Number one-ranked Ochsner Children’s Hospital will build a new 343 thousand square foot facility thanks to a historic donation from New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson. Teiko Foxx has the story…
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North Louisiana mayors are excited about the possibility of passenger rail service along the I-20 corridor. Jeff Palermo has the story….
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Ochsner Children’s Hospital is building a new 343 thousand square foot facility with a large donation from New Orleans Saints Owner Gayle Benson. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Butch Adolph says this will help advance the growing need to help children throughout the region.
The donation will come from the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, a private foundation founded in 2007 to make a positive impact.
Adolph says the new five-story structure helps continue to grow its pediatrics program and treat critical conditions such as pediatric heart and liver transplants. He says the placement of departments is easily accessible to speed up time-sensitive procedures.
Cut 4 (12) “…bigger capacity.”
The new pediatric cardiovascular unit will expand from 12 to 20 beds. The 14-bed intensive care unit will expand to 20 beds.
Ranked the number one hospital for kids in Louisiana, the current hospital cares for more than 100 thousand children every year. Adolph says a new facility will help meet the needs of more families who want their children to receive care at Ochsner…
Ochsner Medical Center-New Orleans expects to break ground around the summer of 2024 and open its doors in late 2027.
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The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is underway. Greg Fischer with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says over the past five Christmas holidays in Louisiana 26 people were killed and 452 injured in vehicle crashes involving alcohol.
Fischer says the annual campaign is making a difference. According to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU for every 1,000 hours of impaired driver patrol, there are four fewer fatalities…
Cut 7 (06) “…fewer fatalities.”
In 2021, more than 40 percent of vehicle crashes in the state were alcohol-related and the number of fatalities that year was 299.
With more parties this time of year there are more impaired drivers on the road, especially at night. And Fischer says for some because the holidays can be difficult…
The LHSC helps pay for overtime so more law enforcement officers can stop impaired drivers. The campaign runs through New Year’s Day.
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There’s been plenty of speculation about a special session before the regular one to address the state’s property insurance crisis next year. But at a recent NOLA-dot-com town hall meeting, Insurance Commissioner-elect Tim Temple says it’s highly unlikely…
But if and when one is called, Temple says he’ll push to get legislation introduced. He says he’s focusing on bringing property owners immediate premium relief. But stresses he’s not suggesting mandates for premium changes, because that only drives carriers away.
After the 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons, with 800-thousand claims and $23 billion in property loss Temple says we have to acknowledge the industry was stressed and twelve companies went insolvent.
An incentive program to incite new carriers to come to the state went into effect earlier this year. Temple unfortunately says property owners won’t see the benefits immediately…
When Temple’s lone opponent withdrew from the election in the fall, Temple was named commissioner-elect. He says he’s using the extra time to meet with decision-makers so he can hit the ground running on January 8th.
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An important step has occurred in bringing passenger rail service to north Louisiana. The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a 500-thousand dollar planning grant to the Southern Rail Commission. Commissioner Knox Ross says this money will determine what’s needed to bring passenger rail service to the I-20 Corridor…
The proposed rail line would connect Dallas-Fort Worth to Atlanta, with stops in Shreveport, Ruston, Monroe and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Ross says passenger rail service would bring economic development to these cities, especially their downtown areas…
The mayors of Shreveport, Ruston and Monroe were in attendance for the announcement. The press conference was held in downtown Monroe. Mayor Friday Ellis spoke of at the site of a proposed train station…
Officials say now is the time to build an I-20 passenger line with millions of dollars available as a result of the 2021 federal infrastructure law.