Hospital looks for ways to fund repairs, upgrades

The votes have been counted. Hospital Service District No. 2’s property tax is in place. Now it’s time for the district to make the repairs and improvements at Ochsner St. Mary voters were promised.
The district isn’t exactly fighting the clock. But it does have some issues with the calendar.
On Wednesday, Chairman Dr. Bill Cefalu Jr. said it’s important to begin the Ochsner St. Mary work, the need for which Hurricane Francine made obvious, before the next hurricane season.
Ten inches of rain or more, driven by 100 mph winds, pushed water into the Morgan City hospital during Francine, forcing the closure to patient admissions for a couple of weeks after the Sept. 11 storm.
The damage will run into the millions, Cefalu said.
The 9-mill property tax, to be imposed on St. Mary residents from the Calumet Cut east, passed by a 70%-30% margin Dec. 7, is expected to raise $3.4 million for building repairs and maintenance, plus scholarships for local people entering health-related fields.
But the tax, which takes effect this year, won’t put cash in the district’s account until property taxes are paid beginning late in 2025.
So the district is looking for ways to leverage anticipated tax receipts into money for an early start to repairs, which include sealing the hospital against the weather and installing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
The district voted Wednesday to hire Trinity Capital Inc. to develop a financing strategy.
But the district will have to move fast to obtain financing in time for the June 1 start of the hurricane season, or even the season’s peak in August and September.
The possibilities include issuing bonds backed by the tax revenue and a request for state capital outlay funding.
The bonds would require an OK from the St. Mary Parish Council and the State Bond Commission, a process that is expected to take until May.
The district is also part of a negotiation centering on a damage claim to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Cefalu said Wednesday that a team from FEMA has inspected damage at the hospital. Now the question is whether the district, which owns the hospital building, or Ochsner Health, which operates the hospital under lease, should file the claim.
Also Wednesday:
—The board made its every-other-year choice for leadership positions. Cefalu, a physician who also practices at Ochsner St. Mary, was re-elected as chairman. Angelena Brocato was elected vice chair, and Jackie Cheramie was re-elected treasurer.
—The board will consider using TCI of Baton Rouge for public relations related to the work that will be done at the hospital. The company handled the district’s media messaging leading up to the successful tax vote.