Paul Verrette, M.D., a specialist in Internal Medicine, in the reception area with SBPH employee Mandy Dobronich-Hingle.

 St. Bernard Parish Hospital is proud to announce that Kelvin J. Contreary, M.D., who specializes in general and vascular surgery, successfully performed the hospital’s first surgical procedure on Sunday, Sept. 16.  Dr. Contreary, far left, and Vonni G. Serbin, M.D., the hospital’s anesthesiologist, third from left, are pictured with patient Barbara Brodmyer and clinical staff members, from left: Kenny Sticker, CRNA;  Elaine Whitney-Pierre,  CST; and Charles “Robb” Sherlock, RN.

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St. Bernard Parish Hospital (SBPH) successfully completed its Joint Commission Accreditation Survey last week, which was the final milestone required for opening. While the hospital can now accept patients, SBPH is working through the process of finalizing contract agreements with Medicare, Medicaid and various managed care plans.

An additional milestone for the hospital was conducting its first surgery on September 16. The successful surgery was performed by Kelvin J. Contreary, M.D. a general and vascular surgeon.
Hospital Service District Chairman Wayne J. Landry says that with the help of St. Bernard residents utilizing the facility, the hospital can become the premier provider of choice for medical care in St. Bernard Parish.
“It’s [accreditation] a major hurdle that we have accomplished,” Landry said. “We are fully confident in the quality of the facility and its technology, as well as the quality of its employees.”

In addition to receiving accreditation by Joint Commission, an independent body that performs certifications for hospitals, SBPH also successfully passed its Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals licensure survey which included its life safety code and sanitation inspections.

Now that the the two biggest obstacles in the way to seeing patients have been passed, Landry asserts that SBPH is fully functional and ready to see more patients and perform more surgeries.
Nearly seven years after Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaks combined to destroy Chalmette Medical Center, the lone hospital in St. Bernard Parish, St. Bernard Parish residents can rest easier knowing they no
longer have to cross parish lines to seek medical care.

Taking into account the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, the hospital has been designed to withstand extreme weather and water conditions.
Generators, diesel fuel tanks and operating systems are located on the second floor, more than 25
feet above ground.

Residents can now celebrate a health care infrastructure that boasts a 113,000 square foot state-of-the-art hospital that features 40 beds, including eight intensive care beds and 32 general medical/surgical beds. There also are four operating suites, endoscopy suites, a cardiac catheter lab, and a 10-bed emergency room. In addition, the hospital provides medical imaging, laboratory, in-house pharmacy and dietary and nutritional services.

The facility, which has been under planning and construction for the more than three years and is located at 8000 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, also includes an adjoining 60,000-square-foot medical office building that, when completed, will include the St. Bernard Community Health Center, administrative offices and several physicians’ offices.