The largest new hospital development in the United States is the New Orleans 70 acre $2 billion combination of a new Veterans Administration hospital and, just on the other side of South Galvez Street, the new University Medical Center that will replace Charity Hospital which was rendered obsolete by Hurricane Katrina and time.
The University Medical Center will be anchored by LSU, Tulane, Dillard, Xavier, SUNO, Delgado, and other healthcare training schools throughout South Louisiana and will combine academics and science to provide comprehensive treatment and trauma services as well as graduate medical education programs for future generations. Featuring the most advanced technology available, diagnostic and treatment areas of the new, 424-bed UMC, operated by a non-profit governing board, will encompass a wide range of services focused on creating healing environments that support patients and their families.
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Situated on 34 acres on a square bounded by Canal Street, South Galvez, Tulane Avenue and South Claiborne Avenue, the University Medical Center will be the cornerstone of a commercial real estate biomedical district that will attract the world’s top medical professionals while delivering high quality health care, advanced research and Level One trauma care.
In addition to the inpatient services and trauma care, the University Medical Center will host a cancer program including radiation therapy and a chemotherapy clinic; outpatient surgery; outpatient imaging; and rehabilitation services. Treatment areas are being designed to maximize collaboration with the adjacent Veterans Affairs Medical Center by creating efficiencies through the location of adjacent diagnostic services and parallel outpatient services. The University Medical Center is sized to meet projected patient volumes and reasonable growth that accommodates the clinical needs as well as the medical education needs of the state. Filled with natural light, the facility will be easily accessible for patients walking, in wheelchairs, and in beds because of an intuitive layout that includes an easily understood signage system.
The new University Medical Center will be built with structural steel and designed to meet flood-resistant construction standards. First floors of hospital and medical office buildings that house critical functions will be built 22 feet above sea level, well beyond the five-foot Base Flood Elevation for the hospital site. Storm-proofing technology, including robust emergency electrical backup power, will allow the medical center to withstand up to Category Three hurricanes as well as tornadoes, nuclear or biological accidents, physical attacks, fires, chemical, biological and radiation hazards, all while remaining in operation for up to a week with virtually no outside support or backup supplies.
Communication systems for the University Medical Center will consist of active electronic patient record systems that are part of dynamic Local Area and Wireless Data networks that include a variety of telephone, teleconferencing, and nurse call systems. The electronic records system also will connect to Louisiana’s new statewide electronic patient records system, which is in its initial deployment stage.
The combined University Medical Center and VA medical centers are expected to generate an annual $1.26 billion economic impact and create more than 19,700 permanent jobs in the New Orleans area.
Beyond its economic impact, however, the University Medical Center will serve as an important referral center for patients from community hospitals throughout the region. The only hospital in South Louisiana with a Level 1 Trauma Center, the University Medical Center will take on the most severely injured patients. With treatment centers for complex and high-risk patients, the University Medical Center will treat complex disease states with sophisticated healthcare services. Highly trained specialists will provide healthcare unavailable anywhere else in South Louisiana.
The University Medical Center is run by an entity called the UMC Management Corporation with 11 members from mostly political sectors. Only 2 of the 11 board members are in the health industry, with the balance on the board due to large financial donations to the nominating entity. For example:
T.A. “Tim” Barfield
Louisiana Secretary of Revenue
Baton Rouge, LA
Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger
Chairman/CEO Bollinger Machine Shop Shipyard,Inc.
Lockport, LA
Dr. Christopher Rich
Mid--?State Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center
Alexandria, LA
David R. Voelker
Frantzen--?Voelker--?Conway Investments
New Orleans, LA
Elaine D. Abell
Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery
Lafayette, LA
Dr. Byron R. Harrell
Baptist Community Ministries
New Orleans, LA
Stanley Jacobs
Attorney
Jacobs, Manuel & Kain
New Orleans, LA
Robert “Bobby” Yarborough
Manda Fine Meats
Baton Rouge, LA
Darryl D. Berger
The Berger Company
New Orleans, LA
Alden J. McDonald, Jr.
Liberty Bank & Trust
New Orleans, LA
Mr. Harold Gaspard
Dean, Allied Health Division
Delgado Community College
New Orleans, LA
