Louisiana Mass Gatherings — LAC Title 51 (Sanitary Code) Part XXV, §§ 101–507 (Medical and Emergencies at § 505)[1]
Summary
Louisiana carries a dedicated mass-gathering regulation inside the state Sanitary Code, administered through parish and local health units. LAC 51:XXV.101 defines a mass gathering as "a group of 500 or more persons assembled together at any one time, for four or more hours, for a meeting, festival, fair, social gathering, or other similar purposes," excluding established permanent places of assembly. Section 505, "Medical and Emergencies," requires that "[e]mergency medical services shall be provided under the supervision of a licensed physician"; that "[a]n enclosed covered structure shall be provided for emergency medical treatment and care"; that adequate medical supplies and medicines be provided; that "[a]dequate vehicles suitable for emergency use shall be available"; and that telephone or radio communications be kept available for emergency purposes. No numeric staffing or ambulance ratios are specified — adequacy is judged by the health officer. Written application must reach the local health unit at least 30 days in advance, with the permit obtained at least 72 hours before the start date.
So what
Louisiana's trigger is unusually low — 500 people for four hours at any non-stadium site — so ordinary community festivals and single-afternoon events fall inside the scheme where they would not in most states. The load-bearing clause is physician supervision of EMS: name a physician of record in the permit package rather than leaving medical direction implicit in an ambulance contract. Because there are no ratios, the health officer's adequacy judgment is the standard, and the 30-day filing plus 72-hour permit deadlines set the planning clock.