NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries has provided grants to both LCMC Health and Ochsner Health totaling $30,000 to support COVID-19 community testing. Each New Orleans based non-profit health system will receive $15,000 to help with continued testing efforts, including educational resources to inform symptomatic individuals of their health status.
“Providing support to these local hospitals to enhance their efforts towards COVID-19 testing is a way we can assist our community. We hope that our actions will encourage others to join in this effort to fight the spread of the virus,” said Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home’s Senior Consultant-Funeral Director Stephen Sontheimer.
Jerry Schoen, Lake Lawn Metairie’s community relations director added, “We remain devoted to our community and feel it’s important to give back.”
“Lake Lawn Metairie’s gift to LCMC Health will help fund the resources needed for ongoing COVID-19 testing, ensuring that covid testing is available in areas where access has been limited, allowing vulnerable members of our community to get tested by our medical professionals and be guided to the next step if they test positive,” said John Heaton, MD, LCMC Health President of Clinical and System Operations.
Ochsner Health commented, “Since the beginning of this crisis, COVID-19 testing remained one of the most critical tools for healthcare providers and care teams. Test rates in Louisiana are among the highest in the United States. At Ochsner Health, we believe in broader testing to learn more about the COVID-19 virus prevalence to help make the best decisions in the future for our employees, patients and community. Ochsner Health is incredibly thankful for local businesses and individuals who have stepped up to support our efforts to expand community testing.”
