When you walk through the doors of Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock, you enter a facility that combines the resources of Louisiana's largest nonprofit health system with the personalized care environment of a community hospital. Located at 149 Drinkwater Blvd in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, this 102-bed acute care hospital serves as the healthcare anchor for Hancock County and surrounding Gulf Coast communities. The facility operates around the clock, providing comprehensive hospital, clinic, and surgical services to a region that values accessible, high-quality care delivered by physicians who become genuine members of the community.
Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock stands apart as the only "A" rated Leapfrog facility on the entire Gulf Coast, a distinction the hospital has maintained since 2019. This consistent top-tier safety performance reflects an organizational commitment to patient outcomes that permeates every department. The facility earned an "A" rating in both the Fall 2024 and Spring 2024 Leapfrog Hospital Safety assessments, placing it among the safest hospitals in the nation.
Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock operates as part of Ochsner Health, the leading nonprofit healthcare provider in Louisiana, Mississippi, and across the Gulf South. Founded in 1942 when Dr. Alton Ochsner and four fellow physicians opened New Orleans' first multi-specialty group practice, Ochsner has grown into one of the country's largest non-university based academic medical centers. The system's scale provides physicians at community facilities like Hancock with access to subspecialty consultation, continuing education, and clinical resources that would be unavailable at an independent community hospital.
Ochsner's organizational values translate directly into the daily practice environment you will experience at the Hancock campus. The mission statement, "We serve, heal, lead, educate and innovate," guides decision-making at every level. The vision of "Inspiring healthier lives and stronger communities" reflects Ochsner's commitment to population health beyond the hospital walls.
The organization's core values shape workplace culture:
The facility operates on Epic Systems for both inpatient and outpatient electronic medical records, providing you with a unified platform for documentation, order entry, and care coordination. Epic integration across the Ochsner network means patient records follow patients throughout the system, whether they receive care in Bay St. Louis, New Orleans, or any other Ochsner facility.
Diagnostic Imaging:
Radiology services are available in-house Monday through Friday, with Nighthawk coverage for after-hours and weekends. The department maintains comprehensive imaging capabilities to support your diagnostic needs.
Mobile Lithotripsy:
A mobile lithotripsy unit previously operated at the facility every Friday. This service will resume on an as-needed basis once you establish your practice, providing on-site stone management without requiring patient transfers.
Your surgical practice will benefit from a well-organized perioperative department designed for efficiency and physician convenience. The surgical team understands the value of your time and works proactively to ensure smooth case flow.
Pre-Operative and Recovery Areas:
Operating Rooms:
Current OR Schedule:
Anesthesia Team:
The anesthesia department operates under a physician-supervised CRNA model led by Dr. Dang, who brings 30 years of experience to the team. Dr. Dang personally reviews every scheduled case file immediately upon booking, ensuring patients are thoroughly prepared for their procedures. He manages pre-operative, peri-operative, and post-operative anesthesia care and is comfortable with any case type you schedule.
The emergency department maintains consistent coverage with a staffing model designed for the facility's patient volume and acuity mix. ER physicians have developed protocols for managing urological presentations and understand when consultation is appropriate.
ED Staffing Model:
Volume and Acuity:
The ED sees approximately 20,000 annual visits with a lower acuity mix than typical urban emergency departments. This reflects the patient population: many healthy, active older adults and families. Approximately 35% of ED patients present with urgent care-level concerns rather than true emergencies. However, the urology service volume patterns more closely resemble an ED with 35,000 annual visits, indicating strong demand for urological services in this community.
Urology-Specific ED Dynamics:
The hospitalist team provides comprehensive inpatient management, allowing you to focus on surgical and consultative care without primary admission responsibilities. Dr. Copeland, the lead hospitalist, completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Mississippi and his residency at Tulane. He maintains a collaborative approach and manages post-operative patients, contacting you only when urological expertise is needed.
Hospitalist Structure:
Clinical Capabilities:
Urology Consultation Model:
Your practice will benefit from an established primary care referral network eager for local urology services. The facility currently operates with minimal urology coverage: one visiting urologist every other week for clinic and one day monthly for procedures, supplemented by an NP clinic every other week. Operative cases currently travel to Slidell or Gulfport.
Primary Care Referral Base:
Additional Specialty Services:
Patient Mix:
The patient population spans the full socioeconomic spectrum, from lower-income residents to affluent retirees and professionals. About two-thirds are permanent local residents, while one-third are part-time residents, seasonal visitors, or travelers passing through the Gulf Coast region.
Leadership and clinical staff describe this opportunity as an "easier pace" compared to high-volume urban practices. Simply being available during standard hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) will generate sufficient business. This is not a practice with a full day of inpatient consults; some days you may have none, other days 3-5. You will be busy enough to maintain a full complement of urology cases while preserving work-life balance.
Flexibility in scheduling add-on cases will accelerate volume growth. If you want to build aggressively, the demand exists. If you prefer a more measured pace, that option is equally available. The practice structure accommodates either approach.
Your practice at Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock positions you within a supportive network structure while allowing you to build an independent practice in a community hungry for urological services. The Slidell campus, approximately 35 minutes away, houses the regional urology team with robotics capabilities. This proximity provides mentorship opportunities, coverage flexibility, and access to advanced surgical technology without requiring you to maintain those resources independently.
Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock serves as more than a healthcare facility for Bay St. Louis and Hancock County. The hospital anchors community health in a region experiencing demographic growth and economic development. The surrounding area has transitioned from a retirement destination to an attractive location for professionals in their 30s and 40s seeking quality of life advantages with proximity to New Orleans. Your presence as the sole urologist would address a genuine gap in specialty services for this growing population.
For the latest information on Ochsner Health's performance, community initiatives, and strategic direction, visit the Annual Report at: https://news.ochsner.org/annual-report/
Joining Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock means practicing at a facility that combines community hospital accessibility with health system resources, consistent safety recognition, and genuine organizational commitment to both patient care and physician wellbeing.
