FERRIDAY — The board of Riverland Medical Center has officially voted to hire two firms to study what the hospital needs to do for future growth.

It’s not the first time the parish-owned hospital has commissioned a feasibility study, but Hospital Administrator Billy Rucker said the information from that report by the LaPorte group of Metairie commissioned last year was too vague.

RMC board chairman Jim Graves said last week the LaPorte report likewise didn’t take into consideration the ongoing consolidation of the two Natchez hospitals, instead considering them two separate entities.

The two companies approved for the new study at the hospital board’s meeting this week were Elde Bailly LLP and Stroudwater.

Stroudwater’s role will be to conduct a health care market study. If the Stroudwater study recommends renovating or replacing Riverland’s facility, Elde Bailly will write an examination opinion about it.

“One of these firms has expertise in one area and one has expertise in another area, so we are using both areas of expertise,” RMC board member Fred Marsalis said.

While the firms have been engaged, no decision about the hospital has been made, Marsalis said.

“The hospital is 50 years old, and it needs updating, so we are looking at the feasibility of updating,” he said.

Rucker and Graves could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Discussion of seeking a feasibility study that might ultimately lead to renovations or replacement of the hospital began last August, when doctors approached the hospital administration about what could be done to improve it in the future.

At a meeting with the Concordia Parish Police Jury last week, Dr. Carrie Bonomo — a pediatrician who represents the hospital’s medical staff on RMC’s board — told the jury the hospital has been outdated for years.

“The hospital functions, but we could do a better job if it was updated,” she said at the time.

RMC opened in 1964 as Concordia Parish Hospital. It is partially funded through a one-fourth-of-one-percent sales tax, which is expected to generate $660,000 annually. The 10-year tax was renewed in November.

RMC has a budget of $17.1 million for the current fiscal year.