Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has begun offering free valet parking services to emergency room patients and visitors to speed up service at its campus off Essen Lane.
“This service is intended to get our patients into the ER for treatment faster,” says OLOL Vice President of Operations Dean Williams in a prepared statement. “When a patient is distressed and focused on seeking medical care, the last thing they should worry about is finding a parking spot. We hope this takes some stress out of the process and gives our patients quicker access to emergency care.”
Valet parking services are available from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, with two attendants available at peak times. During hours when the valet service is not offered, patients are encouraged to park in the ER parking lot at Entrance 1.
OLOL sees nearly 140,000 emergency room visits each year, and the hospital has made several upgrades to ER services in recent years. Within the last few months, 27 additional patient beds have been added, bringing the total number of available adult and pediatric beds in the emergency room to 86. Five new exam rooms have been added, as well as 14 minor care treatment spaces. Two critical care rooms have been refurbished and enlarged, and the waiting room has been renovated and expanded.
Since 2012, the hospital has built a helipad, opened a Level II Trauma Center and added a dedicated transport team for the Children’s Hospital to specialize in transporting children in emergencies. It has also established the state’s first freestanding emergency room in Livingston Parish.
