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“No former elected official, including a legislator, no former member of a board or commission, nor agency head for two years shall assist another person for compensation in connection with a transaction, or render service on a contractual basis for or be employed/ appointed to any position involving the agency by which he or she was formerly employed or in which he/she formerly held office.” (LA Rev Stat § 42:1121)
“…Kristy Nichols is leaving the public sector to become Ochsner Health System’s vice president of government and corporate affairs, the Jindal administration announced today.” (Baton Rouge Business Report, Sept. 15, 2015)
So Nichols will be going to work for Ochsner as a lobbyist. And while state law precludes her lobbying the legislative or executive branches for two years, there appears to be no prohibition to her lobbying local governments (parishes and municipalities) on the part of Ochsner.
Kristy, anticipating the end of her boss’s rocky tenure in January, found her own golden parachute at Ochsner. We don’t know her salary at Ochsner, but we’re guessing it’ll be six figures. Taken at face value, that would normally be the end of the story.
But with this gang, there’s always more than meets the eye. And thanks to our friend C.B. Forgotston who helped us connect the dots, we’re able to shed a little more light into how she parlayed three years of repeated budget crises into such a high-profile private sector job.
Remember the great state hospital privatization fiasco and the contract with 50 blank pages? http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130602/INFO/306029998
The contract obligated the state to long-term spending obligations that will extend decades beyond the Jindal years. Let’s ignore for the moment the fact that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has yet to approve the deal. Instead, let’s explore the Nichols-Ochsner connection.
It was two years ago that the LSU Board of Supervisors signed off on that contract to hand over operation of state-owned hospitals in Lake Charles, Houma, Shreveport and Monroe. The blank pages were supposed to have contained lease terms. Instead, the LSU board left those minor details to the Jindal administration (read: Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols).
Eventually details about the contracts emerged, including that of the Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma. And, thanks to the Louisiana Public Affairs Research Council, that is where we’re able to bring the picture into focus.
Leonard Chabert Medical Center was opened in 1978 as a 96-bed facility with 802 employees but by the time it was privatized, it was down to 63 beds.
In 2008, a hospital-based accredited Internal Medicine residency program was begun. In 2011, the hospital’s revenue was 47 percent uncompensated care for the uninsured, 29.5 percent Medicaid, 13 percent Medicare, 5.5 percent state general fund and 6 percent interagency transfer from other departments with only 1 percent being self-generated.
When the Jindal administration moved to unload state hospitals, Chabert was partnered with Southern Regional Medical Corp., a nonprofit entity whose only member is Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC).
TGMC was slated to manage Chabert with assistance with a company affiliated with (drum roll)…..Ochsner Health System, Louisiana’s largest private not-for-profit health system with eight hospitals and 40 health centers statewide.
So what were the terms of the agreement? Five years with an automatic renewal after the first year in one-year increments to create a rolling five-year term.
Though Southern Regional is not required to pay rent under terms of the agreement, the Terrebonne Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 is required to make annual intergovernmental transfers of $17.6 million to the Medicaid program for Southern Regional and its affiliates. Here are the TERMS OF THE OCHSNER DEAL AT LEONARD CHABERT MEDICAL CENTER
Here’s the kicker: the cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) calls for supplemental payments of $31 million to Ochsner. It’s no wonder the Houma Daily Courier described the deal as “a valuable asset to Ochsner’s network of hospitals” and that the deal “expands Ochsner’s business profile.”
Between 2009 and 2013, Ochsner’s revenue doubled from $900 million to $1.8 billion and the deal only means more revenue for Ochsner, the Daily Courier said. http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20140325/articles/140329692?p=3&tc=pg
We’re certain it’s just coincidence that the LSU Board signed off on a blank contract that the Jindal administration would fill in after the fact.
And it’s just by chance that Kristy Nichols, as Commissioner of Administration, was responsible for that task.
And of course it was just happenstance that Ochsner received that $31 million payment and a mere two years later, just as her reign at DOA was ending, saw the need to bring Kristy aboard as vice president of government and corporate affairs.
So there you have it. All you have to do is follow the money.
Louisiana Voice 
So, Tom, do you have any idea exactly to whom at Ochsner, we should all send our letters of complaint? I was going to wait until my Primary Care Physician at Ochsner retired to bail on Ochsner in favor of Touro, but this is more than I can bear. I am sure I am not alone in feeling this way.
One reader provided a name and address in yesterday’s post. Check the comments to that story.
