PLAQUEMINE, La. (AP) — Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso has released architectural renderings of the parish’s $22 million medical facility.
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The parish has been without a hospital since 2008, when River West Medical Center closed because it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Gustav.
Ourso told The Advocate (http://bit.ly/P5Pbds ) the loss has forced residents with major medical issues to seek treatment at medical centers in the Baton Rouge area.
The loss also has increased the burden on the parish’s contracted ambulatory service with Acadian Ambulance, he said.
“(EMTs) were having to transport people farther, which placed a burden on our contract price with them,” Ourso said. “Acadian has a building here that they use to house employees, and I heard people were driving up to it almost using it as an emergency facility.”
The new 43,000-square-foot medical center, being designed by Grace & Hebert Architects and to be operated by Ochsner Health System, is being built on 27 acres off La. 1 in Plaquemine.
Ourso said the parish will enter into a lease agreement with Ochsner to use the complex, which will feature a free-standing emergency center.
The Iberville medical complex will feature 24 patient exam/procedure rooms, two of which will be trauma rooms, and lab and radiology services that will include X-ray, CAT scan, MRI, ultrasound and mammography, the news release states.
Ourso said he hopes to begin advertising for construction bids before the end of the year, pending approval from the Office of Community Development.
Ourso said officials are shooting for a projected completion date around the first quarter of 2014.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
