By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

LULING – Members of the St. Charles Parish Council were on hand Friday to witness the groundbreaking Friday for a 54,000 square foot addition to St. Charles Parish Hospital.

Parish President Albert Laque spoke shortly at the groundbreaking, noting what an achievement the addition is for St. Charles and its residents.

&#8220This is another great day for St. Charles Parish,” Laque said. &#8220The residents of our parish should feel good knowing we have a first class facility here and everybody can be proud of it.”

The new wing, which is scheduled to take approximately15 months to complete,

will feature an intensive care unit, a cardiology department and a psychiatric unit, according to the project’s architect Clyde Carroll, who was also on hand for the groundbreaking.

Construction on the new wing is expected to begin within the month, Carroll said.