METAIRIE, La. – What was known as Tulane Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children is now officially called Tulane Lakeside Hospital. An email announcement made yesterday notes that the new name articulates the hospital's growing focus on adult services.
Tulane Lakeside recently added an adult intensive care unit and a computer-guided personalized surgery system to increase the accuracy of shoulder replacement surgeries. These, and future enhancements planned for the campus, reflect the needs of the community the hospital serves, said Randy Moresi, Tulane Health System’s interim CEO.
“When we looked at the healthcare resources available in Jefferson Parish, paired with the changes inherent in an aging population, expanding our scope at Tulane Lakeside to include more adult services made sense for us and the parish,” Moresi added. “Our community is always evolving, and we have responsibility to do the same and ensure we’re meeting its needs.”
Tulane Lakeside is also upgrading its radiology services to be completely digital, which will deftly communicate test results to doctors and ultimately patients. It is also adding a stereotactic breast biopsy technology that can assess breast abnormalities found during mammograms.
A 13-bed medical/surgical/orthopedic unit is currently under construction.
“This is an exciting time, both for our patients and our staff,” said Tara Beth Anderson, Tulane Health System’s associate chief nursing officer who oversees clinical operations at Tulane Lakeside. “We have a lot of experience waiting for babies to be born, and in many ways, that’s what it’s felt like. But the wait is over, and we’re celebrating the next chapter in our story.”
The new ICU collaborates with the hospital’s existing Level III Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to provide perinatal care to both mothers and their babies onsite, if the need arises. It also provides intensive wound care services required for some plastic and reconstructive surgeries, as well as more complicated orthopedic procedures, such as spine surgeries.
Tulane Lakeside continues to offer adult and pediatric emergency services, along with inpatient rehabilitation services. Adult specialty services such as cardiology and urology have become available at clinics on or near the Tulane Lakeside campus; other specialties may be added at some point.
For the finishing touch, workers installed new signage on the Metairie facilities earlier this week.
Suzanne Pfefferle Tafur is the associate news editor of BizNewOrleans.com
