By james art Livingston Parish residents may have more hospital care closer to their front door as Baton Rouge General Hospital plans to invest $50 million to build a new facility in Denham Springs.
Baton Rouge General purchased land last year at the southwest corner of the intersection of Juban Road and Interstate 12 in hopes of creating a “Livingston Neighborhood Hospital.” It is now in the design phase and navigating the licensing and inspection process.
If the Livingston Parish Planning Commission approves the plan, ground breaking would occur in 2025 with a 2027 opening, said Megan Parrish, Baton Rouge vice president of marketing and communications.
Parish President Randy Delatt shared news of the proposed hospital Saturday on Facebook, saying the project will strengthen the parish and provide essential resources for the community.
“This project is a game-changer for our community by bringing more first-class healthcare closer to home,” he wrote.
The two-story facility will be 40,000 square feet and offer a 14-bed emergency department, 12 inpatient beds and several outpatient services. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Walker has an emergency room but no inpatient beds, so it can’t see patients at night, but the new hospital can.
Last year, 15,000 Livingston Parish residents drove to Baton Rouge to go to one of the hospitals, Parrish said. The hospital system also has two clinics in the parish, one in the town of Livingston and one in Denham Springs. The two care for 7,000 patients. She also said a 2022 survey showed nearly 60 percent of parish residents said they would prefer to go to Baton Rouge General for health care over other places.
“We see a lot of Livingston patients in Baton Rouge and some in Ascension,” said Baton Rouge CEO Edgardo Tenreiro. “There is a need.”
Several years ago, Baton Rouge General developed a strategy for neighborhood hospitals, starting with Ascension Neighborhood Hospital in 2020.
Tenreiro said the hospital in Livingston will be similar to the one in Ascension Parish. But the team is learning from the Ascension site by making changes to Livingston’s plan, such as buying a larger piece of land in case of future expansion, Tenreiro said.