New Orleans

Louisiana State University and the Department of Veteran's Affairs announced a plan to build a new $1.2 billion medical center in New Orleans. The hospital will probably take over the role played by historic Charity Hospital, although no official announcement has been made yet on the older hospital. Construction is slated for October 2008. Some doctors groups have criticized the plan as unnecessary, arguing that damage to the first floor and basement of the hospital could be repaired …

The New England Journal of Medicine reports on the struggles facing the New Orleans healthcare system, or what's left of it. The population since Katrina is down 24 percent, but only 15 of 22 hospitals are still open, and there are only 2,000 beds, or under 2 per 1,000 people, compared to 4,500 or 3.26 per 1,000. In addition, uncompensated care has skyrocketed and many physicians and nurses have left. Report

The GAO released a report that finds the storm-related damage to Charity and University hospitals in New Orleans is so serious that the buildings need to be rebuilt. As we noted earlier in the week, Louisiana State University wants to rebuild Charity in a joint project with the Veteran's Administration that would create a shared facility. The VA has already won funding to cover its side of the deal.

LSU, on the other hand, is caught up in a bitter fight with FEMA over federal …

Doctors and healthcare workers rallied in New Orleans in an attempt to stop a plan that would shut Charity Hospital. Opponents say the damage the hospital suffered is nowhere near as extensive as officials say it is. Louisiana State University and the VA have developed a plan that calls for the old facility to be replaced by a medical center that would be jointly operated by the university and the government.

- see this article from the Houston Chronicle

Tenet turned in a Q4 loss of $251 million, down from $2.19 billion a year ago. The company blames uncollected patient debt. Last year, Tenet moved its headquarters from Santa Barbara to Dallas and began a major belt-tightening campaign. Analyst opinion on the company remains sharply divided, with only a few experts predicting a good year. Credit Suisse First Boston is one of few bulls, rating the stock "outperform." Tenet has several outstanding problems, such as the official …

The public spat between the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine and the scientists who produced the controversial November 2000 study on Merck's Cox-2 painkiller Vioxx has intensified. On Wednesday, the journal's editors published a "public expression of concern," repeating their earlier charge that the research intentionally downplayed the risks of adverse cardiovascular events. In response, a group of outside researchers wrote in a separate piece that they stand by …

Tenet Healthcare said it is considering building a new hospital on the site of heavily-damaged Memorial Hospital in New Orleans. The company has hired an architect and is developing a proposal for a 200-bed facility. The plans were announced at a closed-door meeting attended by about 90 doctors. Memorial remains the focus of an investigation by the Louisiana attorney general's office into reports of possible mercy killings during the week following Hurricane Katrina. The Dallas-based …

Tenet Healthcare announced plans to invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" to rebuild damaged facilities in New Orleans and reinvigorate its business in the area by funding the construction of a new hospital. The company is not revealing exact figures on how much it plans to spend, but The Wall Street Journal is guessing that its investment on the new facility is likely to be in the $250 million to $300 million range. Tenet, which is the second-largest private hospital chain in …

The Attorney General of Louisiana said he will investigate reports of physician- assisted deaths at hospitals in New Orleans earlier this month during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. No additional details were provided. Scores of patients died at hospitals and nursing homes around the city at the height of the crisis as power failed in intensive care units and life support systems keeping patients alive shut down. Observers said it is possible that hospital and nursing home staff may …

National attention in this country is again focused on the Gulf coast as Hurricane Rita makes its way slowly across the Gulf of Mexico. Hospitals and nursing homes in low-lying areas of Texas are preparing to obey evacuation orders and move to higher ground. Faced with the possibility of a repeat of the tragedy experienced in New Orleans--where a number of patients died in intolerable conditions at hospitals and nursing homes after Katrina struck--many appear to be taking the threat much …