Posted in Ethics, Governor's Office, Jobs, Layoffs, Privatization, Transparency on September 12, 2012| 9 Comments »
Funny how the same governor who fought so hard to render state employees destitute in their retirement years–and who is closing hospitals, laying off workers, privatizing state jobs and sending them out of state to contractors–never once hesitated to call on state employees to work emergency shelters and emergency food stamp application sites while he sleeps comfortably in the mansion at night.
–A reader.
Posted in Boards, Campaign Contributions, Civil Service, Economy, Education, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, LSU, OGB, Office of Group Benefits, Politicians, Privatization, Public Records, State Agencies, Transparency on September 10, 2012| 10 Comments »
LouisianaVoice is going to conduct an experiment, but it will require the cooperation of as many of our readers as possible to make it work.
We are asking each or our readers (who are not state employees: that might constitute immediate Teaguing) to email their state legislators—representatives and senators—to ask them:
As critical as the LSU hospitals are to our LSU and Tulane Medical School Students, our indigent population, our medical research efforts, and much more, why is this being allowed to take place without so much as a peep from you? Are you unconcerned? Do you favor privatizing all primary services and assets of the state such as schools, prisons, hospitals, retirement benefits, medical insurance administration, surface water rights, roads and bridges, financial management, and so much more? What’s next, the sale-leaseback of the Pontchartrain Causeway?
Are you aware that the interim President of the LSU Medical School has been granted the power to sell the entire LSU Medical School program and all of its facilities? Are you? Do you think this is the power that should be vested in an appointed position made by the governor? Do you? What then is your role in state government? Apparently nothing more than to meet annually for 30 days and pass resolutions congratulating couples for being married 50 years, or a football player for being named as an honorable mention all-state, or something equally unrelated to the general welfare of the state that has no business cluttering up the legislative agenda. You might as well just leave your rubber name stamp on your legislative desk and stay home and make luncheon talks to the “Save the Ring-tailed Raccoon Society.”
I want to know where you stand on these issues and what you intend to do. Are you going to continue to allow your authority to be usurped by Jindal and his minions? Worse, are you going to Baton Rouge with hat in hand asking what else you can do to help Jindal legitimately rape the citizens of the state?
Moreover:
When are you, as my (representative/senator) going to stand up to Gov. Jindal and his runaway efforts to:
• Disembowel higher education;
• Destroy public education to the financial benefit of private contractors/campaign supporters;
• Dismantle the state’s flagship university by appointing political hacks to the LSU Board of Supervisors, firing capable administrators and closing/privatizing state hospitals;
• Allow voucher and online courses to take the place of public education without even a smidgen of accountability or standards to which public education is held;
• Continually allow our governor to usurp the powers and responsibilities that rightfully belong to the legislative branch, including the choosing of House Speaker and Senate President?
I want and expect a public and publicized answer by you on the entirety of this subject. You’ve been silent long enough.
Click here for a list of House members: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByName.asp
Click here for a list of Senate members: http://senate.legis.louisiana.gov/Senators/
Scroll down the list until you find your representative/senator and click on the name. The legislator’s email address will on the page that will appear. For representatives, you need only click on the email address but you will have to type the senators’ email addresses.
(Do NOT send this complete post; cut and paste only the part that is in italics. It’s not that we don’t want legislators to know the source of this idea (because we really don’t care if they know) but it’s best if the questions come from you, the reader. So, again, do not send the introductory paragraphs in which we solicit readers to send the emails. Send ONLY the text that is in italics. If you don’t know how to cut and paste, simply re-type the questions and send them as originals from you.)
When you have done this, be sure to keep accurate records as to which legislators, if any, respond and record each response verbatim. Also, keep records of those who do not respond. Set a deadline of Sept. 21 and beginning on Sept. 22, forward all responses to LouisianaVoice at louisianavoice@cox.net
Accordingly, we will publicize each response and we also will out those who ignore your emails.
Posted in Boards, Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, Jobs, Layoffs, LSU, Privatization, RFP, Request for Proposals, State Agencies, Transparency on September 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »
“Every hospital that is within the LSU System is now on the table for privatization.”
–Observer commenting on amendment to resolution passed by the Piyush Jindal-dominated LSU Board of Supervisors authorizing the issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for public-private partnerships for the operation of LSU System hospital. (The amendment was worded to include “each of the hospitals in the Health Care Services Division.”)
“That’s a decision for the board and the LSU System president.”
–Piyush Jindal mouthpiece Kyle Plotkin, trying to convince someone (perhaps himself) that the firing of Fred Cerise as head of the 10-hospital LSU Health System was not orchestrated by Jindal.
