Backers say Wellness Center will make parish healthier

FRANKLIN -- The $19 million Wellness Center now under construction at Franklin Foundation Hospital will offer a variety of medical and preventive services without a direct impact on local taxpayers, people close to the project told the St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday. And they said it may serve as a model of commitment to care in areas that, like St. Mary, suffer from poor health outcomes.

"It's fine to have hospitals to take care of sick people," state Sen. Bret Allain told the council. "But the idea of taking care of people before they're sick is really catching on."

Also Wednesday, the council heard from the woman who has asked the council to seek minority representation in the Registrar of Voters Office; heard Parish President David Hanagriff renew his opposition to the St. Mary School Board sales tax proposition on the March 20 ballot; and called for an October election to renew a property tax for water and sewer service in Bayou Vista.

The Wellness Center will be a 60,000-square-foot facility that will offer orthopedic and cardiology services; outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy; a fitness facility and indoor walking track; studios for cycling and group exercises; behavioral health for seniors; pools for fitness and therapy; child care for clients; and a Health Bistro that the hospital hopes will become a community gathering place.

The center will also offer cardiac-pulmonary rehabilitation, a service unique to this area.

"We're excited about that," said Stephanie Guidry, Franklin Foundation's CEO.

The project is being financed with federal health care funds and the state government, said Allain, R-Franklin.

"The amount of money coming here without the [local] taxpayers having to pay a cent is astounding in itself," Hanagriff said.

Federal and state health care officials may also be looking at the center as an investment that could reduce health care costs over time.

Dr. Gary Wiltz, the CEO of the Teche Action Clinic, told the council that Louisiana has consistently ranked at the bottom among states for health outcomes for the 25 years. And St. Mary ranks in the bottom half of Louisiana parishes.

"As your grandmother told you, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure," Wiltz said.

The Wellness Center construction will be complete in about two years, Allain said.

The search is on for providers in specialties such as nephrology and endocrinology to work at the center, and officials are talking with employers about including Wellness Center participation in group health plan coverage.

"This thing is not going to be successful without the full support of the community ...," Allain said. "But why wouldn't you support it?"

Also Wednesday:

--Alfreida Edwards renewed her request to the council to find a way to have African American employees in the Registrar of Voters Office.

Edwards' original request in December prompted a long letter of response from Registrar Jolene Holcombe. She said that while the office has no black employees now, it has in the past. African Americans currently serve as voting commissioners on election days.

On Wednesday, Edwards said a third of St. Mary's registered votes are African American. None of the five full-time employees at the Registrar's Office are black.

"With that percentage, the Registrar of Voters Office should reflect a diverse environment ...," Edwards said.

"The Registrar of Voters Office is for the voters who are your constituents. Maybe it is time to take the issue of lack of diversity to the Parish Council."

Edwards suggested that an advisory board might be a solution.

Council Craig Mathews of Jeanerette spoke about his sociology readings in pursuit of a master's degree. Those readings talk about implicit bias, the innate tendency to be around people we feel are like us.

It's time for the council to deal with the issue, Mathews said.

"I don't know how to do it," he said. "But it is necessary."

--Hanagriff again urged voters to reject the School Board's proposed 0.45% sales tax for teacher and staff pay.

Early voting is open and will continue through Saturday at the Registrar of Voters Offices in Franklin and Morgan City.

The tax will raise $3.85 million a year to provide certified employees, mostly teachers, with a $3,000 annual raise. Other School Board employees would receive a $1,500 raise.

Proponents say St. Mary's school performance score rates in the top quarter of the state's public school systems, but average teacher pay is below the state average. The raise is needed to attract and keep good staff members, they said.

But Hanagriff pointed to the economic struggles resulting from COVID-19 restrictions and the 6-year-old slump in energy prices.

"Now is the worst time ever to increase any type of tax. Period," Hanagriff said.

The School Board position is that local sales taxes are lower than those in surrounding parishes. But Hanagriff said St. Mary is flanked by larger centers of commerce such as Houma and Lafayette.

"We have to be lower than everybody else," Hanagriff said.

He also said the School Board hasn't done enough to reduce its costs and refused to compromise on the proposal.

Matthews said he believes the school system hasn't performed well in the last year and called the annual superintendent evaluation, one of which is scheduled for Thursday's School Board meeting in Centerville, a "sham."

Councilman Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista, like Hanagriff, said he supports teachers. But Ramsey said the new sales tax is a bad idea at time when St. Mary has a "serious outward migration problem" that should lead to the creation of a "serious economic development team."

--The council passed a resolution calling for a property tax renewal election Oct. 9 for Water and Sewer Commission No. 2 in Bayou Vista.

The 11-mill tax raises $890,000 a year, according to the proposed ballot language. The renewal would be for 10 years beginning in 2022.

The State Bond Commission approval is required before the renewal goes on the ballot.

--The council approved an amended resolution reducing the Bayou Vista Streets and Civil Improvement Committee from nine members to five.

--The board agreed on a list of three names to submit to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who will choose one to fill a vacancy on the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District board. They are Barry Dufrene, Mike Domino and David B. DeVille.

The vacancy on the board was created when Lee Dragna resigned following his election as Morgan City mayor in December.