State, U.S. Aid Expected for Rehabilitation Center

              State, U.S. Aid Expected
For Rehabilitation Center
The dream of a Northwest
Louisiana Rehabilitation Center
in Shreveport is expected to
take a giant step toward reality
today with state approval of
$100,000 for initial work on the
project
Rep. Don Williamson of Viv-ian
will present the request to
the Capital Outlay budget Com-mittee
chaired by Gov. John
McKeithen. Williamson said he
has been a s s u r e d that the
committee will approve the
request.
An additional $400,000 federal
grant is expected to follow the
state funding for the project,
See Picture on Page 5-A
which will be the forerunner of
a planned $8.3 million center
here.
Williamson said the rehabili-tation
center will be the first in
the state and among the finest
in the nation.
It could be operational by this
fall, he said.
A dozen local groups, includ-ing
the LSU School of Medicine
in Shreveport, have been cam-paigning
for the center.
The first $500,000 will be used
to convert three Linwood Apart-,
ments units into a rehabilitation
center and to provide equipment
for the center.
Once established the center
will require $224,000 for yearly
operations.
"Employment is the objective
of the center," Williamson said.
He said there are currently
20,000 disabled persons in seven
Northwest Louisiana parishes
who would be aidsd by the
center.
Victims of birth defects, acci-dents,
disease, mental retarda-tion
or other infirmities will be
eligible for services by the
center.s
The center is scheduled to
provide such services as physi-cal
therapy, speech and audio
therapy and occupational ther-apy,
Williamson said.
The center's program includes
plans to teach a vocation to
disabled persons, he said.
Dr. George R. Meneely, as-sociate
dean of the LSU School
of Medicine, said the center is
part of the medical school's
m a s t e r plan. He said the
apartment units should be re-placed
by the planned new
facility by 1981.
The center will initially have
24 beds for persons outside the
Shreveport metropolitan area
who would not be able to make
the daily trips to the facility.
Others will live at home when
not participating in therapy or
training at the center.
The center will be operated by
the Louisiana State Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation ,in
cooperation with the LSU School
of Medicine.
Forrest Dunn, chairman of
the Community Council rehabili-tation
services committee said
the center will provide the first
state means for the rehabilita-tion
treatment of area persons.
He said these type services
often cost $10,000 or more for
persons who must go out of
state to find such services.
Community Council president.
Judge Gorman Taylor, praised
the efforts by Williamson in
bringing the center here and
called the project "an asset to
all of North Louisiana."