Promised synergy lacking in New Orleans hospital plans

Architects for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Louisiana State University System have unveiled preliminary plans Thursday for medical complexes in New Orleans. The architects showed stakeholders various options with a common result: distinctly independent hospitals that appear to lack much of the "synergy" the participating institutions once touted. Speaking to preservationists and planners, separate design teams emphasized that the schematic designs are "preliminary," but some in the audience expressed surprise when comparing the early renderings.