Officials of Shell’s Louisiana-based operations presented a check for $350,000 to support Baton Rouge General’s Critical Care and Regional Burn Center expansion. The check presentation took place at a ceremony at Shell’s Geismar chemical manufacturing facility.
The Shell grant will help underwrite the facility’s new outdoor children’s therapy/play area that will be located on the rooftop terrace. The new space is purposefully designed to promote healing and help children recovering from severe burns express feelings and cope with pain through activities and entertainment. The area will offer virtual interactive therapy stations that encourage active play blended with therapy in a fun, safe, and supportive setting that will benefit both patients and their families.
“Kids should have the opportunity to play – especially while they’re healing,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, president and CEO of Baton Rouge General. “Thanks to Shell’s support, patients of all ages and their families will be able to enjoy a beautiful, comfortable space during their recovery."
BRG’s Regional Burn Center – the first in Louisiana and the 14th in the nation – has saved thousands of lives from more than 150 zip codes and hundreds of offshore platforms in coastal waters since it was established in 1970. The center provides advanced, comprehensive burn care to more than 90 percent of the region’s patients who have suffered some of life’s most tragic accidents. BRG’s Regional Burn Center is one of only 125 verified burn centers in the United States designated by the American Burn Association and is the only one in the Southeast, with the nearest verified centers located in Texas and Florida. Because of the limited number of burn centers across the nation, BRG plays an integral role in supporting other Gulf Coast states when the need arises.
“Shell’s Louisiana businesses are delighted to be able to support this vital regional medical resource,” said Rhoman Hardy, general manager of Shell’s Geismar manufacturing facility. “This grant is an investment in the people of Louisiana, a state that Shell facilities have called home for nearly a century.”
Shell has more than 4,000 employees and some 3,000 retirees in Louisiana. The company has manufacturing facilities in Geismar, Convent, Norco, and Port Allen, along with a pipeline network and deepwater operations based in New Orleans.
Pictured, left to right, at the check presentation are Baton Rouge General Foundation President Beth Veazey, Shell Chemical Geismar General Manager Rhoman Hardy, Baton Rouge General President and CEO Edgardo Tenreiro, Shell Convent Refinery General Manager Hugues Bourgogne, and Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex General Manager Brett Woltjen.