By Jamie Segura
The seven-hospital LSU Health System, that serves the most vulnerable, needy populations in the southern part of Louisiana, will soon be just a shell of a health system. Thursday, the Joint Health and Welfare Committee of the Louisiana Legislature learned that some 1500 healthcare workers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houma, Independence, Bogalusa and Lake Charles will soon lose their jobs. The inpatient bed capacities will dramatically decrease at every facility. All of these cuts are being made to meet a $152 million budget reduction.
Several legislators, including Sen. Ben Nevers (D-Bogalusa), openly expressed their frustration and anger during the four-hour hearing.
Frank Opelka, LSU’s Executive Vice President for Health Care and Medical Education Redesign, outlined a plan that calls for only 10 inpatient beds at Lake Charles, Independence and Lafayette. Earl K. Long in Baton Rouge will be reduced to 10 inpatient beds and between three and five additional beds designated for hospitalization of Department of Corrections’ inmates. In New Orleans, the Interim LSU Hospital (known to most in New Orleans as University Hospital) will go from 201 inpatient beds down to 155 beds (90 med-surg beds, 36 ICU beds and 29 psyche beds). The cuts in New Orleans represent more than $49 million and over 423 positions.
Chabert Medical Center in Houma will maintain 58 beds. LSU Bogalusa will keep 28 of its beds.
Additionally, many clinics affiliated with the hospitals will be closed as well.
At the outset of the meeting, Senate President John Alario, Westwego, acknowledged the lack of input by lawmakers into the process.
“The worst thing we can do in a democracy is to keep secrets,” Alario stated at the beginning of the meeting. House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, Lake Charles, agreed with Alario.
Opelka told the lawmakers that the problems being faced by the LSU hospitals are “local problems requiring local solutions.” LSU is counting on private partnerships in each of the affected communities to pick up the care of those patients currently using the LSU hospitals and clinics.
However, Opelka could name only one such partnership currently in the works, Earl K. Long and Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge.
The LSU hospitals are also the location of Graduate Medical Education (GME) and residencies of doctors in training. While that is a significant concern, most lawmakers were more interested in healthcare services for their constituents.
Once Opelka finished his presentation, the same given earlier in the day to the LSU Board of Supervisors, legislators were quick with questions and expressed frustration at the decision-making process. Several complained that they were not kept informed of what the plans might involve for cuts in their districts and that learning about these cuts in the newspaper or television news was unacceptable.
Leading the charge was Rep. Regina Barrow, Baton Rouge, who sought specifics on the move of the OB/GYN Clinic of Earl K. Long to Woman’s Hospital.
“When was the decision made?” she asked Opelka. “No one told me or the senator from the area. I had to read about it in the paper the next day.”
Opelka could not provide specifics. Barrow’s complaint about lack of inclusion and hearing about cuts and downsizing in the news media was echoed by several lawmakers including Reps. Kenny Cox, Natchitoches, and Katrina Jackson, Monroe.
“What about prison care?” Barrow continued. She also asked about the build out of a new urgent care facility in Baton Rouge.
In the four hour committee meeting, member after member asked specific questions about facilities located in their districts. Opelka bluntly told the gathering that patient access to care will likely decrease as a result of the reduction in funding.
Though the three LSU facilities in the northern part of the state, LSUMC in Shreveport, E.A. Conway in Monroe and Huey P. Long in Alexandria, are not included the same LSU system, lawmakers from those areas expressed similar concerns about what was coming their way.
Jackson, who served in a legislative staff position prior to being elected to the Legislature, expressed concern about “public-private partnerships.”
“I get worried when I hear public/private partnerships…we have no data that these private/public partnerships will be better,” she told Opelka. “This train is moving pretty fast.”
Perhaps the most passionate exchange came during comments and questions by Senator Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa. Nevers told the panel that he and his family use the LSU facility in Bogalusa as do most of the residents of that area. He heaped praises on the staff and quality of care at LSU Bogalusa.
With emotions visible on his face and in his voice Nevers questioned Opelka on the timeline for these cuts.
“When will these cuts take place? Next week?” he asked. “Where will healthcare services be received?” Opelka offered no response.
Nevers pressed on, “who dies, who lives, who suffers, who doesn’t suffer? What about the economy in these areas?”
Nevers added that patients will “go to the closest emergency room you can find…know what that’s gonna cost us? It’s gonna cost us more. I cannot be satisfied without knowing if my people can receive care.”
Those comments pretty much summed up the feelings of both Representatives and Senators on the committee and the almost 100 people in the audience.