Posted in Boards, Budget, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, Jobs, Layoffs, Legislature, Legislators, LSU, Privatization, Public Records, RFP, Request for Proposals, State Agencies, Teague, Transparency on September 9, 2012| 4 Comments »
LouisianaVoice has learned that Gov. Piyush Jindal, through the LSU Board of Supervisors, is planning to lay off up to 600 people at the Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans within the next few weeks in a move that will further reduce access to health care for Louisiana’s indigent population.
The action also would mean the loss of about 50 of the facility’s 201 beds.
The layoffs were mentioned by Dr. Frank Opelka, recently appointed to replace Dr. Fred Cerise as head of LSU’s health care system, during last week’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Though he said he would be accelerating the cuts that Dr. Cerise and Dr. Roxane Townsend had developed in an effort to mitigate negative impacts, Opelka never mentioned any numbers and apparently no one on the Jindal-dominated board, thought, or wanted to ask.
Nor did any board members inquire as to the impact the cutbacks would have on the ability to continue to provide health care to indigent residents and neither was the question raised as to how the action might affect some 300 residents who train at the facility.
The Interim LSU Public Hospital presently employs about 2100 persons, meaning that about 24 percent of the facility’s personnel and 25 percent of its beds will be lost.
Last Friday, Robert Barish, chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport, notified his faculty and staff that the LSU Board had approved a resolution authorizing the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and the Health Care Service Division to issue a request for proposals (RFP) “for the purpose of exploring public-private partnerships for the LSUGSC-S affiliated hospitals, namely the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, the E.A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe and the Huey P. Long Medical Center in Pineville/Alexandria.”
Consideration of that resolution was not added to the board’s agenda until late Thursday and the board subsequently amended the wording to include “each of the hospitals in Health Care Services Division.”
That amendment to include “each of the hospitals in Health Care Services Division,” while largely ignored and not discussed at all, is key in that it means that “every hospital within the LSU System is now on the table for privatization,” as one observer put it.
“Shreveport is moving faster but they are just the first,” he said. “The dismantling of indigent care will now occur much more quickly and more broadly.”
The resolution says, “The President shall have the discretion to authorize the release of the Request for Proposal and to accept the proposal that he deems in the best interest of the university.”
It did not specify if that would be current Interim President William Jenkins or his successor, recently rumored to be Steve Moret, current Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.
Administration officials and LSU Board members have denied that the fix is in for Moret to become the next president. Jenkins said it would be ridiculous to hire a consultant to conduct a national search if the decision had already been made.
The layoff plan is the latest example of the slash and burn tactics employed by Piyush in his zeal to cut health care services to the poor while at the same time dismantling the teaching hospitals that currently serve about 200 LSU and 100 Tulane University medical students.
Beginning with the firing of LSU President John Lombardi last April, Jindal, through his hand-picked Board of Supervisors, has fired or reassigned Drs. Cerise and Townsend and LSU System General Counsel Ray Lamonica.
At the same time, he has implemented severe cutbacks at Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Tangipahoa Parish and at LSU Hospital in Bogalusa—cutbacks that have adversely affected the availability to provide care in the areas of oncology, gynecology, disease management and pediatrics and the loss of up to 150 jobs at Lallie Kemp. Jindal also announced the closure of Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville, beginning next month, a move that will leave the entire southeastern section of Louisiana without state mental health treatment centers.
The most incredulous statement to come out of all this is that of Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin who, when asked whether Piyush was involved in Cerise’s firing, said, “That’s a decision for the board and the LSU System president.”
But almost as puzzling is the deafening quiet from members of the legislature whose constituents—both health care providers and their patients—stand to be negatively impacted by the recent chain of events.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Contract, Contracts, Education, Ethics, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Senate, Layoffs, Legislature, Legislators, LSU, OGB, Office of Group Benefits, ORM, Office of Risk Management, Privatization, Transparency on September 7, 2012| 6 Comments »
Let the dismantling begin.
The LSU Board of Supervisors, packed with 11 of its 15 members who contributed an aggregate of more than $225,900 to Gov. Piyush Jindal’s political campaigns, voted Friday to take the first official step toward what will likely become the complete destruction of the LSU Health System.
The board, which since April has fired, demoted or reassigned LSU President John Lombardi, health system head Dr. Fred Cerise, Interim LSU Public Hospital CEO Roxanne Townsend and LSU System General Counsel Ray Lamonica, voted on Friday to authorize LSU hospitals in Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria to develop requests for proposals (RFPs) for public-private partnerships for the three hospitals.
