Although Loyola is uptown, there are a lot of students that commute from other areas of the city. One of these areas is New Orleans East, an underserved area of New Orleans. Community Health Center New Orleans East Louisiana was founded in the aftermath of Katrina to serve the New Orleans East community.
A lot of Loyola’s students are commuters, and for a health service to be inaccessible after a hurricane can be detrimental.
In the mid 2000s, post-Katrina, New Orleans East had a need for accessible healthcare. In 2008, the NOELA community healthcare center was erected in the area. NOELA and Katrina will forever be intimately related because NOELA was founded in the aftermath of Katrina.
“Because we are in a population called New Orleans East it’s not that many services for the people here. I feel like the people in New Orleans East are the forgotten people and they don’t get the same quality that the rest of New Orleans gets,” said Linda Khaleilah, NOELA’s office manager.
“The politicians and the city officials forget about New Orleans East and that people deserve good quality care like the rest of New Orleans. Remember Katrina affected New Orleans east the most, and a lot of it was destroyed,” Khalalaileh noted.
‘’People came back because they love the area and NOELA is here to provide for them and make them feel cared for as an individual and not just a patient.”
Keith Winfrey, Chief Medical Officer of NOELA explained the center’s assistance in helping the community recover from Katrina.
“NOELA has played a vital role in helping the community to bounce back after Katrina, serving not only as a federally qualified health center but as a safety net health center. We’ve been able to provide valuable and primary and preventive healthcare in the neighborhood where the residents live,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey went on to explain how NOELA is a multicultural resource.
“We’ve also provided [healthcare] in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, and that is an important distinction because approximately 80% of our patients prefer to receive their information in a language other than English,” he said.
Many of the essential services in New Orleans East have been slow to return after the devastation of Katrina.
A healthcare center like NOELA is needed in areas of the city when the university can’t provide, and for those who need financial assistance.
NOELA accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurances, and has a sliding scale fee for those who can’t provide insurance or aren’t accepted.
Currently two current students and one alumni of Loyola work at NOELA continuing to help provide for the area.
