Louisiana

Steward Healthcare under fire by Louisiana legislators for causing the downfall of Glenwood Regional Medical Center

Published

2 years ago

April 11, 2024

Steward Healthcare under fire by Louisiana legislators for causing the downfall of Glenwood Regional Medical Center

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Officials with the Louisiana Department of Health suggested Glenwood Regional Medical Center is a “financially distressed hospital” in a dire situation. The hospital’s services continue to decline due to mismanagement by its parent company Steward Healthcare.

After being put on immediate jeopardy status three times in a 120-day period, Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe is facing a major fallout that could be detrimental to the residents of Northeast Louisiana.

On Tuesday, April 9, Louisiana legislators raised questions and concerns about the hospital and its parent company during a Health and Welfare Committee hearing. In the hearing, Representative Michael Echols (R- District 14) is heard asking Glenwood’s interim CEO, Jonathan Turton, “Do you feel personally responsible for any deaths or declining care at your facility?” Turton then responded “Yes.”

Turton not only confirmed that deaths have occurred because of Steward Healthcare’s mismanagement, but he also highlighted the immoral actions of Glenwood’s parent company.

Rep. Michael Echols asked Turton, “Do you feel it’s wrong for those executives to steal from the organization and not funnel the resources you need to care for patients?” A long pause is heard before Rep. Echols follows up with, “That’s a yes or no, is that wrong?” Turton responded by saying “Yes.”

One former employee was emotional during her testimony as she accused Steward Healthcare of lying to the community. She listed the facilities that have closed since Steward took over five years ago.

The Women’s Center, Labor and delivery unit, skilled nursing facilities, Long-term acute care (LTAC), one medical surge unit, one critical care unit, the rehab center, and the imaging center have all ceased to exist under Steward Healthcare’s management.

“So whenever they go to the public and they tell them ‘we’re operating in full force’, there’s nothing full force about this hospital anymore, it’s the saddest thing I’ve ever been around,” the former employee said.

The former employee also mentioned how she had been in the process of treating patients when she found out that they no longer had a $5 piece of equipment in stock to complete the procedures.

In an interview, Rep. Echols said the Executive greed and corruption is unacceptable.

“It’s just a big Ponzi scheme. They bought an asset, they shuffled the asset to another entity, they then in turn, have cash flow moving to an operating entity, they loot that entity, and then try to hold the community hostage with the asset being another separately held resource. And so that, to me, is the criminal nature of this. It’s very structured, it’s very organized. And this has happened not only in our community but multiple communities across America,” Echols said.

Beyond not allocating money to provide resources and staffing necessary to operate, the hospital is also facing the potential of losing its license with the Louisiana Department of Health since it continues to violate compliance.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have put Glenwood on a “termination track”. If Glenwood is unable to get off that track before June 11, it will lose the ability to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments. Since Medicare and Medicaid are a large portion of the money the hospital brings in, this would ultimately shut down the facility.

Rep. Echols believes the actions of Steward Healthcare officials are “killings and maiming” patients that come to its hospitals.

“When I accuse these people of being healthcare terrorists, I mean it,” Echols said.

Echols said the nurses and doctors who are currently still working at Glenwood are doing everything they can to keep the hospital afloat, however, they’re dealing with a corporate monster.

“I’m pissed. I’m pissed that my constituents are getting hurt and I’m going to do everything within my power working with the Attorney General, the civil and any other authorities that I can to ensure that these injustices are made to be just,” Echols said.

KNOE reached out to Glenwood’s spokesperson and interim CEO, as well as Steward Healthcare for comment. Neither have responded.

As for right now, the quality of care is continuing to dwindle as KNOE’s investigations have revealed over the last five months.

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Louisiana

Louisiana pastor convicted of abusing teenage congregant

Published

16 minutes 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

12 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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