Ochsner-LSU Health welcomes staff response to security procedures following attack

SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KSLA) – The machete attack on Monday, February 1 at the Ochsner LSU Health campus in Shreveport injured two nurses and one person in prison.

Zaokoye Oshun Chatman, 27, is being held at Caddo Correctional Center on one count of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated second-degree bodily harm for allegedly attacking two people, including his mother, with a machete .

Ochsner LSU Health issued the following statement on Tuesday, February 2, commending its staff for following proper safety procedures:

“Yesterday was a difficult day for our staff, patients and visitors when an attack injured two of our employees. Congratulations to our team who immediately followed emergency and security protocols, including locking down the campus and dispatching local law enforcement.

“The safety and well-being of our employees, patients and visitors is our top priority. Since becoming Ochsner LSU Health in October 2018, we have more than doubled our security force, creating a team of over 70 agents, and continue to recruit more. Infrastructure upgrades include extended exterior lighting and call booths, access control on over 130 doors and nearly 300 cameras with state-of-the-art surveillance and camera analytics.

“Several additional communications infrastructure, technology and security features have been added over the past two years and more additions are underway. In order to maintain the integrity of our security systems and protocols, we cannot provide details of the measures in place.

“Each of our campuses has an emergency operations plan that includes various emergency responses. We test this plan by performing emergency drills and drills throughout the year and use the results to continuously improve. In addition, our security team continually assesses our systems and practices; and we evaluate every incident, good or bad, to evolve, to seek new methods of emergency management and to seek best practices.

“Ochsner LSU Health has the most advanced safety and security measures of any health system in our region. We will continue to expand our protocols and evolve our metrics as we navigate this changing environment. We are committed to constantly improving our safety and ensuring a safe environment to provide the highest quality healthcare. “

A spokesperson for Ochsner LSU Health told KSLA News 12 that the protocol was followed on Monday.

And when asked about the existence of a security checkpoint, this spokesperson replied: “Ochsner LSU Health has a screening station to ensure that patients and visitors are aligned with current policies, pass temperature and symptom checks, wear a mask, and use hand sanitizer. . “

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