“I told Mike Cooper, I said, ‘The parish is going to continue to grow, and y’all (STHS) are the leading indicator of where the growth is,” Rep. Scalise said.
From there, he visited the health system’s new Be Well Bus, a 40-foot, mobile health clinic custom-designed to bring a variety of cancer screenings and other preventative health procedures directly into the community.
Noting how important it is that people return to the regular health screenings they may have neglected during the pandemic, Rep. Scalise said he worked to include $1 million to help cover the cost of the bus and its programs in the latest federal appropriations bill.
That bill, which recently cleared a key congressional committee, still must be approved by the full House, the Senate and the president, “but at least it’s in for now,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working to make sure it stays in.”
That was particularly welcome news to Coffman, who has been a key advocate of the Healthier Northshore initiative, which has brought together more than 50 business leaders, governmental agencies and other stakeholders in a concerted effort to improve local health metrics.
“Thank you so much for caring about the initiative that we’re working toward,” Coffman said. “We are very fortunate that we are able to meet our mission without a tax millage, but things like this certainly help us just really advance it.”
Wrapping up his Northshore visit, Rep. Scalise toured the St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center, a newly opened three-story facility at Interstate 12 and Highway 21 that leverages the partnership of STHS and Ochsner to offer local residents a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to cancer care without ever leaving their backyard.
By his own account, Rep. Scalise left impressed.
“We figured it was 2009 the last time I toured the hospital, and let me tell you, it’s a completely different place,” he said. “It’s just amazing all the growth and how well y’all have managed it.”