The longtime head of Louisiana?s public hospital system was replaced Friday, the Louisiana State University system announced in a news release. The change comes on the heels of clashes between Dr. Fred Cerise and Gov. Bobby Jindal?s administration about the future of the safety-net hospital system run by LSU.
Cerise is not fired under the reconfiguring announced by interim LSU System President William Jenkins, but a new position was created over him. ?What his future role will be has yet to be determined,? said Charles Zewe, a spokesman for Jenkins.
In an email sent to his staff, Cerise said Jenkins notified him Thursday that he ?will no longer lead the LSU Health System.?
Cerise highlighted the LSU system's role as the traditional provider of care for the uninsured and poor in Louisiana.?
"I have emphasized to our staff many times that the people we serve often do?not have other options for their care," he wrote.?"It is an added responsibility on us, therefore, to get their care right and to make our interactions as comforting as possible."
Dr. Frank Opelka, a surgeon who is currently vice chancellor at the LSU Health Sciences Center, will now lead the system, which runs 10 hospitals and 500 clinics statewide, as well as medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport.
While Cerise had the title of vice president for health affairs and medical education, Opelka will be executive vice president for health care and medical education redesign. The change needs approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors, composed largely of Jindal appointees.
The tension between the Jindal administration and leadership of the LSU hospital system was underscored recently by hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid cuts that would have been borne largely by the state?s public hospitals.?
When disclosing the cuts, Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein met with Jenkins, not Cerise or Dr. Roxane Townsend, one of the other leaders of the system. ?
LSU leaders were able to blunt the impact of the proposed $329 million budget hit by finding other money within the system. In the end, the cuts were reduced to about $50 million, largely directed at the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence and the Walter O. Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles.
Still, Greenstein has repeatedly emphasized that the state?s public hospital system needs to be changed.
In a statement released by Jindal?s spokesman on Friday, the governor emphasized that the decision to change leadership was made by the LSU board and system president. ?With the changing environment in healthcare today, LSU?s health system needs a leader who can implement reforms that deliver services more efficiently,? Jindal said in the statement.
Jenkins touted Opelka?s experience with health care ?redesign? in announcing the position.
??We?re in a dilemma, and we have to move swiftly to restructure our health care delivery system to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on us continue to receive high-quality care,? he said in the release. ?Frank?s expertise and guidance will be valuable to us as we modernize our methods of delivering health care while adjusting to our financial realities in producing a sustainable, community-involved health care system that meets our residents? needs.?
One of Opelka?s first projects will be hosting a series of meetings across the state to determine health care needs.
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Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316.
Source: http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/08/lsu_replaces_longtime_leader_o.html
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