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LAPLACE — Egan-Ochsner Home Health of the River Parishes combines a vast network of resources with the family-friendly feel locals have come to love over the past 25 years.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held last week at 1703 Chantilly Drive Suite A in LaPlace in celebration of the partnership between LHC Group and Ochsner Health System.

Egan has been a household name in the area ever since Gina Cancienne brought home health services to LaPlace in the 1990s. After a quarter century of serving the public, changes in the home health industry forced Egan to remodel its operations. This led to LHC Group taking the reins of Egan’s River Parishes office in 2020. A partnership with Ochsner Health System was solidified to improve connectivity and access to resources, according to Vice President of Operations Cliff Haydel.

In November 2020, the Egan-Ochsner office relocated from Highway 51 to 1703 Chantilly Drive.

“Being corporately owned means that resources are almost unlimited, but it still has a hometown feel. That’s why we didn’t change the name Egan,” Haydel said. “We knew the reputation Egan had in the community, and we use it in conjunction with LHC Group and Ochsner.”

With Ochsner’s presence in South Louisiana quickly expanding to cover the entire state, Haydel said the partnership with Ochsner Health System gives families greater access to home healthcare. This interconnectivity within the Ochsner network is especially important since home health services are based on physician referral.

While there are many LHC Group locations throughout the nation, Director Kevin Hardy said Egan-Ochsner is unique because it exclusively serves the River Parishes, stretching from St. Rose in St. Charles to Convent in St. James.

Egan-Ochsner currently reaches around 150 patients per day with skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, home health and social work services.

Egan-Ochsner pledges to be person-centered, quality-focused and community-minded while tailoring home healthcare to each individual’s needs.

Other specialties include but are not limited to Alzheimer’s and dementia care, behavioral health nursing, care transitions, chronic disease management, fall prevention, heart disease, infusion therapy, medication management, nutritional consult, pain management, and wound, ostomy and continence nursing.

Haydel said home health services can assist individuals with a broad range of medical conditions. The main qualifier is that the person has difficulty leaving the home.

“It’s care in the comfort of home, and typically the family is part of the healing team. It’s often a more cost-efficient delivery of healthcare,” Haydel said.

Hardy added that the need for home health care was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic when staying home became the safest option for those with underlying conditions.

Home health services are based on physician referral and often paid for by insurance plans. Once a referral comes in, Egan-Ochsner professionals will evaluate the patient to see if he or she qualifies for home health services.

A nurse is on call 24 hours a day, and the LaPlace office can be reached by phone at 985-653-8117 or by fax at 985-653-8118. More information is available at lhcgroup.com/locations/egan-ochsner-home-health-river-parishes/

Egan-Ochsner Home Health is currently hiring RNs and LPNs with competitive sign on bonuses in LaPlace. For more information, drop by the office at 1703 Chantilly Drive Suite A at any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, send resumes to cosetta.bradford@lhcgroup.com, or call RN Executive Director Kevin Hardy at 985-653-8117.