LSU Medical School Seen Big Impetus to City

              (Times Photos by Billy Upshaw)
Initial Construction (right photo) on LSU Medical School in Shreveport is Viewed from Eighth Floor of Confederate Memorial Medical Center
. . . construction also is underway on Confederate's $1.3 million outpatient facility
LSU Medical School Seen Big Impetus to City
By Margaret Martin
Times Medical Writer
Groundbreaking for the $30.5 million
Louisiana State U n i v e r s i t y Medical
School at Shreveport was the highlight of
the area's medical news during the year
just ended. H. A. Lott Construction Co. of
Houston was low bidder for the largest
single building project ever undertaken
by LSU.
More than 500 persons attended the
dedication, but both Gov. John Mc-
Keithen and LSU President Dr. John A.
Hunter were grounded in Baton Rouge
because of a, hurricane.
The total medical complex — being
built on the ground of Confederate
Memorial Medical Center — will encom-pass
five separate buildings. Dominating
the set will be the 11-story basic science,
administrative and research building.
Also under construction since early
fall is the $1.3 million outpatient facility
of Confederate.
Dean to Retire
Other big news at the medical school
was the announcement of retirement by
the dean, Dr. Edgar Hull, who has been
a member of the LSU medical faculty
for nearly 40 years. A seven-man search
c o m m i t t e e was named by Medical
Center Chancellor William Stewart to
find a replacement for Hull when he
leaves in 1973.
A total of 107 students enrolled at the
medical school in the fall, including a
freshman class of 40 — a hike of eight
from the year before. The class included
a black student — the first in the school's
three-year history.
With the help of a $40,000 federal
grant, the medical school began an
experimental program designed to turn
out doctors in six years instead of the
usual eight. Seven area students were
s e l e c t e d to start the program at
LSU-Shreveport.
Confederate — the medical school's
teaching hospital — received unfavorable
headlines last year on two occasions.
The hospital was given only one year
accreditation by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Hospitals instead of full
approval for two years. Although this
does not mean probation, according to
c o m m i s s i o n officials, it does mean
limited accreditation, and two such
reports in succession can mean proba-tion.
Reasons for the report were 20
deficiencies. The major problem, accord-ing
to Hospital Director Dr. Edgar
Galloway, was continued inadequacy of
registered nurse coverage at The Pines
Sanatorium Annex, "in spite of a specific
recommendation in 1969 that this defi-ciency
be corrected."
And the deficiency still had not been
corrected.
Placed on probation during the year
was the residency training program in
internal medicine at Confederate. The
committee on that inspection was made
up of members of the Board of Internal
Medicine and the American Council on
Medical Education, which is part of the
American Medical Association.
Reasons for the probation was deple-tion
of staff, lack of a coronary care unit,
pulmonary function laboratory and speci-ality
facilities, and overloaded outpatient
facilities.
Only 16 interns reported to Confeder-ate
in July — the hospital had 33 during
the 1970-71 year.
And resident William J. Moss made
history at the institution when he became
the first straight obstetrics-gynecology
resident, foregoing the one-year intern-ship.
In action in March the Confederate
Board okayed purchase of $103,000 for a
cobalt unit and other special radiologic
equipment.
Board Changes
Tony Pernici was elected vice chair-man
of the Confederate Board (T. B.
Lanford is the longtime board chairman)
replacing Dr. Jacob Segura of Mansfield,
and Dr. William R. Giddens, Shreveport
internist, took over as president of the
hospital's medical staff. President-elect
of the body is Dr. Donald Texada,.
Resigning as head of the Department
of Pathology was Dr. W. R. Mathews,
who had served Confederate — formerly
known as Shreveport Charity Hospital —
for 42 years.
Frances Hicks, head of the Confeder-ate
School of Nursing, resigned and was
replaced by Tiny M. Calender. The year
1971 also meant the end of the 30-month
diploma school at Confederate — the last
class started in August. The next nursing
class will be the first students in the
associate degree program.
Several of the private hospitals in the
area a n n o u n c e d or completed new
facilities.
Schumpert will build a $2 million
cancer treatment center, according to
Sister Mary Henrietta, hospital adminis-trator.
The hospital opened a year ago a $1
million addition to the Margaret Place
complex, bringing the total number of
beds to 376. It included a modern 16-bed
intensive care unit, additional storage
space and room for expansion of other
ancillary facilities.
Doctors Hospital announced a $2
million expansion program in June. The
addition will include from 80 to 100
private patient rooms, bringing the
number of beds in the institution to 257.
Some of the rooms will be monitored
by closed circuit television to help take
care of patients who need the service,
said Administrator Charles Boyd.
Although she called women's libera-tion
"ridiculous" Dr." Emily Jones was
installed as head of Doctor's Medical
staff.
Also announcing a hospital expansion
program was Willis-Knighton Memorial
Hospital.
The hospital corporation purchased
four lots for $74,426 which will be used
for a doctor's office building, according
to James K. Elrod, administrator.
The medical facility also sponsored
several educational programs during the
year for the community's medical corps.
Among them was a one-day heart care
seminar, "Cardiology in Everyday Prac-tice."
In a November meeting, the Bossier
City General Hospital Board of Commis-sioners
voted to accept bids for sale of
the hospital, and in December the board
took under advisement two bids to
purchase of the facility.
Dr. Edgar Hull received the Shreve-port
M e d i c a 1 Society's Distinguished
Service Award for "his outstanding
record of service to e d u c a t i o n of
physicians and because he has devoted
his life to care of the sick."
Dr. William Allums took over as
p r e s i d e n t of the Sihreveprt Medical
Society, predicting "a real political
year"1 for the group.
