Get the Facts

FACT: Of those who relied on Charity Hospital before Hurricane Katrina, over half of non-elderly adults (56%) are without health insurance and more than six in ten (61%) report having no primary source of care other than the emergency room.

FACT: More than a third of New Orleans residents report that they postpone needed medical care and a quarter report that they had no doctor, clinic, or pharmacy to turn to for needed care.

FACT: The continued closure of Charity Hospital is straining health services across the Greater New Orleans area. In addition, government services (like the New Orleans Police Department) report being burdened by mental and medical health oriented non-police work since Charity’s closure.

The RMJM Hillier/Foundation for Historical Louisiana Proposal — A plan to rebuild Charity Hospital

Watch a Video Overview of the Plan

There is a viable alternative that includes rebuilding Charity Hospital as a world-class institution. RMJM Hillier, a nationally-recognized architecture and planning firm found the Charity Hospital building to be structurally sound–with its original design being architecturally exceptional and "ahead of its time." The RMJM Hillier plan incorporates the same health care delivery systems proposed for the LSU Academic Medical Center, but locates them within a state-of-the-art rehabilitation of Charity Hospital.

The plan to rebuild Charity Hospital would keep the medical district downtown

The current LSU/VA proposal would abandon Charity Hospital and threaten the downtown medical district. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, LSU has put forward a plan that would claim 249 homes in Lower Mid-City for a new LSU Academic Medical Center and VA Medical Complex and extend from Clairborne Avenue to Rocheblave Street. An alternative plan would rebuild the LSU Academic Medical Center within Charity Hospital and reduce the footprint of the project.

Rebuilding Charity Hospital is fiscally responsible

Rebuilding within the shell Charity Hospital saves at least $283 million on the LSU hospital alone. By rebuilding Charity Hospital to serve as the new LSU Academic Medical Center, the RMJM Hillier/FHL plan would save taxpayers $283 million, or 34% of the project cost for the LSU hospital portion alone. The Charity Hospital rehabilitation would be completed at least four and a half years faster than the LSU/VA proposal.