Houma charity hospital rescue slowly proceeding

Final agreements that will put Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center and other hospitals in Louisiana’s charity system on life support will likely not be complete until summer.

That’s what the state’s hospital chief told lawmakers last week, during a legislative committee meeting convened to bring them up to speed on the process, which began after federal Medicaid cutbacks and resulting state budget cuts put the hospitals, run by the LSU health care-system, at risk of closure.

While local officials have generally maintained that current employees will stay on, the possibility was raised during the special meeting of the House Health and Welfare Committee that some administrative positions could be eliminated, if they pose issues of duplication.

The Ochsner Hospital System and Terrebonne General Medical Center have agreed to bail out Chabert, through agreements similar to those being engineered for University Medical Center in New Orleans, University Medical Center Lafayette and Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles.

The Interim LSU hospital in New Orleans and University are partnering with Louisiana Children’s Medical Center; University in Lafayette is partnering with Lafayette General Medical Center; Moss will partner with Lake Charles Memorial and West Calcasieu Cameron hospitals.

The deals are lease agreements, with the staff at each state hospital to remain in place.

“The agreements are still being developed,” said Dr. Frank Opelka, LSU System executive vice president.

The program LSU in had used in conjunction with Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals, Opelka acknowledged, was a failure.

“That’s why we are in the situation we are in today,” Opelka said before members of the House Health and Welfare Committee. “We left Plan ‘A’ because it failed; we are in Plan ‘B’ …

“We have been in decline for a while and probably just in denial managing what we’ve got.”

Legislators’ questions during the Thursday meeting focused more on health centers in Baton Rouge and north Louisiana.

The only member of that committee whose district is directly affected by Chabert Medical Center was not present. Rep. Lenar Whitney (R-Houma) was at a Republican National Committee winter conference in Charlotte.

In a telephone interview, Whitney said she is current on matters involving the agreements, noting that no action was to have been taken at the meeting.

In addition to the June or July target date for formal agreements announced by Opelka and DHH Secretary Bruce Greenstein, legislators also learned about the potential for jobs that could be eliminated at some of the hospitals.

Employees will need to re-apply for their jobs with the partners doing the takeovers ¬– such as Ochsner in the case of Chabert.

“Unfortunately, in the rules that are surrounding health care they have to be removed from the LSU system and hired by the partner and employed by the partner,” said Opelka, in response to a question from Rep. H. Bernard LeBas (D-Ville Platte). “There may be areas like purchasing where there is going to be duplication.”

Greenstein indicated that nurses will likely be the most retainable.

Rhonda Green, administrator of Chabert Medical Center, has said she does not expect much in the way of layoffs there because the hospital’s staff has been virtually stripped to its core. She is expecting a possibility of departures as some employees retire, however.

State Sen. Norby Chabert (R-Houma) has been watching developments closely and been involved with negotiations.

So far, he said, all appears healthy for the local hospital’s future.

The legislative role will become more apparent in later months, Chabert said, as the private enterprise partners develop their plans.

“The Legislature will play an extremely important role by approving final agreements,” he said.

Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center is waiting on funding that will keep the hospital afloat. That funding will likely come this summer. 

CLAUDETTE OLIVIER | TRI-PARISH TIMES