[StBernard] First Post-Katrina Hospital is Moving Ahead

[Westley Annis]

First Post-Katrina Hospital is Moving Ahead

Hammes Company is helping to bring comprehensive healthcare services back to
the New Orleans area in the form of a 40-bed acute care facility and medical
office building

Chalmette, La. and Brookfield, Wis. (Vocus) October 14, 2010 

When Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, the storm damaged virtually
every structure in St. Bernard Parish, five miles southeast of downtown New
Orleans - as well as all four hospitals serving the parish and neighboring
communities. Incredibly, more than five years later, those hospitals remain
closed and parish residents are still making due with a temporary health
center housed in double-wide trailers.

But, in a welcome piece of good news for the long-suffering community,
ground was broken back in July in the parish seat of Chalmette for the
planned $69.1 million St. Bernard Parish Hospital and Medical Office
Building (MOB). The program manager for the publicly owned facilities is
Brookfield, Wis.-based Hammes Company (http://www.hammesco.com).

Plans call for a three-story, 40-bed hospital that will include an Emergency
Department and an Intensive Care Unit, along with a full range of healthcare
services: general medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, urology,
endoscopy, radiation therapy, physical therapy and skilled nursing. The
hospital could be expanded to 60 beds without additional construction
because its design calls for private rooms that would be large enough to be
converted to semi-private rooms. The overall size of the hospital could be
further increased to 100 beds through additional construction in the form of
vertical and horizontal expansions. The two-story MOB will consist of about
40,000 square feet and will house a physician suite, outpatient
rehabilitation and administrative offices.

Preliminary site work for the new hospital and MOB is under way and it is
anticipated that construction will begin this fall. The project is scheduled
to be completed by March 2012. 

The architect for the hospital is Nashville, Tenn.-based Gresham Smith &
Partners; the MOB was designed by Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects of New
Orleans. 

The new facilities, which will be owned by the St. Bernard Parish Hospital
Service District (HSD), are being developed on an 11.5-acre site donated by
the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation. If more land is needed
for future expansion, HSD has an option on another 8-acre future donation
from the foundation. 

The new hospital and MOB will be located across the road from Chalmette
National Historical Park, where the Battle of New Orleans was fought during
the War of 1812. But St. Bernard Parish has waged another kind of battle
during the past five years. The population, which stood at nearly 68,000 a
decade ago, plunged to as little as 12,000 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Most of the blight has been removed and, little by little, businesses and
basic infrastructure are reappearing. Milestones like a new high school,
Winn-Dixie grocery store and Lowe's building center have all helped to lift
local spirits in recent years and months. But community leaders say the area
can't take the next step in its recovery until it can better provide basic
healthcare services.

"After many hurdles, we are delighted to be moving forward with these
urgently needed permanent facilities," HSD Chairman Wayne J. Landry says.
The HSD Committee also includes Danny Dysart, George Cavignac, John Gray,
Jim DiFatta, Dr. Paul Verrette, Dr. Bryan Bertucci and other medical
advisors.

"Delivering a full range of high-quality healthcare services to our
residents will be another crucial step in the revitalization of St. Bernard
Parish," Mr. Landry continues. "As the nation's largest healthcare real
estate developer, Hammes Company is providing the expertise and capabilities
required to bring this much-needed facility to our communities."

"The hardships St. Bernard Parish endured as a result of Hurricane Katrina
were almost unimaginable, but the people's resilience and determination have
been equally impressive," Hammes Company Chairman and CEO Jon Hammes says.
"We are honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility for helping
to bring a broad range of healthcare services back to this area."

Hammes Company has been involved in the project for about three years. The
firm was initially brought in by Baton Rouge, La.-based Franciscan
Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOL). FMOL took over ownership of
the temporary health center in 2006 in partnership with St. Louis-based
Ascension Health when an agreement with the U.S. Public Health Service
ended. The health center is now operated by Baton Rouge-based Our Lady of
the Lake Regional Medical Center, which was also recently selected by the
HSD to operate the new St. Bernard Parish Hospital. 

HSD hired Hammes Company to be the program manager for the new hospital in
June 2008. It has taken more than two years to get to this point because it
has been a challenge to raise the $69.1 million needed to build and equip
the new facilities. Fortunately, federal, state and local officials have now
put together a financing package that will include $41 million in U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $17 million in Louisiana State Capital Outlay
funds, $10 million in U.S. Treasury New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) funds, and
$1.1 million in U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
grant funds.

About Hammes Company

Hammes Company is a single source of market-based and financially sound
healthcare solutions. The full-service consulting firm is at the forefront
of providing strategic planning, facility development, project management
and implementation, and real estate acquisition and advisory services to
hospitals, healthcare systems, and major physician groups. The company has
been ranked as one of the nation's top developers of healthcare facilities
for 11 consecutive years by Modern Healthcare magazine. Hammes provides
services through a network of regional offices strategically located across
the country. For more information, please visit www.hammesco.com.

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Artist rendering of hospital
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