When questioned about the future and if there could be more cuts coming in the spring leading into the next fiscal year Opelka acknowledged that possibility. Some legislators openly commented on the predictability of closure of some if not all of the LSU hospitals.
The cuts were approved the LSU Board of Supervisors earlier in the day. Some of the cuts could be seen as early as next week while others will be made by the end of the year.
The Committee to Save Southeast Louisiana Hospital asked Rep. Simon, our own St Tammany delegation, repeatedly to place their concerns on the agenda but were refused. Where else and when else would it have been more appropriate to address the closure of our mental health facilities? Our full St. Tammany delegation has REFUSED to support a special session. Take note St. Tammany voters!!!!! These are the same elected representatives who voted for takeover of St. Tammany public schools by privately managed charters, on-line course providers, vouchers to private and parochial schools and the removal of 10% of our certified teachers as provided in the new teacher evaluation rules.
Okay legislators, you let Jindal frighten and intimidate you into a quivering mass of silly putty. Mr. Aswell and a very few other bold voices warned you not to give Jindal and his minions your legislative proxy. Now you must stand united (as in over 2/3 of you) and take back and exercise the legislative and regulatory authority that is rightfully yours and what we the electorate expect from you.
Has any one seen or heard from our heartless leader, Mr. Jindal? Maybe we should put his mug on a milk carton. Where does he and his family go for health care? How can he give certain staff members a bonus, our state troopers haven’t had a raise in over 4 years. This man is running this state into a hole too big for us to dig out!! Please tell me why we can spend millions on a new coumputer system and the training of all the workers in the DPHH only to be laying off many, many of the workers that our tax dollars were used to train. Please tell me why each worker at the Interium LSU hospitial in New Orleans wears a tracking device so they can be tracked on a TV screen wherever they go in the building. Please tell me why new flat screen TVs were put in patient rooms when this place is in the process of being replaced with a new teaching hospital that we will never be able to afford. Where’s Jindal? Has anyone seen or heard from him? If so, please tell me.
Jindal is in Nevada campaigning for Romney. It does seem strange that he can be absent so often when this state has sufficient problems to keep him busy 24/7. LouisianaVoice has made public records request of the governor’s office for a cost accounting of his trips but that request has been ignored. We are preparing legal action to obtain what are certainly public records and records to which we and the citizens of this state have every right. Arrogance is not an affirmative defense in public records litigation.
Are it the taxpayers of this State paying for Mr. Jindal to travel all over this country to promote his party’s agenda?
It would seem so. Certainly, his security detail, i.e. state police, travel, lodging, and food are paid by Louisiana taxpapers. It would also seem logical that his travel, lodging and meals are paid by the taxpayers–unless the Romney campaign picks up the tab for him. Remember, also, that he continues to receive his pay while on these extra-curricula excursions.
But it seems to be a very effective defense.
Only the state legislature can fix this. They need to call a special session immediately, bring Jindal before it to answer for his decisions and for his lack of communication and not let him off the hook in any way. The session must be fully televised and he must be warned that he will be impeached if he does not stop destroying people’s lives and livelihoods, endangering the health of our citizens and making Louisiana the laughingstock of America. Regardless of what the session may cost, it is probably less than the salaries of the spin doctors in BESE and John White’s office. If Jindal refuses to meet publically with the Legislature then impeachment proceedings need to be implemented immediately.
While they are there his travel budget needs to be carefully examined and frozen and made inaccessible until after the election in order to make sure that the taxpayers are not paying for him to stir up the pot in states where he has no business related to his job. He must submit his itinerary 72 hours in advance if going out of state and pay for all expenses up front.
If America can impeach a president for having sex, Louisiana can certainly do a governor for acting against the best interest of the citizens. Yall go pick up the family jewels that Kleckley is holding hostage and take care of business.
I agree with you 100% and I will help make this happen any way I can. I just need to know who to put pressure on. Jindal has about as much backbone as a jellyfish. If there ever has been a governor in need of impeachment Jindal leads the pack. I would like to know when is the last time other then when Isaac hit that Jindal has spent at least 48 hours straight in this State. We’re not getting our money’s worth
Come on, give Teeple and Jindal, some slack, they are so busy with Romney, and it takes time to line up the Pac nontrace so the insurance companies and private enterprise can step in and save the system, which of course will costs more in the long run, and has the net result, that our tax money will continue to support Jindal and other arrogant little fellows. What a country!!!rrt
Louisiana, the true idea of Democracy was sold years ago. We continue to be amazed at what this administration will do next, it is the LEGISLATORS and the VOTERS that put the underprivilege at risk, what will they turn to is the question? Take it to the Poll.