PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
  1. Signatures
    259 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. The LA State House
  2. Created By
    Save Charity Hospital
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

contact your legislators to ask them to support HCR 59.  The bill requires that funding for the new UMC Academic Medical Center in New Orleans must be approved by the full house and full senate.   This bill will bring much needed oversight to a process that has been neither transparent nor accountable to citizens of the State of Louisiana.

As this project will be partly State funded and State subsidized, the issue effects us all.  Unnecessary money that is spent on building and sustaining a design that will not cash flow takes other money away from much needed projects to return and improve healthcare to New Orleans and other hospitals as well as other important capital outlay needs around the State.

Recent Signatures

Support House Concurrent Resolution 59.

Dear Law Maker

I am writing today to ask that you support House Concurrent Resolution 59.

This bill would require that funding for the new UMC Academic Medical Center in New Orleans must be approved by the full house and full senate. I believe that this bill will bring much needed oversight to a process that has been neither transparent nor accountable to citizens of the State of Louisiana.

As this project will be partly State funded and State subsidized, this issue effects us all. Unnecessary money that is spent on building and sustaining a design that will not cash flow takes other money away from much needed projects to return and improve healthcare to New Orleans and other hospitals as well as other important capital outlay needs around the State.

There are still many uncertainties surrounding the UMC proposal to build a new teaching Academic Medical Center in New Orleans. Of concern to me is:

1. The UMC board is at least 400 million dollars short of the stated goal of 1.2 billion dollars in financing.

2. After six years, both LSU and the UMCMC have FAILED to produce a business plan - likely jeopardizing HUD mortgage backed financing which will reduce the UMC board to having to sell junk bonds to make up the $400 million dollar shortfall. The State would be on the hook to make up for bond defaults -- potentially imperiling our ability to issue bonds for other important projects.

3. Kaufman-Hall, a well respected financial consulting firm that deals specifically with healthcare issues, recently released a report at the behest of the independent and publicly accountable UMC board. It said that the LSU/UMC project as presently proposed is unsustainable in the long term. Kaufman-Hall said that the idea for a 424 bed hospital will not cash flow and is fiscally unsustainable in a market that is already over-built with more hospital beds per capita than the national average.

4. There are more fiscally responsible plans that exist which deserve to also be considered. In addition to the Vitter/Tucker/Kennedy proposal, the RMJM / FHL Medical Center of Louisiana-Charity Hospital plan should also be considered. This $600,000 study to determine whether Charity Hospital could be transformed into a 21st century academic medical center was conducted in 2008 under authorization of HCR 89, 2006 Regular Louisiana Legislature Session and will be of great benefit to any new study.

Thank you in advance for your consideration to vote FOR HCR 59.

[Your name]

Press Inquiries