BATON ROUGE – Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis today announced the suspension of land acquisition activities for the proposed new University Medical Center in New Orleans, pending a resolution of the MOU concerning the governance structure for the proposed medical center.  The governance structure is a critical step toward developing a financing model for the new facility.
 
Commissioner Davis said, “There remains no agreement on the proposed governing structure and it is critical that we make an intensified effort to reach an agreement before the state acts to purchase the property. The proposed agreement called for a non-profit corporation to operate the hospital, with the corporation being responsible for obtaining debt financing.  Without this corporation, or an agreement by the stakeholders to form the corporation, financing the project becomes a bigger challenge.
 
“This will have no impact on the VA Hospital and the on-going land acquisition activities for the new VA Hospital in New Orleans.  Today, we are suspending land acquisition activities and efforts for the MCLNO / Charity replacement hospital pending a resolution of the governance issue.”
 
Commissioner Davis reached this conclusion after consulting with DHH Secretary Alan Levine.  Both are in agreement on the urgency of reaching a conclusion on the governance structure so land acquisition activities can continue and this important project can move forward.