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Rally to Save Charity, Lower Mid-City
by Darwin
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 at 5:12 PM
darwin@riseup.net (email address validated)
A small groups of protesters gathered in the freezing cold today in front of the Avery C. Alexander Charity Hospital demanding it be reopened. They also voiced concerns about the massive VA-LSU project that will demolish 70 blocks of lower Mid-City, ostensibly to replace Charity and the old VA hospitals.
sign.jpg, image/jpeg, 3072x2304
Charity has been closed since hurricane Katrina. LSU claims that it sustained overwhelming damage and can no longer support the level of health care required in metro New Orleans. Proponents of reopening Charity say otherwise and point to several independent studies showing that the hospital could be redesigned and reopened for far less than it will take to build the new LSU hospital. The protestors also noted that regardless of LSU's plans, it would have made better sense in both dollar terms and quality of public health to have reopened Charity after the 2005 storm, even if the new hospital were to be built anyway. Thousands of New Orleanians have faced severe obstacles to obtaining health care because of Charity's closure.
Brad Ott, an organizer with the Committee to Reopen Charity Hospital thanked supporters for mobilizing on such a wintry day and told those gathered that the next few months are critical and will finally determine the fate of Charity and Mid-City. He stated that many state legislators have become more suspicious of LSU's plans given last week's lockout of representatives of the Foundation for Historic Louisiana (a group that advocates reopening Big Charity) from a tour of Charity Hospital by LSU staff. The hospital tour was a public meeting and had been posted on the state's web site as such.
darwinbondgraham.blogspot.com
Save Mid-City
by Darwin
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 at 5:12 PM
darwin@riseup.net
savemidcitydrawing.jpg, image/jpeg, 3072x2304
A hand drawn map of lower Mid-City.
darwinbondgraham.blogspot.com
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