Franklinton Hires New Chief of Police

Longtime Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse has retired and former State Police Major Olander Smith has been hired as the Town’s new chief.

Folse has been considering retirement for some time due to health issues and decided recently to do so.

Smith retired from the state police as commander of Region 1, which includes three state police troops. Earlier he had been commander of Troop L in Mandeville which serves Washington Parish and other nearby parishes. He had worked with the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Randy Seal following his retirement from the state police.

Folse had a long career in law enforcement. In addition to his service with the Franklinton Police Department, he also served with the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office. He served as former Chief of Police Lynn Armand’s captain when the police department was in its old building on Pearl Street. When Armand retired in late 1994, Folse was elevated to chief as of January 1, 2005.

Folse has said that overseeing law enforcement in Franklinton during and after Hurricane Katrina was among his greatest challenges as chief.

With Folse’s retirement and Smith’s appointment, Franklinton Mayor Wayne Fleming and the Board of Aldermen released a statement which said, in part:

“Chief Folse has done a tremendous job in leading the Franklinton Police Department to be recognized as one of the best in the state. We thank him for his 10-plus years of dedicated service at FPD to the citizens of our town and wish him nothing but the best.

“We are pleased to announce that Olander Smith will serve as our next Chief of Police. Chief Smith has over 30 years of experience with the Louisiana State Police. He has also worked with the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office during his career. He is well respected by the law enforcement community as well as the general public. We are confident he will continue to lead the department in a positive direction. At the request of Chief Smith, Chief Folse will assist in the transition.”

Former Chief of Police Donald Folse recently retired after 10-plus years of service to the citizens of Franklinton. During his tenure as chief, the Franklinton Police Department was named as the best department in the state on several occasions.

STPH holds grand opening for Family Medical Clinic

Family Medical Clinic opened its doors for a ribbon cutting and grand opening last Thursday, October 29 at its new location in Folsom. Officially known as STPN-Folsom, attendees received an up-close look at the new 6,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility built by St. Tammany Parish Hospital just 17 miles south of Franklinton.

An overflow crowd of people showed up for the grand opening of STPN-Folsom (St. Tammany Physicians Network-Folsom). With many Franklinton residents in attendance, the automatic doors had to be left open at one point to provide enough room for everyone. In addition to receiving a tour of the new facility, visitors were treated to boiled shrimp, pasta, an assortment of fruit, cake and punch.

"The response to the open house from the friends of Family Medical Clinic and the folks of Folsom and Western St. Tammany Parish was not only overwhelming but humbling," said Dr. Gerald Foret, founder of Family Medical Clinic in Franklinton.

STPN-Folsom, or Family Medical Clinic, is the only primary care provider in Folsom. Dr. Libeau Berthelot, Dr. Mark James and Dr. Christopher Foret bring over 75 years of experience with them as board-certified physicians. Their affiliation with STPH provides access to all resources the hospital system has to offer. The new clinic in Folsom has the same staff that was employed on their last day in Franklinton with the exception of one employee who accepted a position with STPH.

“I am so proud that St. Tammany Parish Hospital is bringing a primary care office to Folsom,” said James Core, Vice-Chairman, STPH Board of Commissioners, and resident of Folsom. “The care and experience these physicians bring will be an excellent addition to our community.”

Family Medical Clinic had been located on Riverside Drive in Franklinton since 1968 when Dr. Gerald Foret opened the practice. After nearly 50 years of service, the clinic closed its doors on October 15, 2015 when the Board of Directors of Riverside Medical Center and St. Tammany Parish Hospital failed to reach an agreement that would have kept the practice in Franklinton. STPH had served as the employer at Family Medical Clinic since 2003.

Folsom Mayor Bettye Boggs was on hand to welcome the new clinic to the Village.

"The Village of Folsom is very pleased to welcome Family Medical Clinic to our area," said Boggs.  "We are very glad to have the clinic here to provide for the health needs of our community as well as for the outlying areas around the Village of Folsom."

The doctors of Family Medical Clinic are extremely appreciative of the support received from STPH while also looking forward to continuing to provide first-class health care and friendships for current and future patients.

"I am excited about adding a new group of patients from the Folsom area," said Dr. James. "But we won't forget about our old patients in Washington, Tangipahoa Parish, and Walthall County. The staff and physicians look forward to serving you at our new location."

"We have been honored to have treated our neighbors and been part of the (Franklinton) community for over 47 years," said Dr. Chris Foret. "I have been privileged to work with great people like Mark James,  Libeau Berthelot and my father, Gerald Foret. The time has come for us to begin a new chapter in our lives and we appreciate the support of the St Tammany Parish Hospital Board and administration through a very difficult situation."

With 35 years of service at Family Medical Clinic, the longest tenured doctor expressed a heartfelt thank you to his patients.

"My family and I arrived here in June of 1980," said Dr. Berthelot. "We consider Franklinton and Washington Parish our home. My wife and I raised three beautiful and successful children here. We have been an integral part of the community for 35 years. However, because of a desire to remain employed by my current employer, I have been forced to relocate my practice of medicine to our new location in Folsom."

