[StBernard] LRA Chair, Board Members Urge Swift HUD, VA Approvals on LSU Hospital

[Westley Annis]

I'm loath to say that red-neck Alabama could be ahead of Louisiana, but
LSU's Medical Center could look at how UAB has setup care in the B'ham area
and around the state.  They have clinics around the metro area, Tuscaloosa
and other parts of the state that feed in to the UAB hospitals.

If LSU wants to be able to draw in private-pay (insured) patients they might
want to look at the UAB model.

http://www.health.uab.edu/default.aspx?pid=11319

JLY




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	LRA Chair, Board Members Urge Swift HUD, VA Approvals on LSU
Hospital
	
	BATON ROUGE, La. (April 26, 2007) - LRA Chairman Norman C. Francis
and three LRA committee chairs sent the following letter to U. S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson.
	
	In the letter, Francis and Board Members Kim Boyle, Donna Fraiche
and John T. Landry called for Secretary Jackson's immediate approval of the
LRA's action plan amendment number three to commit $300 million toward
rebuilding an academic medical center in downtown New Orleans. It also
called on Secretary Nicholson to unequivocally commit the VA to building its
hospital in partnership with LSU given that the State of Louisiana has
committed to acquiring land and providing construction funds for the LSU
hospital with the CDBG funds. 
	
	* The full letter is below. Click here to download a PDF of the
letter. 
	
	April 25, 2007
	
	Dear Secretary Jackson and Secretary Nicholson:
	
	Let us first thank you both for your personal commitments, and the
commitments of your respective departments, to the swift and successful
recovery of Louisiana from the most crippling disasters in our nation's
history. 
	
	We are writing today to urge Secretary Jackson to immediately
approve Louisiana's Action Plan Amendment 3 to Action Plan 2 (APA3), which
provides the necessary funding for land acquisition and initial construction
costs for the building of a new academic medical center in downtown New
Orleans. We also urge Secretary Nicholson to accept the state's subsequent
purchase of land for the medical center as Louisiana's commitment to the
LSU-VA hospital collaboration, and to state unequivocally that the VA will
be our partner in locating its new facility on this site, as together we
build an exciting and unprecedented medical complex to serve our citizens
and advance our recovery. 
	
	As you both know, the proposed LSU-VA medical centers will anchor
the emerging biosciences and medical corridor in downtown New Orleans. The
joint venture represents a recovery project that has no peer.
	
	The Unified New Orleans Plan, a comprehensive guide to high priority
recovery programs and projects to repair and rebuild the city over the next
decade, highlights the significance of the proposed teaching hospital to the
recovery of downtown New Orleans. The Plan identifies 91 programs or
projects that promote the city's recovery; the downtown medical center and
the restoration of affordable housing stock are the only two given perfect
scores based on their value to recovery and breadth of impact on the region.
	
	The Louisiana Recovery Authority has consistently recognized the
importance of the hospital to the region's revival. During our negotiations
with Chairman Powell for additional Community Development Block Grant
allocations and the subsequent development of our action plans, the LRA has
maintained a commitment to reserving $300 million for the new facility. That
commitment translated into action when the LRA board, Governor Blanco and
the Louisiana Legislature approved the allocation of $300 million in CDBG
funds via APA3.
	
	The opportunity to build the new LSU teaching hospital in
conjunction with the planned VA medical center is one of the factors driving
support for the project. Secretary Nicholson, we congratulate you and your
staff for the foresight you have shown in pursuing a partnership with LSU
that will yield considerable benefit for taxpayers and patients for decades
to come. 
	
	Regrettably, we have heard questions raised about the status of that
partnership in recent weeks. Let us reiterate that Governor Blanco's
submission of APA3, with overwhelming legislative support, confirms the
state's full commitment to the joint medical center project. 
	
	The proposal outlined in APA3 divides the $300 million CDBG
allocation into two phases for state expenditure.
	
	An initial allocation of $74 million is designated for land
acquisition and architectural and engineering design. The state is poised to
commence land acquisition as soon as HUD approves the proposal.
	
	The remaining $226 million, for completion of design work and
construction start-up, will be reserved until the Louisiana State Office of
Facility Planning and Control (OPFC) has undertaken the following steps,
this first two of which have been done: 
	
	1. Completed the business plan and feasibility study for the new
medical center;
	
	2. Submitted the business plan to the LRA board for review; and
	
	3. Received approval of the business plan by the Joint Legislative
Committee on the Budget and the full legislature.
	
	As you are aware, state policymakers are engaged in a very
appropriate debate about the business plan produced by OPFC. The LRA will
continue to be an active participant in this debate, and we strongly believe
that this discussion is as important to our state's future as the new
medical center is to the recovery of the New Orleans region. 
	
	It is critical, however, to understand the nature of the debate. It
is not a debate about whether to build a new academic medical center in
downtown New Orleans or about whether to partner with the VA. The decisions
to build a hospital and collaborate with the VA have been settled by the
actions of the Governor and the Legislature, and they have tremendous public
support. 
	
	Rather, the ongoing debate is about how the state should deliver and
pay for health care for uninsured citizens and how that might influence the
size and scope of the proposed university hospital in New Orleans. Because
the closed Charity Hospital has long been the primary source of care for the
uninsured, the new medical center's business plan-and its projections of bed
size, payer mix and scope of services-are important factors to consider as
formal design work on the hospital takes place over the next several months.

	
	But this very healthy debate should not be interpreted by HUD as
uncertainty about whether the state intends for $300 million in CDBG funds
be used for a new hospital. Nor should it be interpreted by the VA as
representing any hesitation regarding the joint venture. Instead, the debate
represents the very important public discussion regarding how we build an
efficient and effective hospital for our citizens, community and state.
	
	So let me reiterate what Governor Blanco and the Louisiana
Legislature have stated by their actions: Louisiana is committed to the
building of a new academic medical center in downtown New Orleans and to the
LSU-VA partnership. 
	
	Now we ask that each of you do your part to move this process
forward-Secretary Jackson by immediately approving APA3, and Secretary
Nicholson by stating clearly the VA's intent to be our partner in downtown
New Orleans. 
	
	Thank you for your attention to this important component of the
recovery. We look forward to continuing our work together on behalf of the
citizens of Louisiana.
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	Norman C. Francis 
	Chairman 
	
	Kim Boyle
	Chair, Health Care Committee
	
	
	John T. Landry 
	Chair, Infrastructure Task Force 
	
	Donna Fraiche
	Chair, Long-Term Community Planning Task Force
	
	Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming
1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The
Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body
that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen
Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the
world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across
jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring
integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of
Louisiana.
	
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