[StBernard] Give Me Shelter

[Westley Annis]

Does anyone know who the cardiologist is that's referenced in the article?

Jim





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	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.