What the future holds for Lady of the Sea Hospital amid Ida recovery

A hospital in south Lafourche that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ida is working to have an an interim facility running by spring.

"The interim facility will be 28,500 square feet and house the majority of hospital services offered prior to the hurricane," Lloyd Guidry, chief operating officer at Lady of the Sea General Hospital, said in a news release.

"All services are expected to return when the permanent hospital is completed, which is a three- to four-year process," he said.

The Category 4 storm made landfall Aug. 29 about 25 miles south of the 25-bed hospital, tearing off its roof and causing major wind and water damage inside and out. Other buildings on the campus were also damaged severely, including the dialysis center, specialty clinic and laundry.

The hospital administration has been working with parish, state and federal officials, its insurance company and FEMA to determine whether the main building will be repaired or replaced.

"Throughout the recovery process, we have never wavered from our mission statement, which is 'We exist to provide high quality health care in a personalized manner to those we serve,' " hospital CEO Karen Collins said.

The only services available immediately after the storm were ambulance response and helicopter evacuation due to roadway obstructions from hurricane damage, officials said.

"In the short-term, our main goal was to be able to provide hospital services to our community as people returned home to work on their properties," Guidry said. "Accidents and illnesses, in addition to COVID-19, were real concerns for all of us in the south Lafourche community, especially with the conditions of the roads and having to travel for services."

Four days after landfall, Lady of the Sea opened a medical clinic in Cut Off, which also houses a pharmacy. It opened another community pharmacy inside Rouses Supermarket in Larose.

A week later, Lady of the Sea Medical Clinic in Larose reopened. On Sept. 11, the hospital's 24-7 emergency department reopened across the street from the main building. Rehab services returned within weeks in a temporary trailer.

"Our dialysis center will open in a temporary facility within the next couple of weeks, and we are excited to announce that the initial bid process for the interim hospital was completed on July 1," Collins said.

Within the next couple of weeks, work will begin on tearing down the building directly behind the new emergency room to clear space for a helipad to move across the street from its current location, officials said. After that, work will continue to prepare the interim hospital site for the modular buildings to be installed.

"This south Lafourche community is resilient, and they take care of their own," Collins said. "We are so proud to be here, continuing to offer quality healthcare and continuing to expand our services while we work toward repairing our facilities on our main campus.

"Through our existing services, we continue to work with other area hospitals to provide a continuum of care for all patients, and we are proud of our staff for their dedication to our community."

Courier and Daily Comet Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CourierEditor.