In Livingston Parish, the doctors are [almost] in

If you become really sick in Livingston Parish, you have to leave — and seek medical care in Baton Rouge or Hammond. True, a few primary care clinics have opened in recent years. But for anything more serious than the flu or common cold, you have to travel east or west to see a specialist, undergo tests or have any type of surgical procedure. That situation, however, is about to change. Hammond-based North Oaks Health System already has broken ground on a 47,000-square-foot complex that will be located off Interstate 12 at the Satsuma exit in the central part of the parish and will give patients access to a variety of outpatient diagnostic and treatment services. Just four miles to the west, Baton Rouge-based Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, meanwhile, is planning an outpatient diagnostic facility and freestanding emergency room that will be located off I-12 at the Walker exit. To read the full story, click here. — Stephanie Riegel