From the Heart: ‘A new era at St. Tammany Health System’

Thursday, April 29, 2021 | Vol. 2, No. 4

‘A new era at St. Tammany Health System’

At any other moment in history, there would have been a big to-do. There would have been balloons, confetti, crowds – the whole kit and kaboodle.

Alas, with COVID-19 still present in our community, and in deference to limitations on indoor gatherings, the unveiling this month of St. Tammany Health System’s new four-story patient tower was a much more modest, generally kaboodle-less affair.

But even if the celebration was small, that doesn’t mean the expansion is any less of a big deal for the people of St. Tammany Parish.

One of the biggest expansions in the hospital’s 67-year history, it adds 30 critical-care beds and 40 medical-surgical beds. Even better: The addition of those new beds allows for every room in the hospital to become a private one.

“At the end of the day, what it means is a new era at St. Tammany Health System,” STHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrick Torcson said.

That’s something to be excited about. Just to make sure you, our friends and neighbors, get to share in the excitement, we’ve assembled a virtual ribbon-cutting for you to enjoy.

You’ll find it in the video below, followed by other news and notes from St. Tammany Health System.

Thank you for being part of our continuing journey.

Virtual ribbon-cutting

Join us as we christen the long-awaited new addition to our Covington hospital campus, a new patient care tower that is chock-a-block with the sort of technology and innovation upon which St. Tammany Health System has built its reputation over the past 67 years.

Meet STHS’s ‘Five Old Men’

If you’ve ever walked down the Radiology hallway at St. Tammany Health System’s Covington hospital, you’ve undoubtedly seen them. You might have even wondered out loud about them.

They are five distinguished-looking gentlemen, all in various stages of balding or graying, who stare back at visitors from a series of reverential portraits. It’s obvious from the portraits’ prominent positioning that each man was important or beloved or both – but who are these guys, anyway?

They are the Five Old Men of St. Tammany Health System, and each had a part to play in its long history.

These are their stories.

Read the full story

Oops, we did it again

Once again, St. Tammany Health System has earned national honors, landing on the Women’s Choice Award list of the Best 100 Hospitals for Patient Experience among medium-sized hospitals and health systems. What does that mean, exactly? Click the link to learn more.

6 tips for getting back into shape

You know that “quarantine 15” everybody was talking about at the height of the COVID lockdown? Turns out, many people gained far more than 15 pounds. But there are steps you can take to get back to your pre-COVID weight, according to STHS’s Dr. Christopher Foret.

Is your teen getting enough sleep?

According to experts, the unique changes and stresses experienced by teenagers call for eight to 10 hours of sleep a night. Unfortunately, studies have found that nearly 69% of American high school students aren’t getting close to that. So what’s a concerned parent to do? Marla C. Rabalais of the STHS Parenting Center has some advice.

Foundation lands vital cancer grant

As work continues on the new cancer center we’re building with our partners at Ochsner Health near the intersection of Highway 21 and Interstate 12 – and which is expected to open this summer – our St. Tammany Hospital Foundation has secured a $20,000 grant to make sure local patients have access to the care they need.

St. Tammany Health System