Deal frees up $2 million for Louisiana hospital

The first dollars are now trickling in for construction of St. Bernard Parish's first post-Katrina hospital. Out of a $58 million cost estimate for the planned 40-bed hospital, St. Bernard's hospital service district now has an initial $2 million to move forward with preliminary designs on a 10-acre plot of land. Groundbreaking on the project is still months away, as local officials await an environmental assessment of the site. An archaeological survey may also be required because of the project's proximity to a historic site.