Companies boost morale post-Katrina - New Orleans City Business

employees to various departments with
open positions.
Inside the hospital as employees worked
and lived in extreme conditions during the
storm and its aftermath, Ochsner supplied
three meals a day for the entire staff and provided
child and pet care. The child care program,
known as Ochsner Camp, remained
open for three months following Katrina,
while the pet care center remained open for
seven weeks following the storm. Pets were
fed by Ochsner.
An onsite fitness center opened 24 hours
for employees to relieve stress, and the
human resources department also held a
movie night for children and adults living at
Ochsner. An “Out Reach” newsletter also
became a daily tradition as important information
concerning payroll and employee
status was relayed to the staff.
Before and even after Katrina, many
Ochsner employees raved about the open
communication between management and
staff. The hospital has monthly town-hall
meetings, informal walk-arounds and breakfasts
or dinners. There are also periodic
nurse-recruiting parties, opportunities for
continued training and on the lighter side,
annual hoedowns for employees.
“The workplace culture (Ochsner) created
is (about) specific people strategies
and employee development from the top
down,” said Joan Mollohan, vice president
of human resources. “We have very generous
retirement and health plans. But I don’t
think the money and benefits are really
what makes Ochsner great. It’s about the
actual workplace they’ve created.
“I’ve never worked in an organization
that people strategies were the company’s
biggest focus.”•
An Ochsner hurricane relief fund amounted to $2 million to assist employees impacted severely
by Hurricane Katrina.
Peggy Williams, a regular donator to local charities in Santa Rosa, Calif., contacted Ochsner and coordinated a
donation drive for employees, shipping truckloads of housing supplies.
December 19, 2005 7
Ochsner employee Sandy Daunie strolls a co-worker’s daughter,
Isabella Lipscomb, through OchMart.
Ochsner pharmacist tech Sonja Miller fills a prescription
for a patient.