Harlan Kirgan
The St. Landry Parish Council approved advertising three appointments to Eunice’s St. Landry Hospital District 1 Board.
Action to fill the seats on the six-member came after Newton “Chip” Thibodeaux, hospital Board chairman, spoke to the Council at a meeting Wednesday in Opelousas.
Thibodeaux was summoned to the meeting after the Council’s Adminstrative-Finance Committee on Dec. 6 balked at advertising the Board seats until questions were answered.
At the Dec. 6 meeting, Lawtell area Councilman Timmy Lejeune said, “I would like to know if they could give us some information on that facility. I would like to know how much money they have. I would also like to know how often they meet because this facility looks like a dump site. And I would like to know what are doing there.”
Thibodeaux obviously satisified the Council.
“We do everything we can,” Thibodeaux said. “The big drawback we have is everybody complains about the old Moosa Hospital. Because of our funding we can’t do much about it. We don’t get any money. We don’t generate any money other than what we raise selling real estate.”
Thibodeaux said he was appointed to the Board in 1994. Moosa Hospital was public and losing money, he said. The district made an agreement for a private-owned hospital and its operations now include the hospitals at Eunice and Ville Platte.
The for-profit hospitals employ 531 people with an annual payroll of $28 million. The hospitals paid $1.3 million in taxes in 2016 and provide thousands of dollars in donations to local schools, a health-related scholarship and other civic organizations, he said in a statement to the Council.
The Board’s assets include about $90,000 in cash and a $200,000 certificate of deposit.
Those assets are weighed against the cost of demolishing the property that reaches toward $1 million, he said.
Lejeune commented, “This is the first time since I’ve been here for six years that we have any connection with anybody with that hospital. I’m grateful you did come.”
Lejeune added, “You all did a beautiful job.”
Hospital District 1 Board members include Lloyd Antoine, Brenda Hardy, Michelle DeRouen, Newton “Chip” Thibodeaux Jr., Robert Quirk Jr., and Sandifer Burson. The terms of Hardy, Quirk and Thibodeaux are expiring.