LHSAA makes last-ditch effort toward survival
April 20, 2016
Dularge boat blessing set for Sunday
April 20, 2016
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget for next year would result in the closure of a local charity hospital and a massive cut to the state’s scholarship program.
Edwards’ budget proposal, released last Tuesday, features deep budget cuts meant to address the state’s $750 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. The cuts carry about a $409 million reduction to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals budget and $183 million to the Taylor Opportunity Scholarship Program, the state college scholarship program.
The cuts to DHH would result in closure of four safety-net hospitals across the state, including Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma, which Ochsner Health System and Terrebonne General Medical Center cooperated to assume operations of in 2013 while raising $5 million to keep Chabert open. The other safety-net hospitals in the state would receive a 3 percent cut under the proposed budget, which Edwards said he chose to keep open after considering geography and medical education value.
Warner Thomas, Ochsner Health System president, said his organization would work with state officials to find a way to avoid Chabert’s closure.
“The partnership created at Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center is the lowest cost model of all the public-private partnerships across the state. This model has enabled us to continue to successfully expand services and improve quality outcomes without additional cost to the state,” Thomas said. “We are committed to serving the patients who need the critical services provided at Chabert, as well as maintaining the important medical education programs offered there. We will work closely with the Legislature and the administration to ensure that Chabert receives the necessary funding to continue to provide high quality medical care and are confident that will occur.”
The proposed cuts to TOPS would represent a 61 percent slash to the program. Coupled with a $46 million cut in higher education as a whole, state institutions and students could face a giant shortfall in the coming school year.
Forty percent of Nicholls State University students currently receive TOPS, according to NSU spokesperson Stephanie Verdin. Under the current law, all students who earned less than a 26 on the ACT would lose their TOPS awards.
State legislators are considering a number of bills that would alter how TOPS is awarded.
One, meant to limit future growth of TOPS obligations, would cut off the mandatory raise to TOPS awards to cover a state university’s tuition. Another bill would spread cuts to the program across all award levels, rather than fully cutting off the students receiving the smallest awards.
Edwards said he intends to call for a special session before the Legislature’s next regular session in an effort to raise additional revenue and reduce some of his proposed cuts. Verdin expressed optimism in state officials finding ways to fully fund higher education coffers before next year. She said Nicholls would continue to monitor its own budget as the situation changes and look to attract more students to Thibodaux.
“Nicholls State University is preparing for a number of different scenarios, and when the final budget is approved (around the first week in June), we will be ready to implement whatever is needed to balance the university’s budget based on the state’s allocation, student enrollment, any fluctuations in tuition and other factors that may affect the budget,” she said. •
