April 24, 2009
Dear Tulane Alumni,
I am writing today with an update on our call to action regarding the new proposed public hospital for New Orleans, known as the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, or MCLNO.
As you know, this academic medical center is absolutely critical to the academic mission of our School of Medicine and the vitality of the wider community. It is the largest site for our Graduate Medical Education program, and we have more residents at MCLNO than in any other hospital associated with the School of Medicine.
If that residency opportunity were in any way diminished – by who owns the hospital or who governs it – it would have a short- and long-term impact on the quality of education we are providing for our residents, and it certainly would have an impact on the school as well as the larger community.
House Speaker Jim Tucker has introduced House Bill 830 to create an independent board within the state Department of Health and Hospitals to govern and manage the hospital. This independent board, whose members would be appointed by both the governor and members of the House and Senate, would contract with Tulane and other academic institutions to provide medical services for the hospital.
An independent board, which represents the interests of the wider community, is critical to the success of this publicly funded hospital. I ask you to make sure that you tell your legislators that you support Representative Tucker’s efforts to ensure fair governance with appropriate checks and balances for the public hospital in New Orleans.
Sincerely,
Scott S. Cowen
President