral health care in the community and will execute a phased opening, accepting patients beginning January 20. It will provide inpatient care for patients 18 and older immediately, adding geriatric services for patients 55 and older by March and an intensive outpatient program by the end of 2021.

Louisiana ranks in the top five states in the nation with the highest percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression. It ranks second among states with the highest percentage of adults with a serious mental illness who did not receive treatment in the past year. Louisiana Behavioral Health hopes to help combat these statistics by expanding access to behavioral health services in the North Louisiana community.

"During this year of isolation, profound loss and rapid change, the need for behavioral health services has only increased," said Stuart Archer, CEO of Oceans Healthcare. "So today isn't simply about celebrating the opening of a new facility ? it's much more important. It's about expanding services that have been out of reach of people who have needed them for too long. We look forward to creating meaningful change at Louisiana Behavioral Health with Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport and improving lives by making behavioral health care more accessible."

With rising rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse, experts predict the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have an ongoing negative effect on mental health as more people cope with isolation and job loss. Louisiana Behavioral Health will provide Shreveport and the neighboring communities with a new dedicated space for ongoing healing and treatment.

"In 2018 we made a commitment to increase access to health care for the people of North Louisiana. Together with our partner Oceans Healthcare, we are more than doubling the number of behavioral health patients we can serve with today's opening of Louisiana Behavioral Health. Our investment in this partnership, including a fully renovated facility, improves access to care and provides an environment conducive to healing for these patients in need," said Chuck Daigle, CEO of Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport.

For more information about Louisiana Behavioral Health, visit louisianabehavioralhealth.com.

ABOUT OCHSNER LSU HEALTH SHREVEPORT:
On Oct. 1, 2018, Ochsner Health (Ochsner) and LSU Health Shreveport jointly formed Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport to oversee and coordinate activities between the health sciences center and the healthcare delivery system in Shreveport and Monroe, La. Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is a public-private partnership with a vision to improve health and well-being of its communities, access to care, quality, and facilities, expand patient-centered technology, grow the medical school, and enhance research in North Louisiana by building on the strengths of Ochsner and LSU Health Shreveport. Under the new structure, Ochsner brings their nationally-recognized expertise to the management of operations for partner hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe, clinics and the clinical activity of the LSUHS Faculty Group. LSU continues to successfully oversee the LSUHS School of Medicine, School of Allied Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, Graduate Medical Education, and research initiatives.

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is a three-hospital system that includes North Louisiana's only Level 1 Trauma Center at its 452-bed hospital and its St. Mary Medical Center in Shreveport, La. The organization also operates the Monroe Medical Center, a 244-bed hospital in Monroe, La. With more than 4,000 employees and the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Physician Group of approximately 500 physicians, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport serves more than 140,000 patients with more than 625,000 visits annually.

ABOUT OCEANS HEALTHCARE:
Oceans Healthcare is a growing behavioral health provider focused on healing and long-term recovery. Founded in 2004, Oceans provides inpatient and outpatient treatment to individuals 18 and older, with a special focus on the unique physical and emotional needs of older adults. With 20 hospitals and 29 treatment locations across the Southeast, Oceans hospitals treated more than 18,000 individuals in 2020. The company consistently achieves industry-leading performance metrics on national quality and safety measurements, as determined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission and was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, visit www.oceanshealthcare.com.

SOURCE Louisiana Behavioral Health