St. Margaret’s at Mercy

When our existing nursing home was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Katrina, St. Margaret’s at Mercy was faced with a daunting rebuilding project. Today, our 130,000 square-foot community spans across gorgeously landscaped grounds and has many of the same amenities as home.

The St. Margaret’s at Mercy community is located at 3525 Bienville Street, New Orleans, La 70119.

The St. Margaret’s at Mercy Campus

We have rebuilt our facility to look and feel like a home, rather than a conventional, clinical nursing facility. We are one of the only facilities in New Orleans designed on the household model. Gone are the days of long corridors, triple-occupancy rooms, and traditional nursing stations.  

At St. Margaret’s at Mercy, you will find households comprised of eight to ten beds (90% of which are private rooms) joined to other households to form a neighborhood. Within each neighborhood, residents enjoy amenities like a hearth room, dining room, and country kitchen. 

Services Available at St. Margaret’s at Mercy

Residents of St. Margaret’s at Mercy include those who need long-term care and those who need short-term care following an illness, injury, or another life event. Both short- and long-term care have access to the following services:

⦁ Medical Director Physicians
⦁ 24-Hour Nursing Care
⦁ 24-Hour Nursing Assistant (CNA) Care
⦁ Social Worker
⦁ On-Site Therapy Services (Physical, Speech, Occupational)
⦁ Dining Services
⦁ Activities

The Residence and Grounds at St. Margaret’s at Mercy

Our luxuriously spacious 130,000-square-foot building offers residents the opportunity to relax in the comforts of their private rooms or to socialize with their neighbors. We provide various services, and our expert staff can accommodate short- and long-term residences.

Within our campus, our residents have access to the following:

⦁ Activity rooms
⦁ Three lush outdoor gardens
⦁ Chapel
⦁ Library
⦁ Hair Salon
⦁ On-site therapy
⦁ Multi-purpose room for birthday parties and other events

You will surely find arts and crafts, parties, bingo, music therapy, Mardi Gras balls, and off-campus field trips within our numerous outdoor patios and indoor lounge areas. Our residents are considered family here, and we encourage socialization and stimulation.

ALS House at St. Margaret’s at Mercy

The ALS House for Innovative Living is a residential facility within St. Margaret’s Skilled Nursing Residence in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans. The ALS House empowers the residents to live with continued purpose through leading-edge technology.

Despite physical limitations, residents can control much of their environment with the ability to:

⦁ Open doors
⦁ Change the TV station
⦁ Raise the shades in their bedroom
⦁ Call for the elevator
⦁ Much more

They can do all of this with the use of eye-gaze technology. ALS House is proof that people diagnosed with ALS can not only continue to live with dignity but can also thrive.

The true impact of ALS House is felt by the families of its residents. Knowing that a loved one receives the highest quality of care in a safe and stimulating environment is invaluable. The ripple effect of this peace of mind extends healing and hope to families who can feel broken by the effects of this disease.

The History of ALS House at St. Margaret’s at Mercy

About a quarter of the way into the construction of the Mercy site, Steve Gleason, a former NFL Safety for the New Orleans Saints, approached St. Margaret’s with a proposal to build a household equipped to care for patients who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

In researching ALS residence, St. Margaret’s staff traveled with Gleason to Boston, Massachusetts, to tour the Leonard Florence Center (LFC). At the time, the LFC was the only facility worldwide that operated a household specifically engineered to accommodate ALS patients.

The household, the Steve Saling ALS Residence (SSAR), utilizes PEAC eye-tracking technology developed by Proximis to grant ALS and MS patients independence. The resident can operate blinds, television, lights, doors, HVAC, etc., using Proximis’s cutting-edge technology.

The SSAR also employs a staff trained specifically to care for ALS patients. Following their visit, the St. Margaret’s staff agreed to equip one of the households at the Mercy site with the technology and skilled care that ALS patients require, naming this household the ALS House.