New Orleans hospital plans aim not to raze

If they move forward with plans to build teaching hospitals in a historic New Orleans neighborhood, the Louisiana and federal governments would attempt to preserve several landmark buildings and integrate them into the footprint of the academic medical center. Consultants said at a public forum that they might spare the buildings from demolition if the buildings prove sound and if they can reasonably be incorporated into the design of the new hospitals. LSU and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs have planned for about two years to build adjoining hospitals near downtown Near Orleans to replace the medical centers each lost to Hurricane Katrina. Both institutions would save on operating costs by sharing some diagnostic equipment and clinical services, as well as parking and laundry.