Healing Hands

Andre Storey ’12 practically beams through the phone when asked about his time in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Storey spent nearly four years as regional vice president of Ancillary Services for Christus St. Patrick Health System, which operates a series of medical centers and hospitals in the Lake Charles area. As he rattles off fact after fact about the “blue-collar town” of 300,000—in the midst of an economic boom with international interests, an ability to export natural gas, and nearly 50 percent job growth expected over the next decade—one might forget that this same area was battered by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

Hurricane Harvey was more known for the havoc it wreaked on Texas’ coastline, but the storm hit Lake Charles and the Louisiana coast hard, too. Harvey dropped 18 inches of rain on Lake Charles, felled hundreds of trees, and left thousands without power as the storm came ashore in Louisiana and headed northeast toward Mississippi.

Storey’s hospital system served as a bulwark against this disaster not only for the Lake Charles population, which Storey says is “aging, like the rest of the country” and “requires a diverse and complex approach” to healthcare, but also for patients from other parts of Louisiana and Texas.

“The national guard was flying people in from other parts of Louisiana, from Texas, dropping them off at our hospital,” Storey says. “And our employees weren’t going home—we had doctors, nurses, workers, all these people staying here at the hospital, bringing clothes and sleeping bags, working extra shifts and staying to help.”

Instead of focusing on the fatigue, the long hours, and the crowded space inside the hospital, Storey says he saw a team of medical professionals at their best when the hospital’s patients were at their worst.

“We all just rallied together…because that’s what you have to do,” Storey says. “For patients coming in at a time like that, they’re at their lowest point. So for us in the healthcare profession, that’s when you have to be at your best.”

Storey notes that in times of crisis, visitors to hospitals might tend to place all their attention on physicians, but medical care relies on a deep, varied roster of professionals, many who work behind the scenes.

“That’s what ‘ancillary’ means,” says Storey, who heads ancillary services for his hospital system. “It’s specialized medical care that complements primary care.”

Ancillary services include therapy such as physical rehab, diagnostic imaging such as X-rays and MRIs, and custodial care.

“Everything we do at our hospital takes an entire team,” Storey says, “whether it’s the people serving food in the cafeteria or the physicians and nurses.”

Every employee at Christus St. Patrick had a hand in keeping patients safe and healthy during the storm. “They’re just like the first responders who brought our patients in,” Storey says.  “We’re all part of the same process.”

Being part of that process has been a lifelong journey for Storey, who grew up in La Quinta, Calif., and then bounced around the Southwest before graduating from Oklahoma State University in 2009. As a first-generation college student, Storey says he wanted a career where could make an immediate impact on his community, and settled on the medical field as he prepared for the post-graduate phase of his career.

Storey ultimately chose Trinity’s Health Care Administration program after he kept seeing that several VPs and directors at hospital systems he wanted to work for all had degrees from “this same small school in Texas called Trinity,” Storey says.

“I’d never heard of Trinity before I started this sort of networking,” Storey says. “After I visited, I was in love with it.”

Graduating with a Master of Science in Health Care Administration, Storey also developed the same relationships with Trinity faculty and fellow students that he would later form with the entire chain of employees at Christus St. Patrick.

“At Trinity, the focus is on teaching. The relationships I developed with my classmates… well, we still text every week,” Storey says. “Trinity is a gem.”

The HCAD program’s required residency gave Storey a chance to start making an impact in the real world right away.

“The HCAD program there, with what they’re looking for in applicants, it’s inherent that you want to help others,” Storey says. “With that required residency, you know what’s expected of you at all times.”

With Christus St. Patrick in the midst of disaster recovery and preparation for future emergencies, Storey kept his team focused on the big picture: meeting the complex needs of Lake Charles’ booming population. “Healthcare is changing constantly,” Storey says. “And with providing healthcare, so much focus is now on preventative care, not just when someone is sick.”

While Storey has moved to a new position at Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas-Fort Worth, he leaves behind a number of medical initiatives for his team in Lake Charles, from research partnerships with schools such as Louisiana State University to a program that brings medical screenings straight to schools, which makes it easier for busy parents and children to access care.

“You get into a healthcare career because you can see the direct impact of your work,” Storey says. “If there’s a need, you can develop a program for it right away.”