[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish's hospital battle rages on

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish's hospital battle rages on
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday January 20, 2009, 6:11 AM
More than a year after creating a five-member public board to plan and build
St. Bernard Parish's first post-Hurricane Katrina hospital, the Parish
Council tonight will consider asking the panel to let it take over the job
of building it. 


In a carefully worded resolution, the council is "offering" to take over the
construction of the hospital, noting "there is a desire both between the
governing authority and the hospital service district to expedite the
construction of the hospital as quickly as possible." 

If the council passes the measure tonight, and the hospital board agrees to
relinquish the responsibility at its Wednesday meeting, the Parish Council
would then be responsible for deciding where to build the hospital and how
to move forward with architects and contractors. 

The hospital would replace Chalmette Medical Center, the lone hospital
before Katrina that was flooded and demolished after the storm. The new
hospital is seen as a major economic development tool for the recovering
parish. 

Tonight's resolution is the latest in a tug-of-war between the council and
the hospital service district, which was appointed in December 2007 by a
previous Parish Council. Councilman Ray Lauga, who supports tonight's
measure, had introduced a stronger proposal in October to disband the
hospital board and replace it after a lack of progress on construction. 

"They've been around for over a year . . . and they still do not have a
site, still do not have architects working on plans, still do not have a
management plan," said Lauga, who was the lone councilman to vote for
abolishing the board last fall. "It's time to get people involved that are
committed to building a hospital." 

Hospital board members have argued they were given the task of building a
hospital but were given no money or other resources to achieve the goal. In
recent months the hospital board has identified the $58 million needed to
construct the hospital, but much of the money came together after the
council pledged $35 million of already-acquired federal recovery money
allocated to St. Bernard. 

Councilman Wayne J. Landry, the council's liaison on the hospital issue,
said the "offer" to take over construction doesn't question the board's
competence. Rather, he said it puts the responsibility in the hands of a
body that is more experienced in executing contracts. 

"They don't have the structure necessary to accomplish this mission at this
point," Landry said. "If we're all on the same page they should welcome this
offer so we can take over the construction of this hospital so they can
focus on getting the cash flow necessary to operate this thing." 

Hospital board member Ron Chapman, a history professor at Nunez Community
College in Chalmette, said he had not been informed about the council's
measure, aside from seeing it on the agenda. Board members have been
frustrated by suggestions they are stifling progress, he said, especially
after being appointed by the council but not given any funding up front. 

"It's like you send me on an errand to the store, you give me a car and you
didn't put any gas in it. And then you wonder why we haven't left the
parking lot?" Chapman said. "You gave me the job and you didn't give me the
tools, and money is a tool in this particular case." 

The move by the council comes as the hospital board is deciding between two
tracts of land. The first is a 10-acre site across from the parish
government complex, donated by the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable
Foundation, a parish nonprofit group whose board of directors includes
Sheriff Jack Stephens and lawyer Sidney Torres III. The other is a 10-acre
plot on the Village Square site, a decaying collection of Chalmette
apartments that will soon be bought out by a private investor under a
government financing program. 

Hospital board chairman Daniel Dysart said earlier this week that the
hospital board would choose a site by the end of the month. Landry said the
council would stick to the same timeline if the board chooses to hand over
responsibility. 

The council meets at 4 p.m. today at the parish government complex at 8201
W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. The hospital board meets Wednesday at 7
p.m., at the same site. 

. . . . . . . 

Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3321.