FEMA's Support Revives Only Acute Care Hospital In Cameron Parish 

Release Date: August 7, 2007
Release Number: 1603-674

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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- After a seriously injured man was rushed to South Cameron Memorial Hospital during the mandatory evacuation order in Cameron Parish, he was successfully treated at the parish's only emergency care facility. Two days later, Hurricane Rita raged through the hospital, stripping area residents of vital services and forcing patients to travel to another parish for urgent medical needs.

Now, for the first time nearly two years after Hurricane Rita, Cameron Parish residents will have an acute care facility at home again. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is funding the replacement of South Cameron Memorial Hospital, which is expected to resume operations this September.

In addition to the emergency room, the hospital will boast a diagnostic center, with X-ray and laboratory testing facilities; administration offices and other ancillary services. Also, the 25-bed hospital will continue to provide assistance to emergency, long-term and skilled nursing patients as the parish does not have a nursing home.

Hospital officials hope this progress will encourage many people to return to Cameron Parish, which is home to 7,800 residents, according to a 2006 U.S. Census estimate. Currently, they have to travel to a medical facility in Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish for emergency care.

"Before the storm, the population was at 10,000, but after Rita, our roads were very damaged. We had a lot of people working in construction, and it was very dangerous to live in a parish with no emergency medical care available," said Jennifer Jones, spokesperson for South Cameron Memorial Hospital and Cameron Parish Assistance District Attorney. "Our hospital campus was destroyed. There was nothing salvageable there."

The disaster marked the first time that the hospital had to shut its doors to residents, gas exploration personnel, as well as commercial and recreational fishermen, since its founding in 1963. The various hospital buildings inundated with five feet of stagnant water in the aftermath of the storm surge were demolished. They are now consolidated into a main building and a maintenance building, according to Jones, and built 10 feet above ground.

"We would have never been able to have another hospital in Cameron Parish without FEMA," said Jones. "A hospital here is a matter of life and death for us, and there is no way that we could ever have raised the funds to rebuild from tax money."

FEMA recently obligated slightly more than $4.2 million for the construction of the main building and maintenance building of South Cameron Memorial Hospital, which employed 70 people before Hurricane Rita. The funds are part of a $21.8 million package that the agency has approved for the reconstruction of the hospital complex.

When projects are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the applicant, in this case Lower Cameron Hospital Service District, to work with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the reimbursement monies. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursing the funds. Obligated funds may change over time as the project worksheet is a living grant that is often adjusted as bids come in and scope of work is aligned.

The building of the new medical facility could also be a boon for some New Orleans area patients if confronted with another storm like Katrina. Almost a month before Hurricane Rita, South Cameron Memorial Hospital became a safe haven for 45 New Orleans area special needs patients and their families, all of whom had to be evacuated again before Rita ruined Cameron Parish communities.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations' buildings and recreation centers, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 07-Aug-2007 14:43:48