Southeast Louisiana Hospital fights to stay open
MANDEVILLE, La. -
Officials in southeast Louisiana are bracing for an increase in the region's mental health crisis as a hospital prepares to shut its doors in October.
The Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville is one of only three in-patient psychiatric facilities in Louisiana.
After 60 years of service, the hospital is facing closure and officials said its impact could be far-reaching, including more than 300 layoffs.
"Looking at it from just practicality, with all of us here, it impacts all of us, you have people on the street that really shouldn't be on the street," state Rep. Tim Burns, (R-Mandeville,) said. "One, obviously, I don't want to lose the jobs in my community, and second is the concern about how are these people going to be treated."
The hospital serves a lot more than just St. Tammany Parish. Should its doors close, experts said they fear chronically ill patients from several areas will flood emergency rooms and jails.
"It's going to have an impact. There's no question it will impact not only the sheriff's office in St. Tammany but everywhere because it is fewer beds in an already crisis situation," St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said. "As we are losing more and more services, from a law enforcement perspective, we're preparing for it to get even worse."
Patients housed at the hospital will likely move to Pineville and Jackson. Officials said they are currently working out the details.
Patient advocates said they aren't ready to throw in the towel yet.
"The representatives are there to represent us, our community. So if that is something as a community as a whole thinks that we need to have, then I think they should look into changing some things," said Nick Richard of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.