(Shreveport Times) — LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport will buy Shriners Hospital in return for services to the Shriners organization and its patients, according to a pending agreement.
LSUHSC-S and Shriners have discussed ways to create a children’s hospital in Shreveport for about five years. The issue took on a new urgency in 2009 when the Shriners organization proposed closing its Shreveport hospital, the first in the Shriners’ 22-campus system, and five others to cut costs.
On Friday, the LSU Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposal that would give LSUHSC-S control of the Shriners hospital property located beside the health sciences center.
LSU would renovate and expand the hospital to include a round-the-clock children’s intensive care unit. State lawmakers in 2009 appropriated $10 million for the LSU Health Sciences Foundation to help pay for renovations and construction.
The Shriners organization would lease space in the hospital to continue its orthopedic services to children.
The hospital could open in about two years if both sides work out a final agreement.
