Although the hospital is two weeks inside the new fiscal year that began July 1, Rene Ragas, CEO of Our Lady of the Angels, said he still isn’t certain exactly what his budget is yet.

The uncertainty is due to the fact that state lawmakers were haggling until the very end of a special session in June to pass a budget that would fund the public/private hospital’s to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ satisfaction though not necessarily to the levels sought by hospital administrators. Though the budget was passed, hospital leaders still aren’t certain of specifics. Still, Ragas said he’s not worried.

“At this point the only update we have from the Department of Health and Hospitals is all of the partnerships are adequately funded and we should have line item budget specifics by the end of July.

“At this point it satisfies the anxiety that we have had and experienced over the last six months.”

In the meantime, Ragas said Our Lady is still looking at candidates to lead Riverside Medical Center in Franklinton. Last month the two hospitals signed a management agreement that stipulated that OLAH would takeover management duties of Riverside.

“We are actively interviewing candidates,” said Ragas.

The CEO said he expected that process would wrap up within several weeks.