®he 0hmrej>ort dimes Metropolitan
News
Farm News
Sunday, Jan. 2, 1972
Classified Local News
Section C, Page One
Construction Marks '71 Here
By Stanley Tiner
Of The Times Staff
The year that was 1971 in Shreveport
was highlighted by record building,
groundbreaking on a medical school
complex which may well provide impe-tus
for progress of the entire decade, and
the return of professional baseball.
It was a year of controversy over
taxes, a continuing hassle over the 1-220
Bypass, and a lawsuit over a use of city
parks by longhairs.
Shreveporters mourned the death of
Finance Commissioner Dwight Saur, and
then elected the first Republican ever to
city office, George Burton, to succeed
Saur. .
In the midst of such successes as a
new $7.5 million airport, there was the
loss of LibbeyjOwens-Ford, a longtime
local company, and layoffs at Western
Electric and AMF-Beaird.
It was the year of cable television
ordinances, new building codes, and
.turnkey housing disputes, .. .. —
Building Record Doubled
Building permits in Shreveport in 1971
reached a record $87,207,885, during a
period in which much of the nation was
experiencing substantial declines in the
same field.
The new record more than doubled
the 1969 previous high year of $42
million. .
A large chunk of the new record came
in September whpn a $24 million
contract, the largest in Louisiana State
I'lnivprsit.y mstnry was lot fflr th"
construction of the local medical school
complex. The facility is due tor comple-tion
m 1H7H.
Many believe the medical school will
be the biggest boon to the ShFeveport
area since the discovery of oil here.
' Local Voters sent City Hall into shock
in April when they defeated two new
property tax proposals by 4-1 votes and
by defeating the proposed renewal of five
30-year-old property taxes by slimmer
margins.
The council resubmitted the property
tax renewals to the voters in June, and
they passed by a 3-1 vote on the second
try.
The continuing fight over the route
location of the proposed northern bypass,
1-220, remained unresolved at year's end.
The planned route, which includes a
bridge over Cross Lake, has been in
trouble for a year. Progress has come to
a complete halt; at this time, with a
federal court injunction still in effect
prohibiting further work.
Route is Opposed
Another proposed road, a planned
Shreveport Bossier City southern loop
expressway to be routed across part of
the Barksdale Air Force Base reserva-tion,
was opposed by the Secretary of the
Air Force. His opposition could cause the
State Department of Highways to recon-sider
those plans.
Thurman P. Kelley, 56, a veteran of
34 years with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the agent in charge of
the FBI's Shreveport office, was ap-proved
by the Shreveport City Council to
succeed Harvey Teasley as Chief of
Police. Kelley was nominated to the post
in April and assumed the office on July
i 1.
la .September U.S. - District Court
Judge Ben C. Dawkins Jr. struck down a
Shreveport City ordinance forbidding
political speeches and assemblies in city
parks. He ruled that the city may
require permits for such events.
The city ordinance was hurriedly
enacted in response to police confronta-tions
with youthful longhairs at Columbia
and Betty V i r g i n i a parks in early
summer.
Commissioner Saur died of an appar-ent
heart attack in September the day
after his 61st birthday. Although he had
suffered a heart attack more than a year
earlier he had returned to his work and
became the top Democratic vote-getter
in his re-election campaign.
Ninety days later Burton, a local
accountant, scored what many consid-ered
a major political upset by winning
election over former city secretary-treas-urer
Donald Moseley. Less than 20 per
cent of local voters turned out for the
election.
A cable television ordinance was
passed in December after more than a
year of deliberations, but a court battle
is promised and this may not be decided
for months.
Other notable events of the year
included:
—The 40-foot illuminated cross on top
the First Methodist Church, a Shreveport
landmark since 1949, was taken down,
Currently under construction is a tower-ing
steeple which will be topped by a
gold-colored anodized aluminum cross.
—The Shreveport Transit Co. advised
city officials it will not seek renewal of
its franchise to operate a public transit
system here. The system is expected to
be taken over by the city, following a
national trend in that direction.
—Plans for a $12 million Cancer
Treatment Center were announced at
Schumpert Memorial Hospital.
—The Shreveport Capital Improve-ments
Committee approved the transfer
of $173,447 from two 1968 bond proposi-tions
to be used to purchase land along
the proposed Red River Parkway for a
Fort Humbug Park. The money was
t r a n s f e r r e d from the Fort Humbug
Museum fund and the Ford-Park Zoo
fund.
—Former Shreveport Public Works
Commissioner-H. Lane Mitchell, convict-ed
in 1969 of the theft of $86,000 in city
funds and property, was taken to Angola
State Prison in October to begin serving
a 16-year term. He was later returned to
a local hospital for treatment of a
recurring illness.
—C. E. "Slim" Landrum, executive
vice president of the Shreveport Cham-ber
of Commerce, submitted his resigna-tion
in November, and William Hackett
Jr., executive director of the Louisiana
Department of Commerce and Industry
was later named to succeed Landrum,
who joined a local bank.
—Shreveport's Ion g-proposed river-front
development, part of the city's
downtown urban renewal program, took
a long step forward with the approval of
a $2,013,291 grant by the f e d e r a l
D e p a r t m e n t of Housing and Urban
Development. Ten businesses and 12
families will be relocated to open a 45.5
acre tract for redevelopment as a civic,
cultural and recreational area featuring
vast open areas or "green belts."
—Dedications of new facilities includ-ed
that for- Hamilton Hall and the
geodesic "Golden Dome" at Centenary
College and the $37.5 million General
Electric commercial transformer plant
in the West Shreveport Industrial Park.