NMTC Case Study for Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans

Project

In 1996 the Daughters of Charity Service of New Orleans (DCSNO) was incorporated to perpetuate a Catholic presence in healthcare. A central purpose of DCSNO’s mission is to improve healthcare access for all New Orleanians, with a special interest in persons of
low-income or without health insurance by providing primary care and preventative health services.

DCSNO was expanding capacity at its current locations and assessing additional locations throughout the Greater New Orleans Region. The expansions and rehabilitation projects in Carrollton and St. Cecilia would exponentially increase clinical spaces, services and programs and resources for the community so that there was a place to promote health and wellness in some of the most underserved and vulnerable communities.

Community Outcomes

Carrollton

The DCSNO Carrollton project is an expansion of an existing community healthcare center. The expansion is a 2-story steel frame, brick veneer building. After completion, the existing and new building were adjoined for a total “under-roof” square footage of approximately 33,600 square feet. The first floor of the combined buildings houses primary outpatient medical services,
a pharmacy and behavioral health counseling services. The second floor accommodates outpatient clinics for dental and optometry services.

St. Cecilia

The DCSNO St. Cecilia project included the rehabilitation of an historic school building in the Bywater Historic District in the City’s Ninth Ward. It is on the current campus of the deconsecrated St. Cecilia Catholic Church. It is a 2-story masonry building of both wood and
steel framing with approximately 21,400 square feet. The interior of the building houses primary outpatient medical services, dental services, a pharmacy, and behavioral health counseling services.

Through the Carrollton and St. Cecilia healthcare centers, DSCNO provides services to 17,500 patients annually. Located in a Federal MUA, DSCNO partners and provides community outreach to 20 schools, 5 homeless shelters and 11 neighborhood centers, and the non-profit organization provides formal training experiences for approximately 125 residents and students for colleges throughout the region. In addition to its community services outcomes, the project supports 202 direct jobs, of which 140 are permanent jobs and 62 are construction jobs.

“For many people the closing of Charity Hospital and other facilities changed the way they received healthcare. We are committed to being an integral part of filling the primary care void those closures created. We offer people a community based medical home – one team, in one location. We will soon provide more services and more professionals in a new building that triples the facility we have now.”

– Michael Griffin, President/CEO of Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans