Featuring: Lauren Jones, Manager of Emergency Management, Ochsner Health
In conversation with: Lance Lynch, Director of Healthcare, Veoci
Q: Lauren, Ochsner Health has a unique history with hurricanes. How has Hurricane Katrina shaped your emergency preparedness approach?
A:
Lauren: Katrina was a defining moment. One of our facilities, Ochsner Baptist, was the site of the “Five Days at Memorial” story, which—while predating our ownership—highlighted the catastrophic impact of inadequate planning. Back then, evacuation was the only plan. Now, we assess patient acuity early and shift our most vulnerable patients preemptively. We plan for continuity, not just escape.
Q: And how did those plans hold up during Hurricane Ida?
A:
Lauren: Ida was a curveball. It was projected to hit New Orleans, then shifted west suddenly. That shift spared Baptist but slammed my home parish. During the storm, an AT&T tower fell into the Mississippi River—cutting communications across the region. It was chaos and it shined a light on needing to improve our communication methods moving forward. Ida brought about the idea of having Dual-SIM phones (FirstNet + Verizon) to further our redundancy systems. Adopting another redundancy method to reduce the impact and seeing countless activations where they’ve proven crucial, felt like validation years of researching and prepping. Improving communications is a lifelong endeavor for any organization, and it continues to push us to refine further.
Q: Communication seems like a huge theme. What other lessons did Ida teach you about staying connected?
A:
Lauren: “Trust but verify” became our mantra. We were given a list of oxygen depot locations by our partners. We handed it to patients—only to find that most sites had no supplies or had no idea they were on the list. My CFO and I drove around the city to verify in person. That experience proved how crucial verified community partnerships are, and how fast misinformation can spread during a disaster.
Q: Let’s talk teams. How do you structure staff response during a major weather event?
A:
Lauren: We created something called Emergency Teams. They’re separated into several tiers, with our “activation” teams being Team A, Team A Remote, and Team B. Initially, we overloaded Team A with employees and leadership—which led to burnout and no relief options once the activation was ready to shift into recovery mode. Now, Team A is leaner, evenly distributed with leadership, Team B reports to relieve Team A within 24 hours of deactivation, and A Remote ensures continuity of operations and critical support functions behind the scenes. Everyone gets wristbanded at check-in, receives space assignments for rest, and we make sure their leaders are communicating shift and sleep logistics well in advance.
Q: What’s the process like for housing and caring for staff during a storm?
A:
Lauren: We get creative. Clinics close, so we turn them into sleeping quarters. Staff bring air mattresses or cots and swap shifts using shared rooms. Showers are designated by gender and reassigned if facilities go down. We once had cold-only showers due to a winter storm—but our facilities team immediately notified Incident Command so we could reroute the effected employees.
Q: How do you keep your facilities secure when people from the community start showing up during disasters?
A:
Lauren: That happens a lot because we, amongst all other hospitals, are a beacon to our community. One time, a non-employee walked in during a lockdown to charge his phone. He wasn’t malicious—just desperate. But it made us realize the gaps in entry security. We now band everyone on-site and assign officers to key entrances. Still, we treat these folks with empathy. If someone needs help, we give them information on shelters and resources rather than just turning them away.
Q: Speaking of help—how do you support your team emotionally after a deployment?
A:
Lauren: That topic is very close to my heart. I went through Ida and the Bourbon Street terrorist attack, and both took a toll in different ways. We now include all the mental health resources available to our employees in our “Let’s Get Ready” training—like free therapy, our Cabana peer support platform, and more. It’s built into our hurricane module for every employee, because the stress is real, and recovery is more than just physical.
Q: What’s in that “Let’s Get Ready” module exactly?
A:
Lauren: It’s a hurricane prep course for all staff. We explain emergency team assignments, how to prepare your home for a hurricane, evacuation resources for Team C employees, what check-in looks like, what to bring, how comms will go out (especially via Everbridge), and why unsubscribing from alerts—even unrelated ones—can silence emergency notifications. We also review mental health resources and staff safety procedures.
Q: What about utilities and supplies—any must-have backups?
A:
Lauren: Absolutely. Generator checks, oxygen caches, water supply—all essentials. But sometimes it’s the little things. During a winter storm, we ran out of de-icing salt. I called our parish partner, but they were tapped too. That’s when you realize: over-ordering ice or kitty litter might not be overkill, it’s a safety net for worst-case scenarios.
Q: Lastly, what’s your message to other emergency managers?
A:
Lauren: Build relationships now. The people you have coffee with today will answer your call when you need help tomorrow. Know your space, empower your teams, verify your info, and above all—plan with empathy. These aren’t just disasters. They’re deeply human moments. Prepare accordingly.
Lance: Couldn’t have said it better. Thank you, Lauren—for your leadership, your candor, and the inspiration you’ve given the whole EM community.
