If you’ve been living in southeast Louisiana for any significant amount of time, then you almost certainly know the name Nash Roberts, the longtime local TV meteorologist who was for decades the go-to source for reliable hurricane forecasts. 

Even after technology had advanced, and even after he technically retired, he would return to WWL-TV’s airwaves with his trademark Magic Marker and weather map to give viewers the straight scoop whenever a storm kicked up in the Gulf. Rarely was he wrong. 

Given the recent uptick in tropical activity in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, we’ve been thinking about Nash lately.  

Although the Atlantic hurricane season started June 1, we are just now entering its peak. According to the National Weather Service in Slidell, 80% of tropical systems that have hit the Gulf Coast in the past 100 years did so between mid-August and late October. 

So, now is the time to make sure your family is prepared, your homestead is secure, and you have all the supplies you might need to weather a storm. 

During Hurricane Ida two years ago, we suffered major damage to a couple of St. Tammany Health System buildings, but we as an organization were prepared. We were left battered, but, as always, we were there for you, our neighbors.  

We will be there next time, too. And the time after that and the time after that. 

That’s the commitment we made upon our founding on Dec. 1, 1954, and it’s a commitment we still take seriously today. 

So, be safe, y’all. Be prepared. That’s how Nash would want it. 

In the meantime, enjoy these recent STHS headlines. 

Let the countdown begin. 

In just about a year and a half, St. Tammany Health System will mark the 70th anniversary of its founding as St. Tammany Parish Hospital on Dec. 1, 1954. 

To mark the occasion, today we are pleased to introduce “70 for 70,” a weekly series of history-based articles highlighting 70 artifacts from the health system’s archives that help tell our story. 

There will be documents. There will be objects. There will be photos and newspaper clippings. And there will be lots and lots of memories. 

Click the link below for the inaugural installment. We’ll post a new one roughly every week leading up to the big day. 

World-class cancer care 

Newsweek magazine recently unveiled its inaugural ranking of America’s Best Cancer Hospitals, and not only is St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital on the list but it is the highest-ranking Louisiana hospital to make the cut.

Attention, new moms 

St. Tammany Health System, already recognized as a Baby-Friendly institution by the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, just got baby-friendlier, with the introduction of its outpatient lactation consult program.

Labor Day hours 

In recognition of the Labor Day holiday this coming Monday (Sept. 4, 2023), St. Tammany Health System has announced changes in operating hours for its primary care and specialty clinics. (Note: All STHS emergency services will remain open 24/7.)

Read all about it 

By now, you’ve probably already received the latest edition of our quarterly Heart to Heart magazine in your mailbox, full of stories about the myriad happenings at St. Tammany Health System. Missed it? Peruse a digital version at the link below.