"For those of you who follow us to our new location, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those who cannot, I want to thank you for your previous support and I hope and pray that you can find adequate healthcare elsewhere. I will always consider you as friends."

According to STPH Director of Communication Melissa Hodgson, the STPN-Folsom office was designed after the Network's Madisonville office.

"The design of our Madisonville office has been a patient and staff satisfier, so the Folsom office is based on that model," said Hodgson.

The new clinic features offices for the doctors with each having three examination rooms. A modern nurses station with individual computer terminals provides a spacious area for the doctors' assistants to work. New x-ray equipment and additional equipment for various tests provides patients with the ability to have most tests performed and read in-house.

Construction on the new STPN-Folsom began in April 2015 and the clinic began seeing patients on October 19. Due to the sudden need to build a new facility and have it ready to receive patients by their expiration date in Washington Parish, STPH went with a long-term lease which enabled construction to begin almost immediately after the board realized remaining in Franklinton wasn't an option.

"We are excited to open STPN-Folsom at 82525 Highway 25, the new home for our long-time Family Medical Clinic doctors," said Hodgson. "We announced the move after it became clear the Washington Parish Council would not be able to renew the agreement that enabled STPH to practice in their service district.

"We are committed to Family Medical Clinic, its staff and the patients it serves, so we immediately began to look for ways to continue to serve the need from inside the confines of our service district after the October 27 expiration. The Village of Folsom turned out to be the perfect location for a new office, and we were thrilled everyone involved was able to move so quickly to ensure there was no interruption in medical service for our patients in this area."

A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, October 29 for the new Family Medical Clinic in Folsom, LA. Included in the ribbon cutting ceremony were numerous STPH board members and personnel, FMC Doctors Libeau Berthelot, Mark James and Christopher Foret, Dr. Gerald and Mrs. Gayle Foret, X-Ray technician Katie Bulloch and Folsom Mayor Bettye Boggs.

A Fond Farewell to Family Medical Clinic

In 1968 Dr. Gerald Foret and his wife, Gayle, moved to Franklinton to make their home here. Shortly after their move, Dr. Foret established what would eventually be known to many as Family Medical Clinic. He served as the only doctor at the clinic for the first 12 years before bringing in other doctors to serve the citizens of Franklinton and Washington Parish. He gave local doctors a job to come home to while meeting a huge need in our community.

Currently Dr. Libeau Berthelot, Dr. Mark James and Dr. Christopher Foret practice in the Family Medical Clinic. The trio combined has close to 75 years of experience as physicians who have served thousands of patients in our area over the years. These doctors, along with their medical and office personnel, have provided first-class service while becoming involved in the community. They chose to raise their families here and have been active in areas outside of their practice while becoming friends to many. They've made house calls and saw patients after hours and on holidays. Simply put, they did whatever it took to make sure people received quality healthcare from doctors who are genuinely concerned.

After initially partnering with East Jefferson General Hospital, FMC has been a part of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital system since 2003. STPH paid the salaries of the doctors and all personnel at FMC; money that didn't cost the taxpayers of Washington Parish anything at all. They also provided an economic boost to Riverside Medical Center. Dr. Chris Foret stated that his charges to Riverside Medical Center in 2012 totaled $2.2 million and he admitted over 80% of his patients to the local hospital. Dr. James reported that Family Medical Clinic generated over $23 million in gross income for Riverside Medical Center from 2007 to 2011 and another $7.3 million in 2012 alone.

Many will wonder why some type of deal couldn't be worked out between RMC and STPH when the two parties had a working agreement for so many years.  Many wonder what suddenly changed. It's likely a question that most will never fully understand and it truly is very puzzling.

One thing's for sure though; the Family Medical Clinic in Franklinton is now forever closed and a new one in Folsom is ready to open on Monday, October 19. The moving company is working now and the doctors already have a list of patients to see on their first day at the new location. Many Washington Parish residents will now make the 20 minute drive south when it's time to see the doctors who have cared for them for so many years.

Also gone will be many tax dollars that had been spent in Franklinton. That money will now support St. Tammany Parish instead of being funneled back to benefit our school system, the Town of Franklinton, the Washington Parish Government and even Riverside Medical Center.

One can only wonder how it must've felt to the doctors and their staff to walk out of Family Medical Clinic for the final time last Wednesday. A clinic that has served Franklinton and the surrounding areas since 1968 will no longer serve at 711 Riverside Drive. The doctors and their staff will be okay as they adjust to their new setting. It's the people of Washington Parish who will pay the biggest price in this entire ordeal. Franklinton's loss is Folsom's gain...and what a gain it is for them.

Thank you to the Foret's, the James', the Berthelot's and all others for your service to Franklinton and Washington Parish over the years. You will be missed here in many ways.

(L-R) Drs. Gerald Foret, Libeau Berthelot, Mark James & Chris Foret