On April 23, North Oaks Health System, the leading hospital for the Northshore area, held a press conference to unveil a special announcement celebrating its 66th year of operations.
North Oaks Health System, which has won several awards throughout the years, ranging from Top Places to Work in Healthcare to Best-in-State Employers, began rather humbly back in 1960 as Seventh Ward General Hospital. At that time, there were only 60 beds, 7 doctors, 70 volunteers, and 17 employees. The hospital underwent another name change in 1993 to North Oaks Medical Center when the facility gained over 300 beds and a North Campus. But as the facility continued to grow, so too did its needs, and in 2012 it was renamed North Oaks Health System to reflect that growth and the promise that came with it.
"We're proud to announce today that we've grown yet again into a new era," North Oaks President and CEO Michele K. Sutton proudly announced during her opening address. "Today, we're the number one employer in Tangipahoa Parish. We have over 3,200 employees, close to 500 providers… we're also producing residents now. We're training young doctors."
Sutton went on to describe how North Oaks has received 28,658 job applications in the past year, pays $510,473 in monthly bills and $1,400,627 per day to run the facility, has given over $97.7 million in uncompensated care to the community over the last two years, and has a total economic impact of $3,257,147,810 on Tangipahoa Parish.
With that impressive data display, Sutton happily announced that the hospital will now operate under the new name of North Oaks Health in an effort to truly encompass the multitude of health services now available to patients around the parish.
"We no longer provide health care just inside the four walls of our hospitals or our clinics. We're taking our help out to the community and improving the health of the citizens of Tangipahoa Parish," Sutton proclaimed.
In addition to the new name, North Oaks Health also updated its logo to a sleeker, more modernized green oak leaf and held a ceremony in which its original yellow oak leaf mascot officially passed the golden acorn to the new mascot, symbolizing the era of change and modernization North Oaks Health will experience going forward.
Billboards and the official North Oaks website will reflect these changes starting tomorrow, April 24, and a series of four new commercials for North Oaks Health will also begin airing on television.
Attendees were given a sneak peek of each commercial, all featuring testimonies from real patients who received care at North Oaks Health, along with quotes from doctors currently working at North Oaks facilities.
Over the following weeks, signage around the hospital facilities will be changed to reflect the new name and logo, and the Mobile Care buses will receive new, bright-green decorative wrapping. These nearly 40-foot buses have been described as essentially "mobile clinics" and feature waiting areas and two exam rooms that can host health screenings, immunization services, primary care, and health education for a wide range of individuals across the parish.
Employees at North Oaks Health will also have new name badges, uniforms, and scrubs to wear throughout the work week, and new merchandise and shirts will be available for public purchase at North Oaks facilities through their gift shops.