From an earlier post/comment:
We have a choice of healthcare providers and insurers, and the best way to register displeasure with this really poor choice of VP (no doubt very handsomely compensated) is to send a written note to the CEO of Ochsner Health System telling him you plan to change plans during the upcoming open enrollment period, and why. Money talks. OHS is a non-profit but believe me, money still talks with them.
Below is contact information – all that could be found on any Ochsner website AND by telephone. The names of anyone in the administration of Ochsner Health System will not be found online. It took almost a half hour on the phone to find out the name of the CEO – WARNER THOMAS, who is not a medical doctor. No one wanted to give out that information, and I had to explain that CEO means “top person in charge,” “number one executive,” etc. I was told the only way to contact Mr. Warner Thomas was by mail at the Jefferson address and the person on the phone actually gave me an incorrect mailing address (I already had the correct address below from the website.).
Warner Thomas, CEO
Ochsner Health System
1514 Jefferson Highway
Jefferson , LA 70121
504-842-3000
Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge
17000 Medical Center Dr
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Ochsner has had a relationship with Chabert for over thirty years regarding Medical education.
So Kristy bought herself a cushy pad for a soft landing at taxpayer expense – what a revelation – a quid pro quo! Wonder where jindal has outplaced himself – since he has no job skills, has never held a real job in his life, and his prospects seem a little dim right now. (Maybe he’ll bake cookies in the new mansion while Supriya goes back to work as an engineer.)
At the end of every administration the governor’s functionaries always find nice new gigs (Stephen Waguespack heads up LABI now; Michael DiResto went to the BR Chamber some time ago, and several other key staff have already gone byebye). But this is beyond the pale and the Attorney General is powerless to do anything about it. With federal dollars in play, maybe the U.S Attorney will take a look.
Louisiana has been taken for everything we are worth by this corrupt cabal. We will pay for jindal’s impossible dream for year s to come, but it needs to stop at footing the bill for the parade of departures of his people.
I know, everybody’s got to eat, but does it always have to be Louisiana citizens’ lunch?
Well said earthmother!
Louisiana citizens need to own our part in all of this. Jindal has been feeding at the public teat since he graduated college, citizens in this state elected him, not once, twice! Those who chose to not vote, you voted for Jindal.
He is like Teflon, he breaks the laws, the constitution and NO one stands up to him. Now, he is apparently not popular but this state still has to take some responsibility for not fighting him harder. The AG is a joke. The Legislative body, with few exceptions, abdicated their power to Jindal and never took it back. Every thing he did to privatize public education and our state hospital system has been detrimental to both, no one stood in his way.
How many of these Legislators will win re election, easily? Too many! So, as citizens of this state, this Bayou/Sportsman’s Paradise, why do we just sit back and buy every lie we are told? How long will this state remain RED when clearly, republicans do not do right by us. We started 2008 with an unemployment rate of 3.8% and by the time Jindal finished his first term, we were above the national average. While nationally the numbers have dropped to a little over 5%, our states is at 7% or there about. Yet you don’t hear a word from the state media. Awkward.
OCHSNER HEALTH SYSTEM Non-Profit Corporation NEW ORLEANS Active
Previous Names
Business: OCHSNER HEALTH SYSTEM
Charter Number: 36228431N
Registration Date: 7/17/2006
Domicile Address
1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Mailing Address
C/O B. C. BRANNON
1514 JEFFERSON HWY., BH543
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Status
Status: Active
Annual Report Status: In Good Standing
File Date: 7/17/2006
Last Report Filed: 7/6/2015
Type: Non-Profit Corporation
Registered Agent(s)
Agent: B. C. BRANNON
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Appointment Date: 7/17/2006
Officer(s) Additional Officers: Yes
Officer: JOSE SUSQUET
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: WILLIAM H. HINES
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: SUZANNE T. MESTAYER
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: PEDRO CAZABON, M.D.
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: F. RALPH DAUTERIVE, M.D.
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: RICHARD DEICHMANN, M.D.
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: DENNIS KAY, M.D.
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: R. PAKER LECORGNE
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: GEORGE LOSS, M.D., PH.D.
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: JAMES MAURIN
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
I stand corrected, du chicot – it never occurred to me to look at the Secretary of State’s website to find the registered officers of the corporation. (Not being business-oriented, more public info oriented.) I plumbed the consumer-patient oriented websites and could find no names. Lesson learned, that will save a lot of time on my next research project. 🙂
Name Type City Status
OCHSNER HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. Business Corporation NEW ORLEANS Inactive
Previous Names
Business: OCHSNER HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.
