Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne praised the state-of-the-art North Oaks
Medical Center expansion at an open house attended by nearly 1,000 community
members on Thursday, Nov. 29. The event was held from 5-7 p.m. to showcase
the new 5-story wing before it opens for patient care.
“I commend the North Oaks Medical Center family for seeing this
vital expansion to fruition,” Dardenne noted in his keynote address.
“The people of Hammond and the surrounding communities are fortunate
to have this facility in their area."
Attendees were able to see firsthand how North Oaks is taking health care
in a new direction with more privacy, the latest technology and expert
staff. The new wing houses 95 additional private rooms and will take the
hospital to 330 total patient beds. It also features fourteen high-tech
operating suites, eleven additional same day surgery beds, 25 additional
telemetry beds and a surgical intensive care unit. A customized orthopaedic
and neurosurgery floor features a gym for patient rehabilitation.
"These enhancements are making way for the growing number of North
Oaks surgeons providing care in the region and the advanced, complex procedures
they perform," affirms James E. Cathey Jr., President/Chief Executive
Officer of North Oaks Health System.
As guests arrived, the Livingston Parish Children’s Choir Chorale
performed Christmas carols. In addition to Dardenne’s address, a
ribbon-cutting program included: an invocation offered by the Rev. David
K. Seid, OP, of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ponchatoula; the Louisiana
Air National Guard 236
thCombat Communications Squadron serving as Color Guard; the National Anthem
performed by Alexis Marceaux who recently competed on NBC’s
The Voice; and a benediction offered by the Rev. Samuel Brown, who is senior pastor
of the Greater Mt. Vernon and Mt. Pleasant Churches in Hammond.
The close of the ribbon-cutting program was punctuated by the arrival
of Santa Claus escorted by the Hammond Fire Department at which point
guests were invited to tour the new tower and enjoy a host of holiday
activities. Attractions included free health screenings, cookies and hot
chocolate, door prize drawings, a children’s train ride, outdoor
snow flurries, photos with Santa, the jazz stylings of the Reggie Sanders
Trio, an autograph session and caroling with Alexis Marceux, and a canned
good collection drive for local food pantries.
North Oaks Medical Center is located at 15790 Paul Vega, MD, Drive in Hammond.
For more information, call North Oaks Corporate Communications at (985) 230-6647.