Over the last few days, grid power has begun to come back to New Orleans area hospitals. Primary care is still largely closed, but dialysis, cancer care, first aid, and oxygen are available at some locations. Here’s what we know as of Friday:
Hospital power:
Ochsner officials report that Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway, St. Bernard Medical in Chalmette, and Ochsner Northshore in Slidell have all received power from the grid. On Friday, Ochsner Health Center-Kenner and Ochsner Health Center-Clearview were also on Entergy power, Entergy executives reported on Friday.
Ochsner Baptist on Napoleon “should be live within the next several hours,” Ochsner president and CEO Warner Thomas said Thursday afternoon. Ochsner Baptist is also providing NICU and OBGYN care while on generator power.
As of Friday morning, Entergy’s outage map, while unreliable, appeared to show that Ochsner Baptist had grid power.
All other New Orleans-area Ochsner facilities are on generator power, and Thomas said Wednesday that the hospital system was placing fuel trucks at those locations.
According to a Thursday evening press release, LCMC Health’s University Medical Center, New Orleans East Hospital, and Children’s Hospital in New Orleans have all received power from the grid.
The press release said that Touro Infirmary, East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center should be on grid power soon.
All LCMC facilities, except UMC, are on lockdown, which according to LCMC website means that “all entrances to the hospital will be locked and no one will be able to exit or enter the facility. Patients and their adult visitor/s will remain in the hospital and will continue to receive care from essential staff and providers.”
LCMC representatives told The Lens that the lockdown is scheduled to end on Saturday.
Entergy has also reported that Tulane Medical Center and the VA Medical Center have been reconnected.
Emergency care:
Isis Casanova, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Health Department, said that people can receive non-emergency first aid at the cooling center at the Central City Senior Center at 2101 Philip St., where there are nurses on hand who can assist with medication. The location also has water and charging capacity.
Urgent Care:
Ochsner Urgent Care Mid-City at 4100 Canal St. is open, although an Ochsner spokesperson wasn’t sure if it was running on generator power. All other Ochsner urgent care locations in New Orleans, as well as LCMC urgent cares, remain closed.
However, many North Shore Ochsner locations are open, including the urgent care in Covington, primary care facilities, and pediatric facilities. Find a complete list on Ochsner’s website, updated as of Thursday.
COVID Testing:
LCMC’s COVID testing and vaccination is closed through this week, and it’s not clear when it will resume.
Ochsner officials said on Thursday that they planned to resume drive-through COVID testing on Friday at their Jefferson Highway location. They said that vaccinations would begin next week.
Dialysis and oxygen
A customer service representative on Fresenius Kidney Center’s disaster center line (800-626-1297) said that all Fresenius dialysis centers within 25 miles of downtown New Orleans were operational as of late this week.
A local number for DaVita Dialysis Center was down Friday morning, and Casanova of the Health Department said that patients had been having trouble getting through to that line. She said that an initial hotline number given out for DaVita was incorrect, and that patients can call 800-400-8331 to reach DaVita.
The Dialysis Clinic Inc.’s location at 2077 Caton Street in Gentilly is currently open, and its emergency hotline is 866-424-1990.
“The clinic in Gentilly is operating on a generator right now,” said Tina Sampson, DCI’s communications director. She said that the clinic did not have a timeline on when Entergy would restore grid power. That clinic is serving patients who didn’t evacuate, she said, and “we’re asking patients who evacuated not to return to DCI just yet.”
According to a Tuesday release from the New Orleans Health Department, RTA paratransit is available for patients via 504-827-7433.
Four New Orleans fire stations are providing oxygen: Fire Station 1 at 2920 Magazine St; Station 36 at 5403 Read Blvd; Station 6 at 1 Gentilly Rd; and Station 40 at 2500 General de Gaulle Dr. All are open 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. And according to the city’s website, the Central City Senior Center is also providing oxygen exchange service.
Patients in New Orleans can also call 311 for assistance finding oxygen centers. The city of New Orleans has also posted a list of open dialysis centers on its website.
Cancer centers
St. Tammany Cancer Center is open. The Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner’s Jefferson Highway Medical Center is closed.
Call 911 for any medical emergencies, and the city of New Orleans’ 311 line for questions about medical supplies and cooling centers.
Ochsner doesn’t have a central storm hotline. LCMC’s hotline is 504-386-3174.