Community health clinics to feel impact of hospital cutbacks

Neighborhood clinics believe they will feel the impact of cuts to the Interim LSU Hospital in more than one way. The hospital is facing hundreds of layoffs and a reduction in medical services because of a funding crisis. After Hurricane Katrina left the sprawling Charity Hospital shuttered, the Interim LSU Hospital serves much of the uninsured and under-insured in the area. But now the hospital is facing a $49 million dollar funding cut. In light of that, community clinics in the city are bracing for the fallout. "I'm very concerned. LSU has been a great resource for our patients for specialty care," said Meshawn Tarver, executive director of the Common Ground Health Clinic in Algiers. Tarver is concerned about seriously ill patients the clinic usually refers to the hospital for care.