VIDALIA – The Concordia Parish health unit office in Vidalia likely will close Dec. 8, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced Wednesday.

The Vidalia office, located in the old parish courthouse on Carter Street, is now open two days a week. There, parents pick up vouchers from the Women, Infants and Children food program and get their children immunized.

&uot;All the services the health unit provides will remain — people will just have to drive to Ferriday,&uot; where Concordia Parish’s other health unit office is located, said department spokesman Bob Johannessen.

In all, DHH will remove staff members from 25 health units in 20 parishes as a result of budget cuts. In parishes that have not found another health care provider to occupy those offices, those offices will be closed.

Some staff members will be moved to other jobs within the department, although there will be layoffs. Johannessen would not say Wednesday how extensive those layoffs will be.

Louisiana health officials and Riverland Medical Center officials met in recent months to try to compose a plan for the Ferriday-based hospital to take over the facility.

But such a plan hasn’t materialized, and Riverland Administrator Vernon Stevens could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

In order for the Dec. 8 closure deadline to be extended, DHH would need to receive from parish officials, by Dec. 1, a specific plan for the use of the facility, a resolution from the Police Jury and a letter of intent from the health care provider.

And that transition from public health unit to privately-run health care facility would have to be made by Jan. 8, Johannessen added.

Besides, Concordia Parish officials have said they have another use for the space where the Vidalia office is currently located, Johannessen said.

But he did not have details of the proposed use as of Wednesday afternoon, and Concordia Parish Police Jury President Charlie Blaney could not be reached for comment.