Three health care companies that are competing to lease West Jefferson Medical Center and East Jefferson General Hospital will state their cases publicly to Jefferson Parish Council starting Thursday at 10 a.m. The meeting had been planned as a closed-door exchange, but council members opted Wednesday evening to let the public directly scrutinize proposals from Louisiana Children's Medical Center,...
Three health care companies that are competing to lease West Jefferson Medical Center and East Jefferson General Hospital will state their cases publicly to Jefferson Parish Council starting Thursday at 10 a.m.
The meeting had been planned as a closed-door exchange, but council members opted Wednesday evening to let the public directly scrutinize proposals from Louisiana Children's Medical Center, the HCA conglomerate and Ochsner Health System. That level of access is new territory in a process that originated in secret four years ago, when Jefferson officials sought ways to consolidate the two publicly owned hospitals.
After Thursday's public presentations however, the council's deliberations likely will take place behind closed doors, and a range of actions are possible before adjournment. The council may select one company to lease both hospitals and authorize negotiations, entertain the notion of separate leases for the two hospitals or seek a recommendation. That recommendation could come from the Jefferson Parish Hospital and Health Services District, a public entity comprising the two hospital boards, or from the district's consultant, Kaufman Hall.
I will cover the meeting live in the comment section below this post. Your observations are welcome there, too.