LUTCHER — St. James Parish Hospital recently welcomed the Poche Medical Clinic, under the medical expertise of Doctors Jerry and Randall Poche, to the growing hospital family. Effective June 1, the Poche Medical Clinic will be owned and operated by St. James Parish Hospital.
At this time, patients can expect the same quality care from the Poche Medical Clinic in the same well-known location. The transition to a hospital-owned clinic will begin with
a conversion to a new billing system and accounting structure. During this time, patients can expect to have to fill out new forms and update their personal information for the new computer system.   
According to Kassie St. Pierre, marketing director for St. James Parish Hospital, the change is a positive progression for the Poche Medical Clinic’s patients, physicians and the hospital. As a hospital-owned clinic, the hospital will be responsible for managing the increasing administrative and regulatory duties that result from the changing healthcare environment, leaving the doctors even more time and energy to care for their patients.
From the hospital’s perspective, owning physician clinics allows the hospital to more easily expand its focus on quality throughout the entire spectrum of patient care — from the family physician office to the hospital bed. In addition, the more integrated hospital and physicians become, the better they are able to care for the community by offering a more stable healthcare environment that better prepares the hospital and physicians for changes related to healthcare reform.
“We feel this is a great partnership that will provide many benefits to both the physicians and the hospital, but most importantly to the community we serve. As a team we can work together to ensure that we can continue to offer the very best medical care for St. James Parish’” said Mary Ellen Pratt, hospital CEO.
St. James Parish Hospital is a Joint Commission Accredited, full-service facility providing excellent, quality and compassionate healthcare to the community since 1955. For more information about the services provided by the hospital, visit www.sjph.org or call 225.869.5512.