Louisiana parish studies hospital plan

The St. Bernard Hospital Service District will spend as much as $135,000 to study the economic feasibility of a 40-bed hospital in Chalmette, LA. District commissioners voted unanimously to contract with Eide Bailley, an accounting and consulting firm. The study is expected to take 60 to 90 days, and will help determine how successful such a hospital would be in St. Bernard Parish. St. Bernard's lone hospital was swamped during Hurricane Katrina and has not reopened.