(AP) — LSU is shelving plans to build a new public hospital in Baton Rouge to replace the antiquated Earl K. Long Medical Center.
LSU System Vice President Fred Cerise says instead, the university is negotiating a deal with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center to become LSU’s Baton Rouge-based teaching hospital.
Earl K. Long hospital, which serves the poor and uninsured, would close and its patients would be admitted to Our Lady of the Lake. Cerise says LSU would continue to operate outpatient medical clinics around the city with extended hours and days of operation.
Cerise and Scott Wester, chief executive officer of Our Lady of the Lake, say they hope to have details worked out by spring.