Leaders at Manning Family Children's laid out a long-term strategy Wednesday to improve kids' health in Louisiana, the first public message on the Uptown hospital's future since a massive rebranding in February.
The rebranding followed a confidential "transformational gift" from the Manning family and marked the first time in the hospital's 70-year history that it had taken on a patron's name. The change came roughly a year after Saints owner Gayle Benson made a record-breaking donation to Ochsner Health's efforts to build a freestanding children's hospital.
The Manning family -- Archie, Olivia, and Cooper -- joined hospital leadership for two panel discussions during a luncheon Wednesday that emphasized the institution's commitments: never turning a child away, building a strong staff of specialists to treat complex conditions so children do not have to leave Louisiana for care and incorporating health care into schools and the community.
"Today we are here to reintroduce ourselves," said Children's CEO Lou Fragoso, citing years of work by LCMC Health CEO Greg Feirn and the Board of Trustees and a $350 million renovation of the decades-old campus. That work, he said, has led to the recruitment of 200 new physicians, the development of 40 multidisciplinary clinics and the establishment of one of the only sickle cell gene therapy treatment centers for kids in the world. The hospital also invested more than $50 million in community programs last year.
Officials made clear that the hospital's reintroduction is part of a broader effort to solidify its position as the state's leading provider of pediatric care -- especially as Ochsner breaks ground on its children's hospital less than four miles away on its Jefferson Highway campus.
Despite Manning Family Children's growth and investment, Fragoso said the hospital still faces challenges in distinguishing itself in the public eye, particularly as competition in pediatric care increases.
"What we haven't done is enough to tell the story and to make sure that you ... know the story," said Fragoso. "That you know the difference between a comprehensive children's hospital and the boutique department of pediatrics that is run by an adult hospital. You all know who I'm talking about," he added, prompting scattered laughter from the audience.
Archie Manning delivered a keynote that echoed the hospital's goals of keeping children in Louisiana for treatment and deepening its roots in the community.
"As I begin my fourth quarter at age 76, it brings me great joy to be aligning our family and our name to the mission of Children's Hospital in this new chapter as Manning Family Children's," he said.
Family banter between Archie and Cooper Manning followed as Cooper moderated two panels of physicians who described their work and patients.
"I asked Cooper how he wanted to be introduced -- as the smartest Manning, the wealthiest Manning, the best-looking Manning -- and he said all of the above," Archie said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Eight providers shared stories of patient care that highlighted the hospital's collaborative model.
Dr. Megan Campbell, a child psychiatrist, recounted the case of a 14-year-old girl who suddenly began hallucinating and exhibiting severe psychiatric symptoms. Lab work ultimately revealed autoimmune brain inflammation caused by a tumor on her ovaries, an often-missed diagnosis that the team caught within five days.
"It usually takes months to get this diagnosis," Campbell said.
Dr. Brett King, director of oral and maxillofacial surgery, described treating a girl who lost her upper lip and part of her cheek after being impaled by a street sign during a car crash. She was first treated at another hospital in Louisiana, but surgeons at Manning Family Children's had to revise that work before reconstructing her face through multiple operations.
"There are dentists involved, maxillofacial surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, orthodontists, all these different specialties are employed in this one hospital to provide this care," King said.
Beyond expanding medical specialties, hospital leaders emphasized a broader vision of care that includes tackling trauma, behavioral health and other social factors that affect children's futures through Thrive Kids, a community-based program that brings health care into schools.
"We don't just treat life-threatening diseases," Fragoso said. "We treat future-threatening diseases too. Because if we're only solving medical problems and ignoring the social ones -- trauma, grief, mental health, suicide, violence -- then we're not changing health. We're just treating symptoms."