St. Bernard Parish Hospital is a final piece of Katrina recovery

As the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina nears, St. Bernard Parish will finally be able to celebrate the recovery of one of its greatest losses since the storm: an infrastructure of health care in the community. In early August, St. Bernard Parish Hospital will open its doors, boasting a state-of-the-art, 113,000-square-foot hospital and an adjoining 60,000-square-foot medical office building.

The facility, which has been under planning and construction for the past three years, is at 8000 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette.

For Wayne Landry, chairman of St. Bernard Parishs Hospital Service District, the opening of the hospital is one of the last remaining pieces in ensuring strong economic and community recovery in St. Bernard Parish.

Since Katrina, St. Bernard has slowly been able to build back a sense of security and community, Landry said. From education to police, fire, and government, we have made strides to recover. Health care was the last remaining piece to that puzzle, and now we have that.

Chalmette Medical Center, the parishs lone hospital, flooded in Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and never reopened.

The new $90 million facility is financed through grants, tax credits and state capital outlay dollars. In November 2010, St. Bernard Parish residents backed a 10-year millage to help support the facility.

The people of St. Bernard really stepped up to make this endeavor possible, Landry said. Without that vote, we wouldnt be here today. We are fortunate that the residents recognized the need for this facility.

Landry said residents should take pride in the hospital, knowing that it was their own investment and that it is there to serve and meet the needs of St. Bernard and surrounding parishes. No longer will residents of St. Bernard have to leave the parish to find quality health care, Landry said.

Every detail, Landry said, has taken into account the needs of the patient and has been designed to maximize patient comfort and productivity of the medical staff.

The patient rooms were designed to have more of a hotel feel with details like wood panel headboards, backlit mirrors, and large windows, Landry said. We have also set workstations and tracking capabilities for the nurses and other medical staff.

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St. Bernard Parish Hospital is a final piece of Katrina recovery