LRA Endorses LSU/VA Medical Complex in New Orleans

Baton Rouge (December 14, 2006) - The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Board of Directors voted in favor of a resolution this morning recommending to the Governor and the Louisiana Legislature to allocate $ 74 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to the Division of Administration for the purpose of land acquisition, architecture and engineering design work for the new LSU-Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans.

The Board also agreed to commit an additional $266 million towards construction of the complex.

Speaking before the board, Dr. William Jenkins, president of the LSU System, explained the importance of the resolution for the proposed collaboration between the LSU Health Care Services Division and the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration to build a medical, research and education complex to replace the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, which hurricanes Katrina and Rita severely damaged.

"This is a time-sensitive issue," Dr. Jenkins said, referring to the desire of the VA for a firm and timely commitment from the state of Louisiana to the collaboration.

Senate President Dan Hines, an LRA board member and physician, echoed Dr. Jenkins position. "Let's send a clear message to the VA," he said. We all agree that a joint hospital with the VA is a good idea."

The LRA Board and its Health Care Committee has spent significant time analyzing the proposed collaboration and alternatives. "This has been a very informed process and a very interactive process on both sides," said Committee Chair Kim Boyle of the ongoing discussion that the committee and LSU Health Care Services Division has had on the project. "We don't want to jeopardize this important process."

Dr. Jenkins was resolute in support of the resolution and of the profound impact such a collaboration can have on the recovery of the city of New Orleans. "With the collaboration of the VA, we can truly produce a remarkable medical center," he said. "We are deeply committed to the provision of health care not only to the uninsured but to the insured."

Senator Diane Bajoie and LRA board member underscored Dr. Jenkins position on the role of LSU-MCLNO. "It's more than a teaching institution," she said. "It's a safety net."

Walter Leger, acting chair of the LRA Board of Directors, made clear that the safety net that LSU- MCLNO offers is wide and encompasses parishes beyond Orleans, including Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James, and St. Charles.

The new LSU/VA complex will feature state-of-the-art health care, research and health sciences education. LSU and the VA will share infrastructure and will purchase services from each other, such as radiology, rehabilitation, laboratory, and housekeeping, which will save Louisiana and federal taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in operational costs. As planning advances, many more areas for partnership will evolve.

The collaborative complex, will be built on approximately thirty-seven acres near the LSU and Tulane medical schools and will serve as the academic flagship for the health professions across south Louisiana.

It will be a major research anchor that will spur bio-tech industry growth.

The collaborative effort will jump start the New Orleans recovery effort, help rebuild the urban core, and provide tens of thousands of jobs. By 2012, it will have an estimated $1.4 billion impact on the economy. The complex will create 3,400 jobs in the region in addition to the approximately 6,600 in the combined facilities, for a total of 10,000 jobs.

The construction project alone will generate about 19,000 new jobs.