In a continuing effort to restore Vital Records services following Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Health has added a new call center.  The call center, available at 504-219-4500, gives Vital Records staff the ability to handle the high volume of calls they have been receiving since their relocation to Metairie following the storm.

“By adding a call center, we are able to assist a greater number of citizens with their service needs,”  said State Registrar Darlene W. Smith.  “The new system has features that allow us to answer twice as many calls as before Katrina.”

The call center operators all have ready access to computerized birth and death records. In addition, much like package delivery companies can track the location of mailed items, the Vital Records system can immediately track vital records requests.

Vital Records requests have doubled since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the office is still receiving a  high volume of calls on a daily basis.  Though the new call center helps tremendously, customers may still experience some wait time or be directed to call back when the volume of calls is extremely high; however all calls are answered as quickly as possible in the order they are received.

The system is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Walk-in services for birth certificate requests are available at parish health units in Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson - Marrero, Jefferson - Metairie, Lafayette, Lafourche, Ouachita, Rapides and Tangipahoa.  Vital Records requests can also be made through VitalChek at http://www.vitalchek.com/.

For more information on the Department of Health Vital Records Registry, visit www.dhh.louisiana.gov.

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