Residents of Beauregard Parish and the surrounding areas will have access to two updated medical departments by 2026.

Beauregard Health System, 600 S. Pine S. in DeRidder, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for their highly anticipated expanded emergency department on Friday, May 17. This celebration marks the first steps for two new facilities at Beauregard Health System: the expanded Emergency Center and the new Beauregard Health System Women’s Center.

Traci Thibodeaux, chief executive officer of Beauregard Health System, said they began developing these projects five years ago in response to a need for larger facilities and more resources. She said the mood at the ground-breaking was “exhilarating.”

“Our staff deserves this. Our community deserves this. Women’s health deserves this.”

Beauregard Health’s current emergency room facilities are “busting at the seams.” Annually, over 20,000 come through the ER. The facilities were built to accommodate only 13,000.

The Emergency Department will double the size and number of treatment rooms, and will feature two triage exam rooms, two trauma suites, nursing stations and an en suite CT scan room. She said that the CT room will expedite the diagnosis process for many patients relying on the ER.

“When you’re dealing with potential stroke patients and heart attacks, time is brain and time is muscle. The faster we can get that scan and get a diagnosis, we can effectively treat the patient.”

The new Women’s Health Center that will be built on the hospital’s third floor is also a critical need, she said.

Poor maternal health outcomes before, during and after birth. According to The Century Foundation – an independent think tank — the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, which is several times higher than other industrialized countries. For Black women, the maternal mortality rate is three times higher.

“In this day and age, with technology and the advancement we have, to have mothers dying in the birthing process is unacceptable,” Thibodeaux said. “Our focus on women’s health, our investment in women’s health means we won’t be part of that statistic.”

The Women’s Center will have labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites so that expectant mothers are comfortable and well-provided for during birth and recovery.

In 2019, Beauregard Health started applying for rural development funding from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA money was the primary source of funding, but the hospital did also find local partnerships with B1 Bank and First National Bank DeRidder.

The total cost for both projects is $34 million. Beauregard offset the total cost by approximately $11 million with a combination of capital outlay from the state and new market tax credits.

 Thibodeaux said construction on the new facilities is expected to begin on June 14. They anticipate to have reached “substantial completion” by the end of 2025 “God and weather permitting.”

Beauregard Health System is a community, not-for-profit hospital. All profits are reinvested into the hospital and community, she said.