73 Saw the Old Guard Change at Both CMMC and LSU Med School

              THE SHREVEPORT TIMES Sunday, Jan. 13,1974
Capital Improvement Plans at Confederate Memorial Medical Center
(CMMC), teaching hospital for the LSU Medical School at Shreveport,
are discussed on a weekly basis by officials of both institutions. Going
over plans at a recent session were (left to right around the table) Dr.
George Meneely, LSU Medical School and CMMC coordinator of plans;
Joe Germany, assistant administrator at CMMC; Dr. Rod M. Yeager,
director of CMMC; Dr. Jack W. Gamble, chief of the Department of
Oral Surgery at CMMC; and Michael Svoren, assistant coordinator of
plans for the medical school. (Times Photos by Billy Upshaw)
'73 Saw the Old Guard
Change at Both CMMC
And LSU Med School
Schumpert Memorial Hospital Announced Plans
. . . started $2.3 million cancer center.
By Margaret Martin
Times Medical Writer
The Louisiana State University
Medical School at Shreveport and its
teaching hospital, Confederate Memorial
Medical Center (CMMC) grabbed top
headlines in the field of medicine in the
area during 1973.
The old guard changed at both the
school and the hospital.
A young and vigorous 32-year-old heart
surgeon, Dr. Rod M. Yeager, replaced
78-year-old Dr. Edgar Galloway as head
of CMMC just at the beginning of the
year.
Stepping in as dean of the medical
school was Dr. Clifford G. Grulee Jr.,
who held the same title at the University
of Cincinnati Medical School in Ohio. He
replaced Dr. Edgar Hull who retired
July 1.
Yeager considers completion of plans
for the long-range capital improvement
for CMMC as one of the most significant
accomplishments during the past 12
months.
It spells out the goals and objectives
for the future of the medical complex,
and allows the administration to
organize its efforts toward accomplish-ment
of these ideals for the next few
years," Yeager said.
The long-range plan, Yeager said in
an interview, "gives us goals to shoot
for."
During the year Gov. Edwin Edwards
gave the hospital the go ahead for the
$12 million renovation, the first major
renovation the hospital has had in 20
years since it was constructed.
Randle Hand, architect, was
authorized to proceed with plans. Initial
financing will be done with revenue
bonds from Louisiana Downs Race
Track.
Included in the project will be air con-ditioning,
switching wards from four-bed
rooms to two and three-bed rooms, with
bathrooms in each; new lights and floors
and a paint job.
Already during the past year CMMC
has had major changes in physical
makeup.
Construction was started and com-pleted
on new surgical, medical and
coronary intensive care units, and a
Cobalt Therapy Unit.
Also added to the hospital's lists of
services is a new respiratory therapy
facility and a Pulmonary Function
Laboratory.
On the second floor of the old out-patient
department is a new Heart
Station, and on the first floor two new
classrooms have been completed for use
in inservice education programs.
Other new departments and services
which have been created during the year
are a Department of planning; Depart-ment
of Infectious Disease Control;
Department of Pulmonary Medicine;
Department of Medical Education to ad-minister
graduate and postgraduate
training programs; Department of
Volunteer Services, with 81 workers
providing services for various areas of
the hospital; Employe Health Clinic,
established to serve employes who
become ill while on duty at the hospital,.
and to give pre-employment physical
examinations to prospective employes;
Department of Biomedical Electronics;
Messenger Service, and Employe Infor-mation
Service.
During the year two additional
training programs, one for inhalation
technicians and on? for emergency
medical technicians, were instituted.
Also trained at the medical center
during the year were 26 resident
physicians; 22 interns; 53 nursing
students; 13 medical technologists, and
28 X-ray technologists. Number of in-terns
and residents was increased from
97 last year to 137 this year.
Twenty-two doctors were added to the
medical visiting staff, bringing the total
to 280 members.
The CMMC budget was also increased
last year — from $12,090,179 for fiscal
year 1973 to $13,999,629 for the present
fiscal year.
More Employes
"This allowed us," Yeager said, "to
increase the number of employes from
1,116 in December 1972, to a total of 1,221
in December 1973. A total of 297 em-ployes
were promoted and reallocated to
higher positions during the year, and a
total of 1,207 employes received a much
deserved pay raise during the year.U •
A total of almost $400,000 in con-tributions
from private citizens, grants
and foundations were given to the hospital
during 1973, Yeager reported.
Housed at CMMC during the year was
a communication system which will
enable the physician at the emergency
room to talk to ambulance staffers. The
$4,700 cost of the program — funded by
the Regional Medical Program through
the Louisia/ia Hospital Association — is
a joint effort of CMMC, the Shreveport
Medical Society, the Northwest
Louisiana Planning Council, and the LSU
School of Medicine.
Also during the year interns and
residents got salary hikes ranging from
$100 to $250 a month, bringing the
stipends from $650 to $950 a month.
Among the biggest news items during
the year, for the medical school was
graduation of the first class of 31
medical students. Gov. Edwin W. Ed-wards
spoke at the May ceremonies at
the Civic Theater.
The school is looking toward a July 1,
1975, completion date, according to Dean
Grulee. Meanwhile, the school continues
to house its administrative staff at the
Shreveport Veterans Administration
Hospital. The library, classrooms and
laboratories are also located at the VA.
During the year, the school was fully
accredited by the American Association
of Medical Schools, the necessary stamp
of approval given by the medical profes-sion.
