St. Bernard Parish Hospital must seek new manager

    After just two months of operating the new St. Bernard Parish Hospital, the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System has notified hospital administrators it is pulling out as manager of the facility’s daily operations.
    In a two-paragraph statement Oct. 5, John Finan, chief executive officer of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, said his organization had concluded that managing the hospital “is no longer essential to the success of the operation” considering the hospital had received its licensing and accreditation.
    “Our focus has always been the people of the parish, and we consider it our privilege to have served the community of St. Bernard Parish, especially as it has rebuilt over the last years,” the statement said. “We believe there are many successes to celebrate and we are proud that we have been able to completely fulfill our responsibilities of the management agreement.”
    The decision came as something of a surprise, considering the full-service hospital at 8000 West Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette opened amid fanfare and jubilation Aug. 1 as the first permanent medical facility in the parish after Hurricane Katrina. The three-story hospital has 40 beds, an intensive care unit, a 10-bed emergency room, a heliport and four operating suites.
    After Katrina, the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System had managed the St. Bernard Community Health Center, which provided basic health care, first in a trailers in a Wal-Mart parking lot and later at a temporary site next to the current hospital.
    At the grand opening of the hospital on Aug. 1, Wayne Landry, chairman of the Hospital Service District that oversees the nonprofit, public hospital, said the new facility cost $54 million, including the cost of equipment, supplies and site preparation. A 60,000-square-foot medical office building under construction adjacent to the hospital added another $13 million to the project.
    About $41 million came from Community Development Block Grants, $17 million in state capital outlay funds (bonds) and $11 million in New Markets Tax Credits.
    The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System manages 1,700 hospital beds across Louisiana, including Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. The group also has signed a contract to operate a new hospital now under construction in New Orleans East.