Case Study: Louisiana Department of Health achieves accurate call-volume forecasting and staffing optimization to reunite 8,000+ people with Palisade's @RISK

Lousiana Department of Health - Customer Case Study

The Louisiana Department of Health set up a family assistance call center after Hurricane Katrina to take missing-person reports, provide relief referrals and deliver crisis intervention, but had to stand up operations in under three days with only rough benchmarks for call rates and staffing. To predict call volumes, staffing needs and budget impacts under extreme uncertainty, the department turned to Palisade’s @RISK.

Palisade furnished @RISK to model major drivers such as call timing, duration, number of deaths and conversion to full interviews, allowing Henry Yennie and the team to refine parameters as real data arrived and optimize staffing and capacity planning. Using Palisade’s @RISK integrated with Excel improved decision‑maker understanding and resource allocation; the call center has since helped reunite over 8,000 of about 11,000 reported missing and made positive identifications for roughly 900 of an estimated 1,100 fatalities.

Louisiana Department of Health

Henry Yennie

Program Manager