Lawmakers’ Rx for Chabert just what the doctor ordered

The Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center made out like a bandit this legislative session, increasing its budget by $13.4 million to a whopping total of about $103 million for 2008.

“It [the 2007 Regular Legislative Session] was probably the most successful, from a monetary standpoint, in more than 10 years,” said LSU Health Care Services Division director of communications and media relations Marvin McGraw.

Also helping out the LSU Health Care Services Division as a whole was the fact the 2007 Regular Legislative Session saw the passage of a bill that transferred Huey P. Long Medical Center to the LSU Hospital System in north Louisiana, reducing the number of hospitals in the LSU Health Care Services Division to seven.

The increase puts the hospitals’ budgets at a continuation level, which is vital.

“It’s important to note this budget is at a true continuation level and that’s very important,” said McGraw. “This means that the [division’s] hospitals for the first time in, I guess 10 years, have sufficient money appropriated, along with the hospitals’ ability to generate its own dollars to operate.”

McGraw said the funding should allow things like for merit increases for staff, funding for Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s state employee pay raises, medical inflation and routine inflation.

“For the first time in 10 years, this represents a fully funded mode for Chabert and all our hospitals,” said McGraw. “Prior to last year, hospitals had been forced to make choices that would force them to either cut or reduce services to bring each hospital’s expenditures to the approved budget levels.”

McGraw said the hospitals have been good at conserving their funds in the past and with the new funds should allow the hospitals’ staff to pursue efficiencies in the system, meaning reducing waiting times for patients and addressing some access issues.

Funding was also appropriated for the opening of nine new acute mental health beds at Chabert, adding to the 10 beds the hospital already has, during the session.

But not everything went as well as the hospital system hoped. McGraw said one major concern remains from the legislative session.

The hospital system is moving forward with an internal medicine residency program, but no new and expanded programs were approved for any of the hospitals during the legislative session, meaning the new residency program doesn’t really have any of its own funding.

“So the program will generate some efficiencies, which will generate some savings through this residency program, but it’s not going to be enough to fund the entire program. So, what we’re going to do is continue to pursue this endeavor and look for ways to start this program by the end of the year with the expectations of full funding in ’09 budget,” he explained.

Another lingering concern for Chabert is the fact the hospital’s administrator Larry D. Walker was put on an indefinite paid administrative leave last week.

Chabert’s director of nursing Rhonda Green was appointed acting administrator.

McGraw simply said the LSU Health Services Division did not put out any public information on Walker’s leave. There’s no indication as to when – or if – he will return.

Walker was appointed head of Chabert in September 2006.

Prior to joining Chabert’s staff, Walker was CEO of the East Texas Medical Center in Gilmer, Texas, and worked at the Louisiana Heart Hospital in Lacombe and the Province Healthcare Corporation of Louisiana.