Ochsner Health Receives Transformational Gift to Build State-of-the-Art Neuroscience Center

RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Today, Ochsner Health gratefully announces a generous gift that will establish its state-of-the art, freestanding neuroscience center, to be built on Jefferson Highway near Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans. Once complete, the 132,000 square-foot Robert J. and Debra H. Patrick Neuroscience Center will be a single and comprehensive destination of neurological care for patients that will include an Innovation Center, integrative and aquatic therapies, and a neurological rehabilitation center. This gift of support comes from long-time Ochsner champions and New Orleans entrepreneurs, Robert J. and Debra H. Patrick.

Ochsner’s award winning program has grown significantly since becoming a destination healthcare center in 2006 and now has more than 100 neuroscience specialists offering advanced diagnostics and treatment options that are not available anywhere else in the Gulf South region, with specific expertise in neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, vascular neurology, movement disorders and cognitive impairment. The new center will also be integrating Ochsner’s behavioral health services.

“We are incredibly honored and humbled to receive this gift from the Patrick family. They have been part of the Ochsner mission for many years and have helped to shape the organization along the way,” said Warner Thomas, president and CEO, Ochsner Health. “With this transformational gift, we will further strengthen our capacity to care for those in need and make great strides in advancing the treatment of neurological conditions. We thank the Patrick family for their tremendous generosity and commitment to Ochsner Health.”

This gift will allow Ochsner to enhance its destination healthcare services for patients and families impacted by neurologic and psychologic diseases of all types. Ochsner’s neuroscience clinics and services, currently located inside Ochsner Medical Center, will be newly housed in a state-of-the-art facility on Jefferson Highway. The new building will serve as the flagship facility for the systemwide program and allow the team to expand research programs, educate the next generation of neuroscience clinicians, and recruit the most talented in the field of neuroscience and behavioral health. Neuroscience is one of the fastest growing medical specialties, with an estimated 72,500 new jobs to be filled by 2029.

The new Robert J. and Debra H. Patrick Neuroscience Center will be the only freestanding major neuroscience facility of its kind between Houston and Atlanta. The center will establish the first and only multi-specialty early onset dementia clinic, expand patient education and caregiver support, and include a state-of-the art neurological rehabilitation center with an integrative therapies program for brain health.

“On behalf of the Ochsner neuroscience team, I want to thank the Patrick family for this generous gift of support. This new center will play an integral role in treating patients around the region,” said C.J. Bui, MD, system chair of neurosurgery, and co-director, Ochsner Neuroscience Institute. “The goal for this Neuroscience Center is to bring the most innovative and advanced multi-disciplinary neurological care to the Gulf South region. Our vision will now become a reality through the support of the Patrick family.”

The Ochsner Neuroscience Institute has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report for its excellent outcomes for 11 consecutive years, including 10 years as a ‘Top National’ destination for neurosciences and neurosurgery.

“We are proud to continue bringing innovative approaches and tomorrow’s breakthroughs to the thousands of patients and families who seek care at the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute each year,” said Richard Zweifler, MD, system chair of neurology and co-director of the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute. “Neurological diseases are complex and require a multi-disciplinary team to care for those patients impacted. Thanks to the Patrick family, our neuroscience teams will have the ability to treat patients in one location, providing convenient access to neurological care.”

For more information about the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute and its award-winning neurological care, please visit www.ochsner.org/neurosciences.