Bret Allain: The cost of not rebranding Franklin Foundation

Since the announcement that Franklin Foundation Hospital will soon be known as Bayou Bend Health System, one of the main concerns raised has been the cost associated with the rebranding effort.

Not surprisingly, this is the same criticism that has been raised about the Wellness Center. The time has come to put these questions to rest.

Let’s tackle the new Wellness Center. The entire building project is being funded by federal and state funds with no new local taxes contemplated to operate the Wellness Center.

The federal funds come in the form of a match of our current tax dollars. Most importantly, Hospital Service District No. 1’s 14-mill property tax supports hospital operations; without this support, our critical access hospital could not survive

The federal government, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will match local tax dollars (2 to 1) to provide “greater access and improved healthcare” in an area.

The Board of Directors for HSD 1 has collected and saved these match dollars for eight years to utilize them on increasing services that improve the overall health of the community. A “cap” is in place on the amount of funds each state is allowed for these matches. Control of this cap rests mainly with the governor and the Legislature, and we were successful in getting this project included in the funding framework.

The bottom line on this project comes down to this: $22 million was going to be spent somewhere in Louisiana.

Hospital leadership, the Board, and senior leadership in the Legislature identified these funds and fought for Franklin to be in the conversation for where this money was going to be spent. Coming out on top is a huge win for St. Mary Parish and our surrounding communities. How long has it been since we’ve said St. Mary out-competed other parts of the state?

The Wellness Center will be operated with funds from profitable service lines that will be located in the facility, namely:
— Orthopedic and cardiology clinic
— Outpatient physical therapy
— Cardiopulmonary rehab
— Senior behavioral health
— Wellness testing

These specialties will make the Wellness Center more than just a “gym.”

The services above, by covering the overhead to operate the facility, will allow the fitness center to be scaled and expanded appropriately through memberships so that it doesn’t become a cost burden.

In other words, these services will fund the fitness center, not the other way around.

These new, state-of-the-art spaces have the potential to be anchors for our community. They will provide meeting and conference rooms where outside groups can gather along with in-house education seminars focused on topics such as health and wellness, breast and prostate cancer, disease processes, and many more. If our community chooses to support this endeavor, the sky’s the limit in terms of what this new facility can offer.

Our support will determine how big or small the impact to our community will be.

Remaining competitive in an ever-changing healthcare landscape has become more difficult over the last decade, particularly since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Critical Access Hospitals like ours are closing in record numbers, and many are relying solely on CARES Act funding to stay afloat.

Even more are being sucked into huge health systems, pulling care out of the community. If our hospital is going to remain open and independent, it must remain competitive in this environment.

Rebranding to Bayou Bend Health System allows us to do that.

The new name is representative of the growing and evolving scope of services we provide, and it more fully encompasses all of the communities in our service district.

We want everyone in St. Mary Parish, no matter what bend of the bayou you hail — from Ricohoc to Jeanerette and everywhere in between — to feel comfortable getting the care they need in Franklin.

Some people may be thinking, "What does this have to do with the cost of the rebrand?"

The short answer is everything.

Most costs associated with this rebrand will come from changing signage, a portion of which was already budgeted for the monument sign at the Wellness Center.

The rest of the costs are setup fees required to change digital assets and replace paper goods.

The fact of the matter is that the cost of this rebrand will be covered exponentially if our community continues to support us in our efforts to remain competitive.

The goal of this rebrand is to get people in the door. The facility itself is going to engage the curiosity of a lot of people.

When people visit the center for the first time, the idea is that something that seems minor — a wellness test — can begin a relationship that leads to a patient utilizing the hospital for a wide variety of services.

Engaging people in new ways with a quality product will go a long way towards convincing people to use and trust local healthcare.

What Bayou Bend Health System aims to be is a place to get your basic healthcare needs met with a focus on early detection and prevention.

Why travel when good, quality care is just around the corner?

If Bayou Bend can satisfy general medicine needs, in addition to basic specialties such as orthopedics, basic cardiology, physical therapy, and general surgery, our facility will have done its job.

State Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, is also a member of the St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 board.