LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport announced its new partnership with the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana on Tuesday, following Gov. Bobby Jindal’s push toward privatizing the state’s public hospitals, according to a news release.
LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport operated the hospitals before the privatization. Now, the medical school will still remain a part of the public LSU System.
In addition to the three hospitals under LSUHSC-Shreveport’s direction, it also runs the LSU School of Allied Health Professionals and the LSU School of Graduate Studies in Shreveport, serving northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and parts of Texas and Oklahoma.
Although many identify LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans as the System’s primary medical school, the center in Shreveport is more expansive than one might think. In 2012, 469 medical students, 327 allied health students and 75 graduate students were enrolled at LSUHSC-Shreveport, along with 508 full-time faculty and 97 part-time faculty.
LSUHSC-Shreveport previously received its funding from the state’s public hospitals, but those appropriations will be replaced with funding from BRF.
Sanjay Juneja, resident physician at LSUHSC-Shreveport, said last semester — when he was a fourth-year medical student — students were concerned the privatization would affect the medical school.
“If the hospitals aren’t in the system anymore, it will put a huge dent in our plans,” Juneja said. “We offer a lot to LSU and want to be a strong part of the System in the future.”
In the 2014-15 Preliminary Budget Request, LSUHSC-Shreveport requested about $35 million in state appropriations, bringing its budget to around $100 million.
The new BRF partnership will also include the Shreveport Medical Center and EA Conaway Medical Center in Monroe.
SC and H Capital, an advisory and investment banking firm focused on acquisition, worked with LSUHSC-Shreveport as the financial adviser for the privatization.
The Biomedical Research Foundation will run the former LSU hospitals in Monroe and Shreveport through the Biomedical Research Foundation Hospital Holdings, which consists of a total of more than 3,500 employees.