Ochsner Establishes New Patrick Neuroscience Center

By Anne Paglia

With its nationally ranked Neuroscience Institute, Ochsner Health is already a leader in neuroscience care. But thanks to a recent donation from Robert J. and Debra H. Patrick, the Neuroscience Institute will have a new, dedicated home.

The Robert J. and Deborah H. Patrick Neuroscience Center will consist of a 132,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility near Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans on Jefferson Highway. It will bring Ochsner’s 100 neuroscience specialists, as well as 25 different centers, clinics and programs, under one roof.

“The goal for this Neuroscience Center is to bring the most innovative and advanced multi-disciplinary neurological care to the Gulf South,” said C.J. Bui, MD, System Chair of Neurosurgery and Co-director of the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute. ”Our vision will now become a reality through the support of the Patrick family and a very generous community of donors.”

The Neuroscience Institute already offers some of the most cutting-edge diagnostics and treatment options in the Gulf South. It is also the only neuroscience group in the region to receive a national neurology and neurosurgery ranking from U.S. News & World Report, and will continue its legacy of innovation by becoming the only freestanding facility of its kind between Houston and Atlanta.

The new center will feature an innovation hub, a neurological rehabilitation center with aquatic therapies, a healing art garden and a creative therapy space featuring music, art and meditation. The center’s offerings are designed to nourish the minds, bodies and souls of both patients and families. Through expanded education and increased social support, the Patrick Neuroscience Center will emphasize healing the whole person, taking all factors that influence health, wellness and disease into consideration.

“Neurological diseases are complex and require a multi-disciplinary team,” said Richard Zweifler, MD, System Chair of Neurology and Co-Director of the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute. “Thanks to the Patrick family, our neuroscience teams will have the ability to treat patients in one location, providing convenient access to neurological care."

Robert Patrick has served as an Ochsner board member for the past decade. The family’s gift will allow long-time plans for the Neuroscience Center, and donations of many other local benefactors, to come to fruition.

Louisiana is in great need of a dedicated neuroscience facility. According to CDC data, the state has one of the highest death rates from Alzheimer’s disease in the country, trailing only Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Alzheimer’s is also the sixth leading cause of death in the state. The new Patrick Neuroscience Center seeks to address Louisiana’s outsized disease burden with the first and only multi-specialty early onset dementia clinic in the Gulf South.

Physicians at the Neuroscience Institute treat both adults and children for a range of neurological conditions, from headaches to Parkinson’s disease. They have expertise across a number of fields, including neurology, neurosurgery, neurocritical care, neuroradiology and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

With the new facility, the Neuroscience Institute will expand its research and teaching capabilities, furthering innovation in care and helping to retain and recruit top talent. Ochsner intends to break ground in 2023 and finish the facility by 2025.

“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,” said Warner Thomas, former President and CEO of Ochsner Health.

“This will be a place where breakthroughs happen,” Dr. Zweifler added. “More importantly, it will be a place where hope lives.”