Charter Number: 34534762D
Registration Date: 8/6/1996
Domicile Address
1514 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Mailing Address
C/O BOBBY BRANNON
1514 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Status
Status: Inactive
Inactive Reason: Voluntary Action
File Date: 8/6/1996
Last Report Filed: 8/29/2013
Type: Business Corporation
Registered Agent(s)
Agent: CRISTINA R. WHEAT, ESQ.
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Appointment Date: 12/27/2000
Officer(s) Additional Officers: No
Officer: STEPHEN BARDOT
Title: Director
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HWY.
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: PATRICK QUINLAN, M.D.
Title: President
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Officer: WARNER THOMAS
Title: Secretary/Treasurer
Address 1: 1514 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY
City, State, Zip: NEW ORLEANS, LA 70121
Amendments on File (4)
Description Date
Domicile, Agent Change or Resign of Agent 9/8/1999
Notice of Dissolution 12/13/2001
Liquidators Certificate 12/27/2001
Dissolution 7/17/2014
Is it bad when you read this and none of it surprises you?
This article and Brenda Traylor’s comments above are exactly why after spending 8 years of retirement here in Louisiana my wife and I have decided to leave and find a better place to live. Bobby Jindal and his Republican cohorts have destroyed a state that was already in decline. Yet, the majority of the people continue to vote for them. I think it can be defined by the term ignorance or an attitude of indifference.
I have lived in Louisiana my whole life, if the opportunity presents itself, I will leave this state, certainly don’t plan to retire here. It was much different when I was growing up, our parents were savvier or cared more, they didn’t “follow” the herd. We have become an apathetic, ignorant people. This is the what the rest of our country would look like if the Koch Brothers Agenda is allowed to continue unabated. Very sad!
Hello Tom & All – Below is my letter that is in the snail mail (they don’t make it easy, do they?) to the 15 heads/CEOs at Ochsner to protest Kristy Nichol’s appointment. Feel free to borrow, everyone. Tom, do let us know if you hear any good word from Ochsner that they are reconsidering their horrendous decision. Thanks.
September 20, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with those authorities at the Ochsner Health System who have made the highly questionable decision to hire Kristy Nichols, the current Commissioner of the Division of Administration for Governor Jindal, as a future lobbyist for Ochsner. In the position that Ms. Nichols has held for the past several years, she has repeatedly authored & executed outrageous budgetary practices that have placed the state of Louisiana in the dire financial straights in which it lies today.
While Ms. Nichols’ many irresponsible transgressions as head of LADOA are far too numerous to list, I will mention several healthcare related disasters for which Ms. Nichols was responsible. First & foremost among these was her decision to cut health insurance premiums for state employees (as well as the portion paid by the state of Louisiana’s budget) between 2011 & 2013, as health costs were rising nation-wide, & against the advice of state financial advisors, Buck Consultants, which led to the rapid loss of most of the $500 million reserve fund balance for the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) & the subsequent destruction of the formerly excellent state employee health insurance program. Because of her actions, state employees now have higher premiums, expensive out-of-pocket charges, high deductibles, & low coverage rates applied for virtually all health procedures, including many that used to be 100% covered standard preventive care.
Ms. Nichols also oversaw the privatization of the state hospital system which has resulted in severe shortages of access to affordable healthcare for the citizens of Louisiana. In addition, according to the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office, she failed to account for $335 million in increased spending by the Department of Health & Hospitals (DHH). Among her many detrimental & heartless budget cuts in 2014, was a massive cut of $131.8 million from DHH which included a loss of $308,213 for the Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities.
Most recently, I have learned from Mr. Tom Aswell’s online journal, the Louisiana Voice, Ochsner has benefitted immensely from Ms. Nichols’ decision to provide a 5-year $31 million contract to Ochsner to help manage the now privatized Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma, just as she prepares to join your staff as a lobbyist. Even if this maneuver is somehow legal, it certainly seems to represent a textbook case of a conflict-of-interest between a government official & a business entity under that official’s jurisdiction.
I know that many state employees & other citizens of Louisiana share my outrage at Ochsner’s recent decision to extend this job appointment to Ms. Nichols under such questionable circumstances. I am hopeful that Ochsner will rethink the wisdom of this decision before it is too late. In view of Ms. Nichols’ poor record as a leader in government administration as related to healthcare, her appointment here is not likely to be beneficial to Ochsner, & certainly not likely to be beneficial to its patients. I first came as a patient to Ochsner in 1972, & I have patronized Ochsner for all of my medical needs since 1993. However, I cannot, in good conscience, continue to do so if Ochsner sees fit to operate in this manner. I prevail upon you & all other authorities at Ochsner to do the right thing & reverse this ill-advised decision.
Ochsner has had a relationship with Chabert medical center for over thirty years regarding medical education.