Neurocritical Care

As one of the largest units of our kind in the country, we have gained tremendous expertise. There is nothing we haven’t seen, nothing we can’t treat. Today, we serve as a major referral center, uniquely equipped to deal with some of the most acute, complex cases. Patients are referred here by doctors and families across the Gulf South who demand only the highest-quality care for their loved ones.

Take a virtual tour.

Patients in the neurocritical care unit at Ochsner receive 24/7, high-intensity, collaborative care by an award-winning team. The group is led by seven fellowship trained, board-certified neuro-intensivists. These are doctors you want at your bedside when the going gets tough. What’s more, we have the only neurocritical care fellowship program in the state.

Working side by side with these neuro-intensivists are nurse practitioners and more than 100 specially trained, certified nurses, passionate about treating the whole person as well as the brain. Our nurses are often assigned to just one patient at a time, depending on the patient’s condition. While in the unit, your loved one will be cared for by the same nurses as he or she goes through different stages of treatment. This kind of continuity is invaluable to patients and their families. Our nurses get to know their patients – even the little things.

Other key members of the team are physician assistants, clinical pharmacists, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, speech pathologists, social workers, physical and occupational therapists and case managers. We are collaborators in the truest sense of the word. Together, we give the too-often used term “multidisciplinary care” real meaning.

Along with top-notch people, our unit is equipped with top-of-the-line, leading edge equipment. All of our neuro-critical care rooms are outfitted with Optimal Hospital features, designed to use innovative devices and materials for an advanced level of patient care. Learn more about Optimal Hospital features.

The best doctors with the best tools lead to extraordinary outcomes.

• Nationally rated by U.S. News & World Report for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 11 years in a row.
• Recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s for achieving the "Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award"
• Ochsner Medical Center has achieved certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, making us the first in the Gulf South to be part of an elite group of providers focused on complex stroke care.
• Recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top 100 hospitals & health systems with great neurosurgery and spine programs (2017)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades 2018 Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award (TM) and named among the Top 5% in the nation for Cranial Neurosurgery in 2018
• Ranked by Healthgrades as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care (TM) for seven years in a row (2012-2018)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades Stroke Care Excellence Award (TM)
• Named among the Top 5% in the nation for Treatment of a Stroke for eight years in a row (2011-2018) by Healthgrades

Neurological and neurosurgical conditions we treat include:

• Major acute stroke
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the space that surrounds the brain).
• Intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding into the brain tissue)
• Spine injury and disorders
• Status epilepticus (a life-threatening, prolonged seizure)
• Myasthenic crisis (a life-threatening complication of myasthenia gravis)
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a rare neurological disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system)
• Meningitis (an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)
• Encephalitis (an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen)
• Brain tumors
• Brain injuries resulting from drug addiction and overdose

To find out if your loved would benefit from a transfer to our unit from another hospital, ask your doctor and call 1-855-OHS-LINK (647-5465).

If you’re a physician, and would like to refer your patient to the Neurocritical Care Unit, call 1-855-OHS-LINK (647-5465).