By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LULING – Officials from St. Charles Parish Hospital and Ochsner Health System announced recently that a new partnership between the two healthcare facilities will bring expanded specialty care to residents in St. Charles Parish.

Fred Martinez Jr., CEO for St. Charles Hospital, told the St. Charles Council Monday that the clinical affiliation is beneficial to the long-term health of the hospital because it brings the expertise of Ochsner physicians closer to the St. Charles community. Martinez said it would allow the hospital to utilize Ochsner resources to enhance clinical services, assist in physician recruitment and provide support to administration, human resources and group purchasing.

“This enables us to better serve patients by bringing specialists closer to them,” said Martinez. “There is a lot of work we can do, but there is still a lot we can not do. With this partnership, we can treat more patients at our facility instead of transferring them elsewhere.”

Martinez explained that St. Charles Hospital has specific needs in the areas of primary care, neurology, and internal medicine. The partnership will allow the hospital to maintain the feel of a smaller facility, but enjoy the offerings of a larger hospital.

“Ochsner is a billion-dollar operation, and we typically handle about $30 million annually,” said Martinez. “This agreement will help us expand our purchasing power.”

Ochsner CEO Patrick Quinlan said the affiliation with St. Charles Parish Hospital was a strategic move for them because it expands Ochsner Health System’s reach.

“It will enhance our presence in the River Parishes, specifically on the West Bank of St. Charles,” said Quinlan. “We hope that this move will enable those residents to spend less time traveling and more time accessing healthcare in their own neighborhood. West Bank communities are some of the fastest growing areas of the region, and as more people return to the area, the demand for quality healthcare increases.”

Martinez said that Monday’s agreement was not the first time Ochsner had approached St. Charles Hospital to forge a collaboration.

“We had been contacted pre-Katrina, but at that time we felt we were getting by financially,” said Martinez. “Katrina had escalated some of our financial issues, so now was the best time to make the move.”

Martinez said St. Charles Parish Hospital will maintain an open medical staff, but Ochsner physicians will be allowed to practice at the Luling facility. He said the agreement could change over time and could lead to the possibility of leasing the hospital to Ochsner, but Martinez stressed that hospital board members would never allow a complete handover of control.

In addition to St. Charles Parish Hospital, Ochsner has other affiliations along the West Bank of the Mississippi River. In February of 2006, Ochsner announced a partnership with St. Anne General Hospital in Raceland to expand healthcare in the bayou area of Lafourche Parish. In October of that same year, Ochsner finalized the purchase of Meadowcrest Hospital in Gretna. The system also owns hospitals in Kenner, and uptown New Orleans to go along with their main facility on Jefferson Highway in Jefferson Parish.