Chamber Urges Improvements at CMMC

              Chamber Urges Improvements at CMMC
The most recent publication of the
Shreveport Chamber of Commerce calls
for a reassessment of the adequacy of
Confederate Memorial Medical Center
(CMMC) and for mobilizing the center's
resources to provide a total health care
program.
"The role of a total health care
provider for all Louisianians, not just the
medically indigent, is quite logical for it is
in a teaching hospital that the new bodies
of knowledge are discovered . . . Since
the taxpayers are providing the budget
for this medical complex, it is imperative
that all segments of the population must
get something in return for their tax
dollar," the chamber publication
"Statiscope" stated.
In an article called "Transition at
CMMC — Plan for Continued Progress,"
the chamber states that Confederate is
important for the growth and progress of
the Louisiana State University School of
Medicine in Shreveport. Both institutions
face a loss of accreditation if certain
deficiencies are not corrected
immediately, the chamber noted.
Confederate, the teaching hospital for
the LSU Medical School, has experienced
a shortage of funds which has led to a lack
of adequate numbers of employes and a
deterioration of physical facilities.
The non-teaching role of the hospital
consisting of delivery of total health care
to all citizens — not just the medically
indigent — is also of vital concern, the
chamber continued. The institution of a
burn center, advanced trauma center for
emergency care, dialysis units for kidney
disease arrest and other clinical care
areas are vital to Shreveport's future as a
medical center, the chamber pointed out.
"Since the construction of the
hospital's physical plant in 1953, no
significant capital improvements were
funded until work began on the new $1.5
million outpatient facility which was
dedicated in early 1973," according to
"Statiscope."
A capital outlay program entitled, "A
Plan for Continued Progress," has been
developed to provide the required
direction for the hospital to correct many
of its historical problems. The program
has been divided into four phases, the first
of which has been funded while none of
the others have been funded.
The last three phases of the program
will require $18 million and renovation
programs will be funded by a $6 million
bond issue to be retired from revenues
from the Louisiana Downs racetrack in
Bossier Parish.
Gov. Edwin Edwards, the chamber
stated, has endorsed the renovation plan
at CMMC and thus saved a one-year delay
in the program.
U.S. Rep. Joe D. Waggonner Jr. is
seeking $2 million in Hill-Burton federal
funds which could be used to fund a
portion of Phase Four of the program. If
he- is successful, this would provide $8
million in state and federal funds with
which to initiate the program.
Some of the inclusions under the four
phases of the program are:
Phase One — Intensive care and cobalt
therapy units, a coronary care unit,
surgical intensive care unit, a recovery
room for post-operative care, an intensive
care unit for newborn babies and a
respiratory therapy department.