In March, residents in St. Martin Parish voted to approve a $14.5 million dollar bond to expand St. Martin Hospital, which is the only hospital in the parish. 

To get to the main entrance of St. Martin Hospital you have to drive through a residential area.

Karen Wyble the CEO of the hospital says this is already causing problems for the residents and hospital. It’s something they plan to address during construction of the expansion.

“We want to make sure when we design the hospital that we are developing with our community,” says Wyble. She says they are now working to make access to the hospital easier from the highway. 

“As we are seeing the I-10 corridor opening, we are looking at how we can access the hospital from a different angle. Where you come in today will essentially be the back side of the hospital,”  explains Wyble. “So you come through the boulevard, which means then we’d have to open up the boulevard. You would also be able to cut through the Old Breaux Bridge Highway, which is East Mills and Doyle Melancon, which is on the other side of the hospital, the backside. So what we are looking at and what we are working together with the city and parish president is how to ensure that our roadways expand with us.”

A ground breaking date for the expansions haven’t been set just yet.

They are working to design the hospital to cater to the needs of patients now and into the future as technology evolves.

Wyble says, “What we are looking at in our design, with terms of economic development, is to ensure the hospital meets the needs of our communities.”