Now open: The Spine Hospital of Louisiana has announced the completed construction of a new state-of-the-art operating room that is part of a $5 million project to expand the hospital. The new operating room is 1,000 square feet and is located on the fifth floor of The NeuroMedical Center at Perkins Rowe. The operating room is equipped with two, 60-inch wall-mounted monitors for the visualization of X-ray images and increased viewing capacity to guide surgery. In addition to the operating room, the phase two construction also includes the addition of six patient bays and an expanded waiting area. The Spine Hospital completed phase one in October, which included the addition of 14 patient bays, two new treatment suites and and 20 clinical team members.
On the way down: Initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Jan. 21 decreased to 2,458 from the previous week’s total of 2,877, according to the latest data from the Louisiana Workforce Commission. For the comparable week a year ago, 2,658 initial claims were filed. The four-week moving average, the less volatile measure of claims, increased to 2,474 from the previous week’s average of 2,382. Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending Jan. 21 decreased to 22,654 from the previous week’s total of 23,365. Continued weeks claimed were above the comparable figure of 22,643 for the week ending Jan. 23, 2016. Read the full report.
Plus two: Louisiana gained two active rigs this week, bringing the state’s total tally of oil and gas rigs to 53, according to Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes. For the comparable week one year ago, there were 51 active rigs in Louisiana. This week, the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 18 to 712, The Associated Press reports. Last week, there were 694 rigs. A year ago, 619 rigs were actively exploring for oil and gas in the U. S. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May at 404.
