[StBernard] Parish officials consider hospital options

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Tue Apr 8 23:56:01 EDT 2008


Parish officials consider hospital options
Two proposals differ in capacity and cost
Sunday, April 06, 2008
By Paul Rioux
St. Bernard bureau
St. Bernard Parish's protracted quest to build a hospital to replace the one
destroyed during Hurricane Katrina has reached a crossroads, as parish
officials weigh two options presented by nonprofit groups.


Should the parish build a 20-bed hospital that would be debt free but might
not be large enough to meet the parish's needs? Or will it go with a 60-bed
hospital saddled with $60 million in loans?

The larger hospital appeared to be the front-runner when it was proposed
five months ago by the Franciscan Mission of Our Lady Health System, which
operates a medical clinic in a network of trailers in a Chalmette parking
lot.

But Ochsner Health System offered an alternative this week with a revised
proposal for a 20-bed hospital that would be financed using $17.5 million
earmarked by the state. An unidentified donor would pick up the rest of the
tab, which is expected to be about $2.5 million.

Ochsner also pledged to open a temporary 24-hour emergency room with a
helicopter pad in Chalmette within 90 days of signing a hospital contract
with the parish.

It would take about two years to design and build the 20-bed hospital,
Ochsner's Chief Executive Officer Dr. Patrick Quinlan said Wednesday in a
presentation to the newly formed St. Bernard Parish Hospital Service
District Board.


Money matters

The prospect of the fledgling hospital being unencumbered by debt is "very,
very enticing," said hospital board member James DiFatta, an Arabi
accountant.

"I'm impressed," he said. "This is a very generous offer."

But other board members questioned whether the hospital would be big enough
to meet the needs of St. Bernard's growing population, which parish
officials say is approaching half its pre-Katrina level of 67,500.

Board member Dr. Paul Verrette, who works at the Chalmette clinic, called a
20-bed hospital "woefully inadequate," saying it would be too small to
attract the specialty physicians any hospital needs to thrive.

Quinlan said the hospital would have the support of Ochsner's network of
physicians and would be designed so that it could be expanded by adding
wings.

The Franciscans, who operate the 763-bed Our Lady of the Lake Regional
Medical Center in Baton Rouge, have proposed building a $68 million, 60-bed
hospital and a $10 million medical office building.

The $17.5 million in state financing would be used as a down payment. The
remaining $60.5 million would come from loans backed by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, said Dr. Redfield Bryan, a retired urologist and consultant
for the Franciscans.

Board members said they are unlikely to decide whether to pursue either of
the proposals until a $130,000 feasibility study is completed in about six
weeks.

"We aren't going to be able to move forward effectively without knowing what
our needs are," DiFatta said.


Public ownership preferred

Ochsner's initial proposal in November was to build a 50-bed hospital in
four stages at its own expense. But Ochsner revised the proposal after a
consensus emerged in favor of a publicly owned hospital during a public
forum.

Both proposals now call for the Hospital Service District to own the
hospital, which would be managed by one of the nonprofit organizations.

In both cases, the hospital would be built across from the Chalmette
Battlefield on 20 acres along St. Bernard Highway provided by the Arlene and
Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation.

The parish's lone hospital before Katrina -- the privately owned Chalmette
Medical Center -- flooded during the hurricane and has been bulldozed.

For the past two years, the Franciscans have run a clinic in the parking lot
of the gutted Wal-Mart Supercenter in Chalmette.

The Catholic charitable organization worked with local legislators to secure
the $17.5 million in state financing.

Bryan said the money was intended as a down payment on a hospital with at
least 40 beds, which raises questions about whether it could be used for a
smaller hospital as proposed by Ochsner.

State Rep. Reed Henderson, D-Violet, said he will check with state officials
to determine what strings are attached to the money, which has not yet been
appropriated.

. . . . . . .

Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux at timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3321.








More information about the StBernard mailing list