Hospital district scholarships are in the works

Hospital Service District No. 2 and South Louisiana Community College are putting the final touches on an agreement that could send prospective health care workers to college.
The district’s board met with Lana Fontenot, a vice chancellor and executive director of the SoLAcc Foundation, talked about district-funded scholarships at the board’s regular first-Wednesday meeting.
The board had already decided to allocate $125,000 to endow SoLAcc scholarships for students in nursing or allied health fields.
Because the interest needed to actually pay for the scholarships will take time to accumulate, the board also decided to approve $10,000, probably for two $5,000 scholarships, that would be available as early as this year.
A study by Nightingale College found that hospital nursing rosters are understaffed by about 8% nationwide.
While the study found that the shortfall in registered nurses is expected to be only 4% 12 years from now, hospitals will lack 28% of the licensed practical nurses they need in 2038.
Fontenot noted that voter rejection of Amendment 3 on May 16 means a state match for the scholarship funds could still be available.
The amendment would have eliminated three state funds and direct the money toward paying down Teacher Retirement System debt and funding teacher and staff raises.
One of those funds supports higher education.
Scholarships for future health care workers are among the uses allowed for a 9-mill property tax district voters passed in 2024 and is raising about $3.2 million a year. Another permissible use is for physical improvements to Ochsner St. Mary, which the district owns and is operated under lease by Ochsner Health.
That work is proceeding, too.
District counsel Bill Bourgeois reported that work on a dedicated outdoor air system is nearing completion.
The system – one 60-ton unit and two 30-ton units on the hospital’s roof – provides a source of conditioned air for the interior. It also creates positive pressure that, along with the exterior seal completed last year, should protect the hospital from infiltration by moisture.
During Hurricane Francine in 2024, water infiltration forced the hospital to suspend admissions for weeks.
Other planned improvements include a staff elevator replacement, a new emergency generator, first- and second-floor roof repair, and heating and air conditioning work.
The district is also working on cooperative endeavor agreements that could lead to orthopedic and urological services here.
The district is working with Hospital Service District No. 1, which operates Bayou Bend in Franklin, to bring an orthopedic specialist to the area.
The prospective partner in the search for a urologist is Terrebonne Parish Hospital Service District No. 1.