New hospital: Baton Rouge General announced on Tuesday its plans to open a neighborhood hospital in Denham Springs, on Juban Road at Interstate 12. Plans for the 40,000-square-foot facility include a 14-bed emergency room and 12-bed inpatient hospital. Groundbreaking is tentatively planned for early 2025, with an opening in 2027. Read BRG’s announcement. Surging rates: Mortgage rates rose last week for the fourth time in five weeks, causing another pullback in refinancing. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 6.73% from 6.52%. That is the highest level since July. Read more from CNBC. Sepsis detection: Cytovale, a commercial-stage medical diagnostics company focused on advancing early detection technologies to diagnose fast-moving and immune-mediated diseases announced that Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System expanded access to its rapid sepsis detection technology for patients at hospitals in Jackson, Mississippi, Monroe and Lafayette. FMOLHS was the first in the nation to deploy the technology last August at Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge. Read the full announcement.