Jindal has already slashed $14 million in appropriations for Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Tangipahoa Parish. That represents nearly 35 percent of the facility’s total budget and will mean the loss of surgery, cardiology and ICU services and dramatic cuts to oncology, gynecology and disease management as well as up to 150 staff members who stand to lose their jobs.
Additionally, the LSU Hospital in Bogalusa had its budget cut by $3 million, forcing the facility to close several clinics and to absorb pediatrics into primary care.
In Mandeville, Southeast Louisiana Hospital is slated for closure beginning next month, leaving the Florida parishes, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes with no state mental health treatment centers.
W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles also was designated for massive budget cuts and University Medical Center (UMC) in Lafayette was earmarked for $4.2 million in cuts but Jindal said the LSU plan would “protect critical services.
In an apparent effort to head off employee protests, UMC administrator Larry Dorsey notified employees not to attend a public rally—on or off the clock—protesting the cutbacks subject to disciplinary measures. That email was in stark violation of state civil service rules which specifically allow employees to attend such rallies as long as it is on their own time.
The Shreveport Times Friday morning published a story saying that LSU System supervisors would vote later in the day on beginning the process to develop RFPs on public-private hospital partnerships for hospitals in Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria.
LSU Health spokesperson Sally Croom said the resolution, which was not added to the board’s agenda until Thursday, apparently after Lamonica was forced to resign as general counsel, and after the reassignment of Townsend, would give officials authority to develop an RFP.
Late Friday, as has become the custom of the administration, the announcement was formally made. Robert Barish, chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport, notified “faculty, staff and friends” by memorandum.
“As promised, I wanted to update you on the most recent activity regarding our continuing efforts to ensure a successful future for LSU Health Shreveport in the wake of the federal cuts to Louisiana’s Medicaid budget,” he said. “As you might recall, we were asked to explore several approaches to address the continuing budget challenges or our hospital system.
“Today, the LSU Board of Supervisors authorized us to explore public-private partnerships for our three hospitals. It is important to note that this is being done to see how collaboration with other hospitals might look and whether this may be a workable option.
“We will follow the Board instructions to explore this option, which is among several we are looking at during this fact-finding process. We have been looking at other hospitals which have faced similar situations successfully.
“We are committed to a thorough fact-finding process and exploring possibilities that would ensure continuation of our important missions of education, patient care and research.
“I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.”
It was not immediately known if similar messages were sent to employees of the facilities in Monroe and Alexandria.
The resolution passed by the board said:
• BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University that LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport and Health Care Services Division are hereby authorized to develop and seek a Request for Proposal for the purpose of exploring public private partnerships for the LSUHSC-S affiliated hospitals, namely the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, the E.A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe and the Huey P. Long Medical Center in Pineville/Alexandria and each of the hospitals in Health Care Services Division; and
• BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this is necessary for identifying potential partners and long-term strategies which may help ensure the organization’s clinical services and financial stability in light of budgetary challenges caused by the recent decrease in federal Medicaid funding; and
• BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the authority to seek a Request for Proposal does not mandate the Request for Proposal be released, nor does it mandate a proposal be accepted should one be released. The President shall have the discretion to authorize the release of the Request for Proposal and to accept the proposal that he deems in the best interest of the university.”
So, there you have it. A figurehead president brought out of retirement to replace a president who had a bad habit of being candid and outspoken is given the final authority to release the RFP and to accept the proposal “that he deems in the best interest of the university.”
What are the odds that this interim president and his hand-picked board will take any action, up and including taking a bathroom break without the approval of Piyush Jindal?
We already have more than sufficient evidence that Jindal is rapidly moving toward successfully destroying public health care in Louisiana. The closure of Charity Hospital in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, though nearly three years before he came to power, lay the groundwork for his later actions.
The federal government’s decision to slash Louisiana’s Medicaid appropriation by more than $572 million—along with state cuts of $287 million, bringing the total loss of funding to $859 million—simply gave him a convenient opportunity to accelerate a program he already had in place.
One need only look at what Jindal has done to higher education and public education to see a dangerous trend of cutbacks in crucial public services. His obsession with granting tax exemptions totaling $5 billion a year for corporate donors, transferring funds from parish school boards to private, for-profit schools, and forcing state colleges and universities to increase tuition to cover budgetary cuts has put the state on a dangerous collision course with fiscal reality that will remain long after Jindal has moved on to a cabinet position or in pursuit of higher office.
Jindal won’t be around to answer for his policies…but 144 legislators will be.
And so will Louisiana voters.
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