> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ochsner Opens $120 Million Neuroscience Institute on Jefferson Highway - URL: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/ochsner-opens-120-million-neuroscience-institute-on-jefferson-highway/ - Published: 2026-10-05T15:27:17.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-07T16:06:45.000Z - Description: Ochsner Health's $120 million Patrick Neuroscience Institute opens to clinic patients Monday on Jefferson Highway. Here is what the 132,000-square-foot building holds, what is known about staffing, and why Ochsner has not published an economic impact figure for its largest neuroscience site. - Author: Kim M. Braud - Tags: News, All Stories, Ochsner NEWS *Ochsner Health's new neuroscience building opens to clinic patients Monday, Oct. 5, consolidating the system's neurology, neurosurgery, behavioral health, and rehabilitation programs into one four-story facility at 1605 Jefferson Highway in Jefferson.* By Kim M. Braud | October 5, 2026 --- JEFFERSON, La. - Ochsner Health's new neuroscience building opens to clinic patients Monday, Oct. 5, consolidating the system's neurology, neurosurgery, behavioral health, and rehabilitation programs into one four-story facility at 1605 Jefferson Highway in Jefferson. The Debra H. and Robert J. Patrick Neuroscience Institute is a $120 million, 132,000-square-foot building, according to [Ochsner's Oct. 1 announcement](https://news.ochsner.org/news-releases/ochsner-opens-the-debra-h-and-robert-j-patrick-neuroscience-institute-transforming-access-to-advanced-neurological-care-across-the-gulf-south/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Ochsner describes it as the only neuroscience facility of its kind between Houston and Atlanta. Ochsner held a ribbon cutting Thursday, Oct. 1\. Saints owner Gayle Benson and former Saints player Steve Gleason attended. Photos Ochsner distributed through the Associated Press also show former Saints punter Thomas Morstead and Team Gleason CEO Blair Casey at the event. ## What the building holds Ochsner organizes the institute around four clinical pillars: neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and behavioral health. The idea is that a patient with a stroke, Parkinson's disease, a brain tumor, or a spinal injury can see the specialists, therapists, and behavioral health providers they need in one place, rather than across separate clinics. The building is now the largest site in Ochsner's systemwide neuroscience program. Ochsner reports that the program has more than 200 physicians, advanced practice providers, and therapists, offers more than 20 specialties, and treats nearly 100,000 neuroscience and behavioral health patients a year from Louisiana and 43 other states. According to Ochsner's announcement, the building includes: - **The Team Gleason Assistive Technology Lab**, built with the ALS nonprofit Team Gleason, which gives patients with ALS and other neurological conditions access to communication devices, mobility equipment, and environmental controls for the home. - **Rehabilitation technology**, including body-weight support systems, functional electrical stimulation, and biofeedback tools. - **A gait lab** that uses motion analysis to build individualized treatment plans. - **The Parker Family BioDesign Lab**, where clinicians and industry partners work on tools including 3D modeling. - **Integrative therapies**, including music therapy, yoga, and creative writing. A July report by [Biz New Orleans](https://bizneworleans.com/a-new-era-for-brain-science-begins-at-ochsners-new-neuroscience-center/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) described additional equipment and partnerships that do not appear in the opening announcement. Ochsner executives told the magazine the building would offer virtual and augmented reality therapy, exoskeleton gait training, and a rehabilitation pool. The magazine also reported that the institute would offer incisionless brain surgery using focused ultrasound, which it said would be the only such technology in the region, along with partnerships with device makers Cognito Health and Synchron. > **The building consolidates care. The open question is how much of it is new.** ## Who will work there The Patrick family's gift also funds the Patrick Neuroscience Academy inside the institute. Ochsner says the academy will support scholarships, fellowships, specialty training, and workforce development for future neuroscience clinicians. Staffing figures are less settled. In July, Biz New Orleans reported an estimate of about 100 new jobs on top of an existing staff of about 160\. Ochsner's opening announcement does not include a jobs figure. Hiring may be the harder build. Todd Mule, Ochsner's vice president of neurosciences, told Biz New Orleans that most posted positions in the field nationwide have gone unfilled since 2023\. Neurology system chair Dr. David Houghton told the magazine that demand for neurologic care is outpacing the supply of neurologists across the country, and that Ochsner expects the institute to help with recruitment and training. ## The economic picture Ochsner has not published an economic impact estimate for the institute. That is notable because the health system does publish them for some projects. When Ochsner, the Saints, and the Pelicans [announced the $45.6 million Ochsner Medical Complex on Airline Drive](https://news.ochsner.org/news-releases/ochsner-health-new-orleans-saints-and-new-orleans-pelicans-announce-plans-for-new-medical-complex/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) in 2025, the release projected $134 million in economic impact over ten years and more than 60 permanent jobs. The neuroscience institute cost more than twice as much. What Ochsner officials have described is the shape of the impact rather than its size. Mule told Biz New Orleans that patients traveling from outside the region, and their families, spend money locally on hotels, meals, and transportation during treatment. There is also a second-order effect on the campus itself. Moving neuroscience into the new building frees the space those programs occupied inside Ochsner Medical Center, and Ochsner officials told the magazine other specialties would expand into it. > **Ochsner has said what kind of economic activity the institute will bring. It has not said how much.** ## How it got built Ochsner announced the Patrick family's gift in 2022\. Bobby Patrick is a New Orleans businessman and managing partner of The Patrick Companies, and [NeuroNOLA reported at the time](https://neuronola.com/ochsner-to-build-neuroscience-center-including-early-onset-dementia-clinic/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) that he had served on Ochsner's board for about a decade. The 2022 announcement projected completion around 2025. Ochsner [broke ground on Nov. 6, 2023](https://bizneworleans.com/ochsner-breaks-ground-on-neuroscience-center/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Woodward Design+Build CEO Paul Flower led the capital campaign, according to an Ochsner Facebook post cited by [Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/10/ochsner-s-120m-patrick-neuroscience-institute-opens-doors-in-new-orleans/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Ochsner credits the Patricks' gift and other community donors with funding the project. The size of the Patrick gift has not been disclosed. Evans Cutchmore's aerial photographs show the building's curved glass facade facing a landscaped courtyard with a circular walking path, a covered walkway connecting the site, and an adjacent parking structure. Single-family homes sit directly along the property's western edge. Ochsner's 2022 plans described a healing garden for patients and caregivers. ## For patients The institute begins seeing clinic patients Monday, Oct. 5\. Ochsner's main appointment line is 1-866-624-7637, and appointments can also be scheduled through MyOchsner. Program information is at [ochsner.org/neurosciences](https://www.ochsner.org/neurosciences?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Aerial footage: CreoleSky Aerial --- *Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.* *© 2026 Evans Cutchmore Press. All rights reserved.* --- [SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSROOM](https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/subscribe/) [VIEW OUR PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY](https://evanscutchmorepress.pixieset.com/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com)