Louisiana

More than a quarter of Louisiana’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, new report says

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2024

More than a quarter of Louisiana’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, new report says

More than one in four of Louisianaâs rural hospitals are in precarious financial position and face the possibility of closure, according to a new report from a nationalÂ health care consulting firm.

Between 26% and 30% of Louisianaâs rural hospitals fall into the âvulnerable to closureâ category, according to the report from Chartis. The consultants said the threat of closure illustrates a critical weakening of the health care in non-urban areas where the need is often the most acute and many already face high hurdles to get care.

âAmericaâs rural safety net has been in crisis for 15 years,â the report concludes. âThe mission of the safety net to serve under-resourced communities is unraveling.â

The problems afflicting Louisianaâs rural health care providers are also being felt in other states. In Florida, Nebraska, Tennessee and North Carolina, 40% or more of their rural hospitals are vulnerable to closing, the report says. Nationwide, more than 400 rural hospitals are in danger of closing, about 20% of the nationwide total, the report notes.

Almost half of rural hospitals nationwide are operating at a deficit, the report adds, a key indicator of peril. That makes it harder to serve the rural residents for whom they exist.

âThe mission of these rural hospitals is to serve the underserved; no margin, no mission,â said Michael Topchik, one of the authors of the report.Â The problems appear to be accelerating.

âWhen we started looking at all those metrics we had been tracking for 15 years, we were like âholy cow,ââ Topchik said. âFifteen years ago, one-third were operating in the red. Now 50% are operating in the red.â

Other factors were also considered in determining whether a hospital was at risk, including patient mix and average daily census,Â Topchik said.

Last time Chartis performed the study, in 2020, they identified 453 hospitals vulnerable to closure, he said. Since then, 30 of those have closed.

âThings are dire and getting worse,â he said.

The challenges are something that Dr. Brian Galofaro, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Angels in Bogalusa, sees every day.

âMargins have always been kind of tight for rural hospitals,â he said.

Because rural populations tend to be poorer, health care providers in those areas depend more on Medicaid than many of their urban counterparts. With Medicaid as a chief source of revenue, many rural hospitals are on a razor’s edge.Â

In addition to low margins, many rural hospitals struggle to attract doctors. And more and more medical school graduates are opting for lucrative subspecialties instead of the general practice physicians needed in rural areas.

Some are attempting to address these issues.

Our Lady of the Angels hosts a rural family medicine resident program, where newly minted physicians spend three years working before they are able to go out on their own. Galofaro was the first graduate of the program. Five of its graduates have remainedin Bogalusa, he noted.

VCOM, a new medical school that opened in 2020 in a partnership with the University of Louisiana Monroe, is specifically geared to address the rural doctor shortage. Its first class is scheduled to graduate this spring. The school aims to graduate about 150 students per year.

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Louisiana

Louisiana pastor convicted of abusing teenage congregant

Published

4 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Louisiana pastor convicted of abusing teenage congregant

A Pentecostal pastor in Louisiana charged with sexually molesting a teenage girl in his church has been convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile – but was acquitted of the more serious crime of statutory rape.

Milton Otto Martin III, 58, faces up to seven years in prison and must register as a sex offender after a three-day trial in Chalmette, Louisiana, resulted in a guilty verdict against him on Thursday. His sentencing hearing is tentatively set for 15 January in the latest high-profile instance of religious abuse in the New Orleans area.

Authorities who investigated Martin, the pastor of Chalmette’s First Pentecostal Church, spoke with several alleged molestation victims of his. But the jury in his case heard from just two of them, and the charges on which he was tried pertained to only one.

That victim’s attorneys – John Denenea, Richard Trahant and Soren Gisleson – lauded their client for testifying against Martin even as members of the institution’s congregation showed up in large numbers to support him throughout the trial.

“That was the most courageous thing I’ve ever seen a young woman do,” the lawyers remarked in a statement, with Denenea saying it was the first time in his career he and a client of his needed deputies to escort them out the courthouse. “She not only made sure he was accountable for his crimes – she has also protected many other young women from this convicted predator.”

Neither Martin’s attorney, Jeff Hufft, nor his church immediately responded to requests for comment.

