Home Care In Minden, LA

A little over a week after six members of Minden Medical Center’s Board of Governors resigned, that hospital and three others owned by Allegiance Health Management, are being put up for sale.

In a statement to The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, Dr. Melissa Madden, the one-time chairman of the MMC's board of governors, said “Our decision was based on serious and continuing concerns about the financial condition of Minden Medical Center and the direction of the organization under Allegiance Corporation. We believe the financial challenges facing the hospital deserve transparency, accountability and careful scrutiny.”

These financial issues are not new.

In 2018, Allegiance paid $1.7 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department alleging it had violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing Medicare for services that were not medically reasonable or necessary, according to a release from the Justice Department.

More recently, the IRS has filed liens totaling more than $30 million against Allegiance hospitals and clinics for unpaid taxes.

In October 2025, Allegiance Health Management President and CEO Rock Bordelon told The Times-Picayune | The Advocate that he was working to resolve the situation. He told reporter Stephanie Riegel that rural hospitals have been “grossly underfunded for years.”

In recent years, rural facilities have been hit hard by rising healthcare costs and dwindling reimbursements from insurers and the federal government. The largest of the structural cuts from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federally mandated Medicaid work requirements, take effect in early 2027.

The National Rural Health Association estimates those cuts may cost small town hospitals $155 billion over 10 years, and push hundreds of rural hospitals to make severe cuts or close completely.

The Allegiance hospitals that are pending sale are Minden Medical Center, Northern Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston, Acadian Medical Center in Eunice, and Mercy Regional Medical Center in Ville Platte.

All four of the Allegiance hospitals pending sale were warned in July by the federal government to either be more transparent about their basic pricing information or risk millions in federal penalties. They were on a list of 27 around the state singled out for not disclosing actual prices for common tests and procedures.

Allegiance, which is based in Bossier City, also owns medical facilities in Arcadia, Oakdale, Many, Marksville, Winnfield, Monroe, Eunice, and Dequincy in Louisiana, and in Greenville, Mississippi.

MINDEN, La. -- Local influencer and KTBS Vibe contributor Sara McDaniel is adding published author to her list of accomplishments with the release of her first book, "The Bright Side of the Other Side," which hit bookstore shelves Tuesday.

In the book, McDaniel shares a story of faith, resilience and personal transformation that has helped bring new life to properties in Minden.

Today, her social media posts reflect joy and enthusiasm. But when she moved back to Minden about a decade ago, McDaniel said she felt stuck and uncertain about what came next.

“I heard the Lord audibly call me home to Louisiana,” McDaniel said. “I didn't want to do it. But then he showed me this house.”

It took about 22 months to convince the owners to sell the property. Once the deal was done, McDaniel, who had returned home, renovated the house and initially thought that would be the end of the story.

Instead, the project marked the beginning of a much larger journey.

McDaniel documented the home's transformation, from the studs to the ceiling tiles, on social media under the name Simply Southern Cottage. Her renovation work eventually expanded to a number of other older houses, an abandoned motel court, which now welcomes overnight guests, and a downtown Minden store she renovated and operates.

Most recently, she transformed a house into transitional housing for women.

Maintaining older properties comes with its share of challenges, McDaniel said, noting that unexpected repairs are a regular part of the work.

“When you deal with old properties, as much as we try to make sure everything is always functional, there's something always wrong,” she said. “We had a limb fall on a fence at a property last week.”

Along the way, McDaniel also met photographer Hector Manuel Sanchez from a home magazine in an encounter that eventually turned romantic and led to marriage.

Now, she is sharing her experiences in print with "The Bright Side of the Other Side." The book explores the experiences and motivation behind her journey, with the hope that her story can serve as a blueprint for others looking to make a difference in their own communities.

McDaniel said a literary agent first contacted her in early 2020 after discovering her work on Instagram.

“She said, ‘Hey, look, I love your writing, I love your story. How about we try to get you a book deal?’” McDaniel recalled. “And I was, like, I don't want to write a home decor book. I want to tell my story.”

Readers will have an opportunity to meet McDaniel and get a copy of her book signed during an event Saturday at Purvey, 726 Broadway in Minden, the store she renovated and now runs. She is also participating in book signings in Monroe this week.