Riverside Medical Center celebrated the groundbreaking of its cath lab Monday with a ceremony and reception.

CEO Dr. Kyle Magee welcomed staff members, hospital and public officials, community leaders and others assembled outside the hospital for the ceremony.

He said the work of many brought this project to fruition, and he expressed his appreciation to the Board of Commissioners, the administrative team and all those who provided assistance and guidance.

Chairman of Board Lionel Jones offered brief remarks, calling the cath lab “a big step forward” for Riverside, and then turned the first shovel-full of dirt in the official groundbreaking.

Speaking later, Magee said the cath lab will be used primarily to provide diagnostic services but will also have some interventional capacity.

For example, medical staff there will be able to diagnosis if someone needs a stint or determine if the chest pain the patient is experiencing is non-cardiac.

Magee said intervention will be done in areas such as the renal arteries for people who have high blood pressure associated with disease of the arteries in the kidney.

The facility will feature state-of-the-art equipment like that found in a cath lab in St. Tammany Parish or elsewhere, he said.

Additionally, it will be an open cath lab, able to be used by any cardiologist who completes the necessary application processes, Magee said.

The lab is being built onto the back of the hospital and will connect to a recovery area where people can go after their procedure is done, Magee said. It will be a 1,000-square-foot addition to the hospital, and the cath lab room will measure a little more than 400 square feet.

The work, being done by Louisiana Energy Sources Construction Co,. began Monday and is projected to last about 75 days, Magee said.

He said this is an exciting step for the hospital since there is no other place in Washington Parish where residents can go for this kind of cardiac and diagnostic testing.

He wants to see the cath lab fill a need for the entire parish and not just serve the Franklinton area, he added.