OLOL breaks ground on support home

Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and Hogs for the Cause broke ground Feb. 14 on the Family Support Home.

The Family Support Home will serve as on-campus housing for families from Louisiana and beyond who have a child receiving ongoing healthcare treatment at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

The hospital serves children from every civil parish in Louisiana in addition to neighboring states and beyond. The average length of stay in the hospital is four days, with many children visiting routinely due to complex medical conditions.

“Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital brings world-class, lifesaving care to the children of our community each and every day,” shared Chuck Spicer, Our Lady of the Lake Health president. “The Family Support Home and Hogs for the Cause will help relieve the burden on families of finding housing when seeking care at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.”

Within walking distance from the hospital’s campus, the Family Support Home will have 12 suites, a communal dining lounge, a guest kitchen, a laundry area and other amenities. The home will bring a positive and calming environment to help patients and their families focus on treatment outcome.

“The Baton Rouge community has been faithful to our organization over the years, and we are thrilled to partner with Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital on this project,” said Becker Hall, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hogs for the Cause. “We hope that the Family Support Home will lessen families’ financial, emotional, and physical burdens while they focus on the healing of their children.”

Hogs for the Cause, which began as a pig roast with a few friends hoping to raise money for a young boy with pediatric brain cancer in 2009, has grown into one of the most highly acclaimed barbeque competitions and music festivals in the country. The funds from the festival allow the organization to help thousands of families through direct grants as well as support programming at children’s hospitals. This year’s festival will be held Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 at the UNO Lakefront Arena Festival Grounds in New Orleans.

Through festival proceeds and local fundraising efforts, Hogs for the Cause has pledged $2.25 million towards the construction of the Family Support Home at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

“We are grateful for the support of the Hogs for the Cause organization,” shared Ann Marie Marmande, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation president. “The commitment they have made to ensure access to housing during extended care is extraordinary and will have a far reaching impact on many of the children and families entrusted to our care.”

For more information on Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, visit ololchildrens.org. For more information on Hogs for the Cause, visit hogsforthe cause.com.