LSU Health Sciences Foundation Honors Community First-Responders and Healthcare Professionals at 11th Annual An Evening for Healers
September 23, 2022
The LSU Health Sciences Foundation returned with its annual fundraising gala, An Evening for Healers, on Thursday, September 22. For 11 years, the event has served as a platform to honor and celebrate the Shreveport-Bossier community’s first responders, physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and other healthcare providers who each played a vital role in saving the lives of patients at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport (OLHS), North Louisiana’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, while raising mission-critical funding for LSU Health Shreveport.
Since the event’s inception, 24 moving patient stories have been shared, more than 800 dedicated first-responders and healthcare heroes have been honored, and more than $3 million has been raised for LSU Health Shreveport. This year the LSUHS Foundation celebrated record-breaking fundraising with more than $500,000 raised in a single year from more than 100 sponsors. Funds raised through An Evening for Healers help LSU Health Shreveport recruit and retain top faculty, acquire cutting-edge technology and equipment, and support programs for students at all three LSUHS schools – the School of Medicine, School of Allied Health Professions, and the School of Graduate Studies.
More than 800 guests attended the event and were the first to see the CRM Studios produced documentaries retelling the inspiring stories of patients whose lives were saved thanks to their team of healers. This year’s featured patients were David Bates, a beloved local chef who suffered a stroke and had an incredible road to recovery thanks to the Comprehensive Stroke Center at OLHS; and Jamie Martin, the first COVID-19-positive mother to successfully deliver her baby while on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), who was transported from Lafayette to OLHS via Life Air Rescue to save both her life and her unborn son’s.
More than 70 physicians, nurses, first-responders, and allied health professionals were recognized during the event. Patients were given the opportunity to thank their team of healers for saving their lives for the first time collectively.
Ochsner Health was the presenting sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. Ochsner Health and LSU Health Shreveport began a partnership in October of 2018 with the goal of delivering exemplary patient care throughout the north Louisiana region. Dr. Leo Seoane, Interim CEO of Ochsner LSU Health System in North Louisiana said, “Combining the resources and expertise of LSU Health Shreveport, Ochsner Health and our Ochsner LSU Health team together has exceeded all expectations. Even when faced with a once-in-a-lifetime ice storm, pandemic and the financial and social crises accompanying it, the resilience of this team is extraordinary.”
Kevin Flood, President and CEO of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation, said, “We are grateful for Ochsner Health’s continued philanthropic support of An Evening for Healers. We deeply appreciate every sponsor who supported this event. This evening shows just how much our community acknowledges the irreplaceable value of LSU Health Shreveport.
This year’s honored guest speaker was Kim Mulkey, head coach for LSU Women’s basketball and a Louisiana native.