In the area of personnel, Dr. D. E.
Scott, who is on the staff at the Univer-'
sity of Texas Southwestern Medical
School, was named professor and head of
the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at the local school. He
replaces Dr. Arthur Fort, who resigned
to take a position in New Orleans.
Initial efforts to establish a profes-sional
service plan which would allow
the medical school faculty to see private
patients were also taken during the 12
months.
Although at most medical schools
physicians are able to see private patients,
the local policy has allowed that practice
only on a consulting basis.
Grulee said that he has already
spoken to and, received what he termed
"a courteous reception," most of the
local hospital medical hospital staffs. He
said he will, within the next month, ap-point
a task force, including fulltime and
voluntary staffers, to study the matter.
Primary concern at the VA Hospital
is taking care of patients, said Director
L. M. Frazier Jr. That complaints about
service have dropped, Frazier considers
significant.
Helpful both to the community and to
the patient though, are the numerous,
training programs which are conducted
at the VA.
These include training programs for
nuclear medicine technicians, which was
activiated last year; medical laboratory
technicians; resident physicians; nurses;
dental assistants; laboratory
technicians; speech pathologists; dietetic
students; social workers, psychological
technicians; physical therapists, and
medical record workers.
Also receiving training at the hospital
was an assistant hospital • director
trainee, and a hospital administrative
resident.
Although numbers vary, a total of 580
nurses and 34 medical residents received
training at the VA, Frazier said.
Most of the training programs were
done by arrangement with state colleges
which need clinical experiences as part
of student training.
Training Emphasized
Frazier also said that he feels con-tinued
training of VA employes is impor-tant.
In 1973 a total of 236 employes par-ticipated
in training programs away
from the local VA station. Locally, the
seminars included programs for 40 top
level employes.
Other trainees include a prosthetics
representative trainee who has been as-signed
to a VA hospital in Omaha, Neb.
Workload at the institution is in-creasing,
Frazier said, because of
liberalized admission and outpatient
laws governing the VA.
During the past year, Frazier said,
the hospital was okayed for $950,000 in
funds to renovate certain areas for
research and education programs, and
was given a $252,000 planning grant.
Statistics show that most Shreveport
area hospitals showed an increase in
patients in 1973 over 1972.
Admissions to the VA during 1973
were 8,200, as compared to 7,500 in 1972;
turnover for beds was 173 per cent in
1973 and 155 per cent for 1972; outpatient
visits were 42,500 for 1973 and 37,600 in
1972.
There were 22,662 admissions to
CMMC in 1972-73 fiscal year, and 22,234
in 1971-72.
Other hospital statistics show out-patient
clinic visits, 158,304 for the 1972-
73 fiscal year, and 150-156 for 1971-72;
outpatient visits, 168,394 and 159,802;
emergency visits, 10,728 and 9,646;
surgical procedures, 6,692 and 6,087.
Bossier City General Hospital had
5,837 admissions in 1973 and 5,459 the
year before; patient days of care, 31,632
and 30,761; and surgical procedures, j
2,460 and 2,138.
There were 1,020 patients admitted to
Brentwood Hospital in 1973 and 1,025 in
1972, and patient days of care were
31,816 and 28,780.
Admissions to Fairfield Hospital in
the 1972-73 fiscal year were 1,343 and in
the 1971-72 fiscal year, 907. There were
8,246 days of patient care in the 1972-73
fiscal year and 6,345 in the 1971-72 fiscal
year.
Schumpert Memorial Hospital recor-ded
a total of 18,526 admissions; 119,479
days of patient care; 87.51 per cent of oc-cupancy
and 40,027 emergency and out-patient
visits last year.
In 1972 the totals were 17,800 admis-sions;
116,000 days of patient care; 82.81
per cent occupancy, and 34,690
emergency and outpatient visits.
Admissions to Willis-Knighton
Memorial Hospital in 1973 were 12,473
and in 1972 were 11,741; patient days of
care, 67,039 and 62,725; emergency visits,
13,672 and 12,937, and births, 657 and 617.
Statistics for Doctors' Hospital show
there were 6,593 admissions in 1973 and
6,388 in 1972; and 43,626 patient days of
care in 1973 and 42,573 in 1972.
There were no statistics available for
either P&S or Highland hospitals.
During 1973 Fairfield Hospital spent
$19,000 to bring the facility up to life and
safety code standards.
Highland hired a new comptroller,
Thurman Moore.
Making news at Doctors Hospital
were new looks in the emergency room,
the lobby, business office and pharmacy.
Bossier General opened a new
$1,020,000 two-story wing which has a 75-
bed capacity, bringing the hospital up to
175 beds. The boaFd of directors okayed
a $4,287,918 budget, which included the
first increases in room rates since 1970.
Schumpert Expanding
Schumpert announced a $14 million
building program, which includes the
$2.3 million Cancer Treatment Center, j
and appointment of Dr. Rozelle Hahn as
director of medical education.
A $1 million diagnostic and radiology
treatment center was announced by Wil-lis-
Knighton in 1973. Being constructed
during the year was the $2.2 million of-fice
building complex:
A $40,000, 800-argon laser
photocoagulator, was added to the
hospital's equipment. It is especially
designed for use on people with diabetics
who have eye problems.
Expected to be opened this year is a
new chapel honoring the late Dr. James
A. Howell.