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Dr. Michael KaiserA Letter from Dr. Michael Kaiser

Even though I have tried to update this column often, events occur too quickly to keep it “up-to-date.” That said, it is certainly time to write some new words.

As I write, on April 3rd, we are within two weeks of closing Earl K. Long (EKL) hospital. Perhaps there is no better example in our system of loyal employees and faculty honoring our mission to teach and to treat. For 50 years, “The Earl” has truly served the underserved in the Baton Rouge region, being a medical home long before the term was in vogue. Equally, hundreds (maybe thousands?) of medical students and residents have received exemplary education from the LSU School of Medicine faculty who have provided both clinical care and teaching. As the Earl is closing, we honor the dedication and contributions of both staff and clinical providers.

The good news is that even though the management is changing, the mission will survive. Few remember that the original motivation for the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOL) was to provide a modern facility for our patients. At a time when there was no funding for a new hospital in Baton Rouge, the fifty-year-old hospital was threatened with the loss of accreditation and licensing. In 2009, the CEA was negotiated to allow the expansion of facilities at OLOL so that both our patients and teaching programs could move to the Lake.

The clinics, originally envisioned to stay under the LSU umbrella, will become LSU Health Baton Rouge clinics under the management of OLOL. For most patients, the clinics will stay in the same locations with the same clinicians providing care. The clinics that were located on the EKL campus will move to new facilities down the block from the Lake. Additionally, a Level 1 trauma center is being developed for the Baton Rouge region, and an urgent care center is ready to open at the North Baton Rouge Clinic on Airline Highway.

I think in the future, looking back, we will agree that the partnership in Baton Rouge has expanded access for our patients while upholding the values of teaching and caring that is so much a part of the Earl’s culture.

Unfortunately, with these changes, many of our coworkers have chosen or been forced to move elsewhere. On behalf of their patients, we thank them for their skills, dedication and compassion. Other Earl employees will be joining the Lake family, but still will be serving our valued patients. We extend our thanks to them for their sacrifices during this difficult time of transition and for their continued commitment to our mission in a new environment.

Personally, I share in our collective sense of loss as we move through this transition. I know we have all worked extraordinarily hard to preserve that which is most valued at the Earl and to assure that our patients, residents and students are kept as the focus of our planning. I am confident that we will truly maintain our mission as the Earl sunsets and we move to our new partnership.  

Michael Kaiser, M.D.
HCSD Interim CEO


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