Survey finds support for L&D services at Ochsner St. Mary

A community survey found support for bringing back obstetrical services to Ochsner St. Mary.
Less than a year after the Bayou Bend Wellness Center opened in Franklin, the limited but respectable sample of St. Mary people also would like to see a wellness center in Morgan City and say they’ll use it.
The respondents generally supported the way local services are provided, especially police and fire protection. They’re not so sure about consolidating schools as enrollment declines, and they have some doubts about economic development.
The 2023 community survey was posted by St. Mary Excel, the citizens group that has generally focused on economic development and resilience in St. Mary. The group conducted a similar survey in 2019 and was asked by local leaders for an update to help set priorities. The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce also assisted in the distribution of the survey.
The survey drew 498 self-selected respondents, 80% of whom were women, and 66% of whom were 45 or over. Eighty-three percent make at least $30,000 a year, and two-thirds make more than $50,000 a year.
Among the respondents, 43% said they live in Morgan City, 12% each live in Berwick and Franklin, 10% live in Patterson, and 7% live in Bayou Vista. Less than 3% of respondents say they live in other communities.
Among the questions and responses:
—84% agree or strongly agree that labor and delivery services are a must to have at Ochsner St. Mary. The number includes 62% that said they strongly agree with that statement.
Ochsner Health, citing demographic trends toward an older population and an obstetrics staff too small to ensure patient safety, closed labor and delivery services at the Morgan City hospital April 1. The system’s Bayou Region consolidated obstetrical services at Ochsner St. Anne in Raceland, leading to concerns here about long drives for care and the ability to handle emergencies.
Talks aimed at bringing labor and delivery back to Ochsner St. Mary have continued. But Hospital Service District No. 2 scuttled plans to renew an old property tax and rededicate revenue to raise money for supporting obstetrical and other services when no agreement was reached by the deadline for the Oct. 14 election.
The district owns the hospital, which is operated under lease by Ochsner.
—Eighty-five percent agree or strongly agree that Morgan City needs a wellness center. Eighty percent believe such a center would raise property values and improve the quality of life.
When it comes to paying for a wellness center, 48% said they’d pay a 7- to 10-mill property tax, 12% say they’d pay 3 to 7 mills, and 15% up to 3 mills. A quarter said they’d be unwilling to pay such a tax.
If the tax is subject to Louisiana’s homestead exemption, 1- to 10-mill tax would levy taxes of $2.50 to $25 a year on a primary home valued at $100,000, and $12.50 to $125 a year on a $200,000 primary home.
In the survey, 76%-79% say they’d like to see the wellness center have an indoor walking track, a swimming pool, fitness classes, and dietician and nutritional services. Another 61%-68% believe it should offer mental health services, an indoor gym and aqua therapy.
And they say the center would be used: 43% say they’d use the center three to four times a week, 33% one to two times a week and 12% five to seven times a week.
—Asked whether their communities do a good job of providing water, electricity, sewer service and trash pickup, 69% agreed or strongly agreed. Sixty-one percent agreed storm water and drainage are handled well.
Seventy-two percent agreed or strongly agreed that police protection is good, and the numbers for fire protection were even higher: 88%.
Big majorities disagreed that residential recycling service (61% disagreement) and public transportation (69% disagreement) are what they should be.
—Ninety-percent-plus majorities agreed or strongly agreed with a series of proposed priorities for St. Mary Parish schools: high-quality education by certified teachers, adequately compensating teachers, structurally sound and well-maintained schools, strategic planning communicated to the public, an expanding curriculum in core subjects and the arts, a “vast array” of extracurricular activities, and magnet programs for STEM, performing arts and other areas of study.
School enrollment has declined by 1,500 since Hernandez and Shannon elementary schools closed in 2017, the survey said. Asked if they favored consolidating schools within communities, 34% agreed and 43% disagreed.
On consolidations across communities, 41% agreed and 39% disagreed.
Fifty-six percent agreed that the number of School Board seats should be reduced. The board currently has 11 members.
—Asked if their communities attract business and entrepreneurial opportunities, 34% agreed and 52% disagreed.
Respondents were more kindly disposed toward their communities’ access to zoning and code information (37% agree, 26% disagree) and streamlining of the process for obtaining permits and tax incentives (39% agree, 23% disagree).
A downloadable version of the survey is available through a link on this story at StMaryNow.com.