LSU hospital privatization OK'd by civil service panel

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration won approval Wednesday from the Civil Service Commission for the privatization of the LSU hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe, which will remove nearly 3,300 people from state employment rolls. The 4-1 commission vote was the final step needed for the Oct. 1 start date of the outsourcing contract and allows the university system to lay off 3,262 hospital workers at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport and the E.A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe. Those employees can reapply with the nonprofit research foundation that will take over management of the hospitals.