St. Charles Parish Hospital Board Meeting - February 26, 2026
St. Charles Parish Hospital Board Meeting - February 26, 2026
The meeting was called to order at 4:45 PM on February 26, 2026, with board members Karen Raymond, Timothy Vall, and Pamela Smith present. A public hearing was held but no members of the public addressed the board. The meeting included special recognition of the Employee of the Month, an executive session, approval of prior minutes, medical staff credentialing, quality and financial reports, and a CEO update. Key decisions included unanimous approval of minutes and credentialing recommendations, and the next meeting was scheduled for March 25, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public addressed the board during the public hearing.
Special Recognition
- Gordon, a nurse on the med/surg step-down unit, was recognized as Employee of the Month. He was commended for his expertise, team support, and patient care. Gordon also serves as a nursing professor at Chamberlain University.
Discussion Items
- Medical Staff Credentialing: Dr. Morales presented the Medical Executive Committee (MEC) report from February 10, 2026. The MEC recommended approval of 10 physicians, 1 advanced practice provider, 3 resignations, 2 provisional reviews, 1 change of category, 1 additional provision, 1 additional privileges, and 25 reappointments. The board approved the credentialing package unanimously.
- Quality and Patient Experience Report: The report highlighted 375 days since the last hospital-acquired event. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) showed improvement: HCAP scores reached 65 (up from 50), med practices scored 93 (just below top decile), outpatient and ED scores were in the top decile (93 and 77 respectively), and ambulatory surgery scores also top decile. Clinic quality metrics were mostly green, with a few red items attributed to small January sample sizes.
- Financial Report: January 2026 results showed 764 infusion treatments (12% above budget, 25% above prior year) and therapy volumes 1.5% above budget, 10% above prior year. Total operating revenues exceeded budget by 6.6%, resulting in income from operations $610,000 above budget.
- CEO Report:
- A moment of quality was shared: staff arranged transportation for a patient whose car battery died on a cold morning, allowing her to complete her scheduled procedure without rescheduling prep.
- The med/surg department won the Rising Star award for largest NPS growth across all AUC hospital facilities.
- New hires: Dr. Catherine Dyer (hospitalist) accepted position starting July 27, 2026; Dr. Jacqueline Atala (rheumatologist) and her sister Dr. Natalie Atala will start July 27, 2026; Dr. Bartholomew (primary care) will start April 2026 at the Luling practice.
- Dr. McGee, a new general surgeon, has ramped up and is performing many surgeries.
- The lab passed a CAP survey with only three minor findings.
- Radiology services (mammography, CT, MRI) experienced significant growth; MRI availability nearly doubled by hiring multimodality techs for cross-training.
- The hospital celebrated 375 days without a hospital-acquired event.
- An upcoming auxiliary fundraiser aims to support scholarships; last year four scholarships were awarded (up from two).
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve the January 28, 2026 board minutes passed unanimously.
- Approval of Credentialing: Motion to approve medical staff credentialing as presented passed unanimously.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM.
- Adjournment: Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Oh my, I'm sorry that it was on. Good afternoon. Um this is a public hearing. Um, let me get straight out of the uh we're calling to order the uh St. Charles Parish Hospital meeting. Um let's stand and say the Pledge Allegiance, please. I pledge allegiance is a flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible with the reason justice draw. Okay. Uh let the record show that um Karen Raymond, Tim, Timothy Vall, and Pamela Smith are present. Okay. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to address the board on any of the agenda items for today, please come forward. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to address the board on any of the agenda items for today's meeting, please come forward. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to address the board on any of the agenda items for today's meeting, please come forward. Hearing none, public meeting is closed. Special recognition. Thank you, Miss Smith. Um, to start off, I'd like to do a little bit of recognization. I'd like to invite up Mr. Gordon to come up here to the podium, please. Sure. Happy to uh be here today with Gordon to recognize him for our employee of the month in St. Charles Parish Hospital. Gordon is uh one of our nurses and our med surgeon step down units, and he's really an expert in that area. Um, you know, Gordon was recognized for being a wonderful team in team member, always supporting um the staff there and always supporting our patients and really just being that expert that everyone relies on. Um in addition to being an amazing employee for us, Gordon is also a professor of nursing with Chamberlain and has many years of experience, and he brings that to the facility. Um he's a great peer. Um he he's wonderful to work with or with our providers, and just well respected across the facility. So really happy to be able to recognize Gordon as our employee of the month. So congratulations. Okay, come on, we'll go up and take a picture too. All right, let's go around. This hospital is a best kept secret. I've been a nurse for nearly 40 years and found out about it a year ago. Oh gosh. All right. You're gonna be in it, Penny. No, I uh like I said it's a best kept secret. I came here with an ICU nurse. We closed the ICU for obvious reasons. Our census was very low. I don't know how they were sustaining it as long as they did. And so now I moved upstairs. Most of the ICU nurses left, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm a staying hang around for at least two more years. I'm 66.
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