The documents containing Martin’s criminal charges alleged that he committed felony carnal knowledge, Louisiana’s formal name for statutory rape, by engaging in oral sex with Denenea’s client when she was 16 in about 2011. The indecent behavior was inflicted on her when she was between the ages of 15 and 17, the charging documents maintained.

A civil lawsuit filed against Martin in parallel detailed how he would allegedly bring the victim – one of his congregants – out on four-wheeler rides and sexually abuse her during breaks that they took during the excursions.

The accuser, now about 30, reported Martin to Louisiana state police before he was arrested in March 2023. Other accusers subsequently came forward with similar allegations dating back further. Martin made bail, pleaded not guilty and underwent trial beginning on Tuesday in front of state court judge Darren Roy.

Denenea said he believed his client’s testimony on Wednesday was pivotal in Martin’s conviction, which was obtained by prosecutors Barry Milligan and Erica Moore of the Louisiana attorney general’s office, according to the agency.

As Denenea put it, it seemed to him Martin’s acquittal stemmed from uncertainty over whether the accuser initially reported being 16 at the time of the alleged carnal knowledge.

State attorney general Liz Murrill said in a statement that it was “great work” my Milligan and Moore “getting justice for this victim”.

“We will never stop fighting to protect the children of Louisiana,” Murrill said.

Martin was remanded without bail to the custody of the local sheriff’s office to await sentencing after the verdict.

The lawsuit that Denenea’s client filed against Martin was stayed while the criminal case was unresolved. It can now proceed, with the plaintiff accusing the First Pentecostal church of doing nothing to investigate earlier sexual abuse claims against Martin.

The plaintiff also accused the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowships to which the Chalmette church belonged of failing to properly supervise Martin around children, and her lawsuit demands damages from both institutions.

Martin’s prosecution is unrelated to the clergy molestation scandal that drove the Roman Catholic archdiocese of nearby New Orleans into federal bankruptcy court in 2020 – but the two cases do share a few links.

State police detective Scott Rodrigue investigated Martin after also pursuing the retired New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, a serial child molester who had been shielded by his church superiors for decades. Rodrigue’s investigation led to Hecker’s arrest, conviction and life sentence for child rape – shortly before his death in December 2024.

Furthermore, Denenea, Trahant and Gisleson were also the civil attorneys for the victim in Hecker’s criminal case.

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Louisiana

This Japanese partnership will advance carbon capture in Louisiana

Published

16 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Newlab New Orleans is deepening its energy-tech ambitions with a new partnership alongside JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, to accelerate next-generation carbon capture solutions for heavy industries across Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, The Center Square writes.

The collaboration brings JERA Ventures into Newlab’s public-private innovation hub, where startups gain access to lab space and high-end machinery to commercialize technologies aimed at cutting emissions and improving industrial efficiency.

The move builds momentum as Newlab prepares to open its fifth global hub next fall at the former Naval Support Activity site, adding New Orleans to a network that includes Riyadh and Detroit. JERA’s footprint in Louisiana is already growing—from a joint venture on CF Industries’ planned $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant to investments in solar generation and Haynesville shale assets—positioning the company as a significant player in the state’s clean-energy transition.

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Louisiana

Fed’s ‘Catahoula Crunch’ finished its first week in Louisiana

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Federal immigration authorities are keeping a tight lid on key details as “Catahoula Crunch” closes its first week in southeast Louisiana, Verite writes.

The operation—one of Department of Homeland Security’s largest recent urban crackdowns—began with raids at home-improvement stores and aims for 5,000 arrests, according to plans previously reviewed by the Associated Press. While DHS publicly highlighted arrests of immigrants with violent criminal records, AP data shows fewer than one-third of the 38 detainees in the first two days had prior convictions.

Meanwhile, advocacy groups report widespread fear in Hispanic communities, with residents avoiding hospitals, schools, workplaces and even grocery stores amid sightings of federal agents.

Business impacts are already visible: restaurants and Hispanic-serving corridors like Broad Street appear unusually quiet, with staff shortages forcing menu cuts and temporary closures. School absenteeism has doubled in Jefferson Parish, and protests have spread across New Orleans and surrounding suburbs as local leaders demand transparency around federal tactics.

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