Medical School's Economic Impact

              SHREVEPORT JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 1971
Medical School s Economic Impact
Probably many Shreveporters were
surprised by the prediction of James C.
Gardner, Chamber of Commerce presi-dent,
that the Louisiana State University
Medical School will be the most impor-tant
single e c o n o m i c factor in this
community by the end of the present
decade. He gave impressive figures to
back up this conclusion in a recent
speech at a Shreveport Jaycees' lunch-eon.
A construction contract for $30 mil-lion
which will be let this year will be the
largest such contract in local history, Mr.
Gardner said. The professional staff of
the school by 1974-75 will consist of 300
holders of doctorates and master's de-grees,
who on the average will be earning
$24,000 a year. Four hundred other
employes will have an average annual
salary of $7,000. By 1980, Mr. Gardner
remarked, the yearly budget of the school
will amount to $15 million.
In addition to the state appropria-tions,
the institution will be receiving
grants from the federal government,
foundations, h e a l t h organizations and
philanthropists. As the school grows and
distinguishes itself, it will draw more
gifts and grants to augment its regular
budget.
Most expenditures will be made in
Shreveport or through local channels.
Furthermore, the students will be spend-ing
substantial sums that will accrue to
community economy.
As Mr. Gardner pointed out, the
presence of the school will stimulate
businesses operating in the health field
and health agencies which will make a
contribution to the economy of the area
while performing their functions. The
school affords the region as well as the
city great opportunities for expanding
professional training and research in
health and biological sciences. Those
programs will put more dollars into
circulation here as well as strengthen the
scientific capacity of the Shreveport area.
The school will be able to offer
certain types of consultant services to
local institutions and agencies, saving
them the expense of bringing experts
from a d i s t a n c e . For instance, the
N o r t h w e s t Louisiana School for the
Mentally Retarded, which is to be built
near Bossier City, can call on the Medical
School faculty for advice on neurological
and psychological conditions of its
trainees.
Various rehabilitation services in the
Shreveport metropolitan area can take
advantage of the technical knowledge
available at the Medical School. With the
assistance of that school, rehabilitation
programs can be improved, thus prepar-ing
more handicapped persons for gainful
employment.
Caddo and neighboring parishes can
expect to gain an appreciable number of
graduates of the school. An increase in
the number of physicians, of course, will
mean individual and public savings in
health and employment. Proximity to the
school will encourage doctors and health
workers to take postgraduate study.
As Mr. Gardner recognized, the school
will have a profound influence on the
progress of the community. Shreveport's
cooperation and backing will be repaid
with incalculable benefits.