Med Center: A Coming Big Industry

              The Shreveport Times
Farm News
Sunday, April 5. 1970
Classified Ads Area News
Metropolitan
News
Oil and Gas
Section C, Page One
700 Full-Time Employes in 1979
Med Center: A Coming Big Industry
By Margaret Martin
Times Medical Writer
Projections show that job expenditures,
manpower, and construction of the new
Louisiana State University Medical Center
in Shreveport will be a major factor in the
city's economy when the school is in full
force in 1979.
The school is presently housed at the
Veterans Administration Hospital and has
32 students.
Figures released by Robert Graves,
medical school business manager, show
that the school's eventual payroll and.
staff of employes will be comparable to a
major industry coming into town.
When it is operating at full strength in
the 1979-80 fiscal year, the school will
have over 700 fulltime employes and a
budget of $13 million.
This includes 210 faculty members and
1500 staff members for a total of 710
fulltime employes. In addition there will
|be 300 part-time employes who will not be
paid.
The budget will be $9,750,000 for payroll
and $4,250,000 for other expenses for a
tolal of $13 million.
The medical school also plans construc-tion
of an initial $30.5 million plant
expected to be ready by 1974, and a
c o m p l e t e medical center costing
$148,445,000, scheduled to be ready in 15
years.
The personnel figures do not include
the 500 medical school students and their
families who will be attending the school
said C. J. Libbey, head of the Shreveport
Chamber of Commerce's Research De-partment.
Libbey said these students would be
paying rent and buying food, gasoline and
other commodities.
The full-time employes on the payroll
now are 57 faculty members and 43 other
staff members for a total of 100 employes.
The payroll budget for 1969-70 is $957,000,
while other expenses are $1,020,000 for a
total of $1,977,000.
Predicted for the 1975-76 is a budget of
$6,642,000, including $5,013,000 for payroll
purposes for the 260 fulltime employes
and $1,269,000 for other expenses. Included
on the payroll in that year are 110 faculty
members and 150 staff members.
As is true with many large industries,
much of the full-time faculty will be
recruited and brought into the Shreveport
area, whereas the part-time faculty will
be members of the local medical
profession or allied fields.
Graves said that "while the total
number of employes of the medical center
will not approach the total number. of
employes of many large industries located
in Shreveport, it is significant that this
school will bring into Shreveport in excess
of 200 medical doctors and Ph.d's, whose
average annual salary in today's dollars
will be around $23,000. The impact of this
particular group in the civic and cultural
life of Shreveport should also be very
significant."
In terms of "industry," what does the
LSU School of Medicine mean to
Shreveport?
Each 100 new. jobs created means 359
more persons in Shreveport according to
figures of the U.S. Chamber of Com-merce.
The $30.5 million Louisiana State University Medical
'School at Shreveport will be constructed between
Confederate Memorial Medical Center and the Con-federate
Nursing School. The second building from
right is the basic science and clinical building, while
the building in the foreground is the comprehen-sive
car,« teaching facility. Associated Medical School
Architects are in charge of the building design.
(Times Photo by Terry Vaughan)
It also means 91 more school children
per 100 persons and $710,000 more
personal income in the city per 100, based
on an average income of $7,100.
It means $229,000 more bank deposits
and 107 more passenger cars for every 100
persons.
There will be 174 more workers
employed; three more retail establish-ments
and $331,000 more retail sales a
year for each 100 persons.
Libbey said professional workers at the
medical school "will be making and
spending more money than the average
industrial worker."
In his report, Graves said the budget
figures include, "in addition to state
appropriations, self-generated revenues,
gifts and grants.
"It is estimated that by 1980 with a $13
million budget at least 50 per cent of this
will come from nonstate sources.
". . . Up.until that time it will be
necessary that we receive a major portion
of our funds from the state since we will
be in a developing situation. Once the
school is developed and research and
training funds are secured from the
federal government as well as other
sources, the proportion of the total
Louisiana contributes will approximate 50
percent of the total budget," he said. .
"While it is estimated that the total
fulltime staff in 1980 will 'be approximate-ly
700, it should be noted that there will be
an estimated .additional 300 part-time
faculty members.
"As a rule, the fulltime faculty will be
recruited and brought into the Shreveport
area whereas most of the part-time
faculty will be members of the local
medical profession."
Caddo Rep. P. J. Mills discussed the
. potential of the school with several groups
this week.
He considers it "big industry for the
community," while Medical Center Chan-cellor
Dr. William Stewart called it a
"huge business, which will attract people
to Shreveport."
Mills said that through the medical
school the latest medical advances will
be available to the community.
He said "The association of the
medical school will make invaluable
contributions to the growth and develop-ment
of all phases of community life,
including the social and cultural aspects."
When any industry comes into an area
the legislator said, "we look at the payroll
and the effect of the economy at full
production."
The school Is also expected to have an
effect on Confederate Memorial Medical
Center.
The $30.5 million LSU facility will be
constructed on the grounds of Confeder-ate.
And, there is a possibility that within
the next four or five years, "all of the
state hospitals except Confederate and
Charity in New Orleans will become
university hospitals," according to the
grant application for federal funds.
"In this event, Confederate will
become the property of LSU. The
governor, the director of the State
Department of hospitals and the chairman
of the board of Confederate Memorial
favor such a transition, which may well
begin with the transfer of Confederate to
LSU," the .document said.
Although the grant has been approved
for the 11-story school, the grant has not
been funded, said Dr. Marion Hargrove,
assistant dean in charge of clinical
| sciences.
He said, "If we were funded tomorrow,
we could award the contract early next
spring and break ground a couple of
months after that."
He said the completion date "is
expected to be 1374."
The National Advisory Council on
Education for Health Professions, part of
the Public Health Services, has given the
okay on the funds for the school, but
Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare Robert Finch has to approve
them.
The complex will be a $30.5 million
facility. The state has already earmarked
$10 million for the school.
The basic science and clinical building
will be constructed between Confederate
and the Confederate Nursing School
building and will be the first phase in the
development of a major medical center,
according to the grant application.
This building will be the first of several
permanent structures in which the
principal mission of the school, teaching
of medical students will be undertaken,
said the grant application.
"It will contain the classrooms,
laboratories, offices and library necessary
to complement the clinical facilities which
are already available. Its construction will
result in a medical complex suited for
effective teaching at undergraduate, post-graduate
and graduate levels, productive
research and patient care of high quality,
it added. ,
The comprehensive .care . teaching,
facility will be Built as a free-standing
building immediately north of the main
medical school building.
According to the application, the two
buildings are separate to avoid patient
traffic in the main medical school
building.
"Although designed as a teaching unit,
it will provide comprehensive health care,
not previously available to a considerable
number of low income persons and
families. Hopefully, it will be a model
which may be emulated elsewhere," it
added.
The medical school also owns the
Linwood Apartment Complex and the
Stonewall Missile Site.
The total number of teaching beds
available to the new .school in its two
teaching hospitals—- Confederate and the
Veterans Administration Hospital — is
1,323.
Associated Medical School Architects
are in charge of the building design. The
group is made up of Samuel G. Wiener &
Associates, Wilson &:Sandifer and William
B. Wiener, Morgan O'Neal.