[StBernard] Give Me Shelter

[Westley Annis]

As one of the most hard-hit areas of Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, St.
Bernard Parish - part of the New Orleans metropolitan area - has yet to have
a functioning hospital. 

Condemned after heavy flooding and damage from the storm, the final remains
of the 196-bed Chalmette Medical Center were demolished in February 2007.
Officials say that the lack of a 24-hour acute care medical center is one of
the biggest obstacles in the parish's recovery and it could be more than two
years before a new hospital opens. Until then, a few hardy doctors and
nurses are treating patients in a temporary clinic located in the parking
lot of a boarded-up Wal-Mart.

Originally opened in October 2005 in a single triple-wide trailer, the St.
Bernard Health Center provides health care to all St. Bernard residents,
regardless of their ability to pay. Funded and founded by the Franciscan
Mission of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, the clinic is now housed
in 22,000 square feet of mobile barracks with 15 treatment rooms. Brenda
Ingargiola, RN, has been with the clinic since its founding and said that it
has steadily grown to meet the needs of the community.

"We see roughly about 150 patients per day on average but it is climbing
each month as more people come back. There are also a lot of transients
because we're still in the recovery phase with a lot of demolition and
construction," said Ingargiola.

Along with wound care for those in the construction trade, the clinic is
seeing patients in need of upper respiratory care as well as diabetics and
chronic lung patients. There is a staff of five full-time physicians, one
part time physician and a nurse practitioner. Other specialists including a
urologist, a cardiologist, a surgeon and a dermatologist who make weekly
schedule visits to the center. Ingargiola said that they also loan some of
their patient rooms to doctors who make regular visits to the area.

"We have a lot of physicians who want to come back but there just isn't any
office space for them. We provide the space and they all see their own
patients here. It just makes it more convenient for the residents and the
doctors," said Ingargiola.

Ingargiola, who has lived in the region since 1976, lost her own home in the
storm and is struggling to get back to a sense of normalcy. She worked at
the Chalmette Medical Center then nursed throughout the hurricane season in
various locations, providing health care to anyone who came to her. After
the waters receded in the area, the Wal-Mart parking lot grew into the
center and headquarters for relief operations.

Until recently, the health center used donated supplies and Ingargiola said
that nurses and doctors had to adapt to every situation. Even the physicians
who in the past had office practices have been expanding their skills on
suturing and other wound care.

"It's almost like being a paramedic on the streets. You use what you have
available or you improvise. We've all become very versatile," said
Ingargiola.

The St. Bernard Parish Council recently appointed a 5-member commission to
oversee efforts to build a new hospital. One option is the Franciscan
Mission which is offering to help build a $68 million, 60-bed hospital and a
$10 million medical office building. Spread over 20 acres, it would take 2
and a half years to build and would be owned by the hospital service
district. The other option is a 50-bed hospital to be built, owned and
managed by Ochsner Health Systems.


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Craig Guillot is a freelance writer based in New Orleans. To comment on this
article e-mail editorSC at nurseweek.com.