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World-Renown Architecture Firm Makes The Case

In response to another platitude-laden letter by the Downtown Development District's Kurt Weigle about how moving the medical district out of downtown will somehow help downtown, Dr. George C. Skarmeas, the Principle Director of Preservation Architecture for RMJM penned a brilliant explanation of how the RMJM design can turn Charity Hospital into a world-class medical facility and reinvigorate the city's moribund downtown medical district.

 

Re: "New med center will be a boon for downtown, " Your Opinions, Sept. 16. Contrary to comments by Downtown Development District CEO Kurt Weigle, our in-depth review has demonstrated that Charity can be re-used to house a modern medical complex. With careful planning and design, it could be a state-of-the-art hospital at a lower cost, and with direct economic impact sooner than any other alternative. 

The Foundation for Historical Louisiana selected international architects RMJM in 2008 to evaluate whether Charity could be reused as a contemporary hospital, meeting the most current thinking and standards in health-care planning and design.

The RMJM design team, which has considerable experience worldwide in historic preservation and health-care design, conducted an extensive assessment of the existing building conditions.

Charity's design features elegant towers and a wide-floor-plan base. These floor plans conform to modern health care facility standards, providing a base to accommodate complex medical and surgical functions, which support the floors above.

The existing floor-to-floor height is ideal for operating rooms and diagnostic facilities and all elements comprising a modern facility. The building footprint also complies with sustainable design goals of adding daylight and views from all patient rooms.

The RMJM study resulted in a clear and compelling vision for the re-use of Charity, integrating the most stringent contemporary health-care design principles with sound preservation techniques and sustainable technology.

A renovated Charity will provide an optimal, patient-centered, hospital experience and reinforce existing teaching relationships and clinical partnerships.

Revitalizing Charity will be an important step in the city's redevelopment, reinforcing the value of sustainability -- not demolition and social displacement -- as a key component of future architectural development.

Dr. George C. Skarmeas

Principal Director

Preservation Architecture

RMJM

 

For reasons that remain unknown, the Downtown Development District's Kurt Weigle has been a constant booster for a project that will create a suburban style hospital that isn't just located outside of downtown but is physically oriented away from it. Look at the designs here.

At the unveiling of the designs by state architects back on August 18th, Weigle who, again, purports to be a representative of the interests of downtown businesses, essentially argued that it didn't matter what the new hospital looked like.

The suburban style design of the proposed LSU medical center received a barrage of negative comments, not just by individuals and groups long opposed to demolishing Lower Mid-City instead of rebuilding inside the facade of historic Charity Hospital. Critics included a representative of the City Planning Commission and even Caitlin Cain of the Regional Planning Commission, a longtime proponent of the LSU/VA project – and Mr. Weigle's spouse.

Weigle dismissed any and all of these concerns, saying:
 

"Frankly, regardless of what physical form it takes, we think that we can greatly enhance the impact on downtown by creating a stronger pedestrian and transit connection to downtown. There's no question about that. I say that without qualification."

Yeesh. At least Mr. Weigle concedes that the proposed LSU/VA medical complex won't be downtown nor connected to it.

 

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The Five Dollar Jazz Fest

We here at SaveCharityHospital.com are still recovering from Saturday night's amazing benefit concert at the Howlin' Wolf. Not only did we raise money to sustain our efforts, draw attention to the alternative plan to gut and rebuild Charity Hospital, and build on on our ongoing campaign for the public hearings required by law - we had a great time doing it.

We were honored to witness one of the greatest collections of musicians imaginable. An all-star cast of  New Orleans legends came out not just because they wanted to see each other, but because they recognize how important Charity Hospital is as a cultural institution and as a social safety net for fellow musicians.

If you weren't among the hundreds you came out Saturday night, you missed a rare opporunity to see Dr. John, Al Carnival Time Johnson, Art Neville, DJ Captain Charles, Raymond Weber, Tony Hall, Ian Neville, John Gros, June Yamagishi, Porgy Jones, Big Chief Lionel and the Black Feather Gang, Ernie K-Doe, and of course the Lowrider Band all occupying the same stage!

The only other time one might be able to assemble this kind of talent is Jazz Fest - there's a reason it costs hundreds of dollars for a brass pass.

The packed house and packed stage represent just the latest in a growing movement to halt the destructive, expensive, and time-consuming LSU/VA proposal so that we can move forward with a plan to rebuild Charity Hospital and open it.

If you didn't have a chance to give to support our on-going efforts, please take a moment to do so here.

Thanks so much for all the volunteers and supporters who made this possible. This couldn't have happened without the efforts of dozens of people across the city who dedicated their time and energy to making this a success.

If you took any great pictures of the concert, be sure to upload them to our Flickr page!

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Meeting Tomorrow: Join the Save Charity Hospital Street Team!

With this Saturday's concert just days away, we'll need all the volunteers we can get to ensure that everything runs smoothly. We already have a fantastic team, without which the sucess of the second line parade and protest would not have been possible, but we need to grow. All hands on deck!

The Save Charity Hospital Street Team is meeting to discuss our strategy and finalize preparations for the Benefit Concert. Get involved! Please join us at CC's at 2800 Esplanade in Mid-City tomorrow evening at 6PM.

First timers should show up at 6:00pm to get caught up on strategy.

Regulars should show up at 6:30pm when we'll start getting in the meat-and-potatoes of our work for the next week.

See you there!

What can the Charity Hospital Street Team accomplish? This...!

Spread the word! Get involved!

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Do you have your ticket yet?

There are only a few days left to guarantee yourself a ticket for this Saturday night's Save Charity Hospital benefit and bonanza.

 

Buy your tickets here!

 

Of course you can also buy tickets at the door, but why risk it?

This show represents the Lowrider Band's first show back in New Orleans since Katrina - there's no telling when you'll have another shot to see 'em here in their natural habitat.

The Lowrider Band's unofficial chief, drummer Harold Brown is in town already and has been spotted around the city with a copy of Dr. John Salvaggio's 1992 New Orleans' Charity Hospital, a 300 year history of the beloved institution, in tow.

Save The Date! Big Big Big Event September 19th!

All Charity Hospital babies and supporters are invited to join us at the Howlin' Wolf (907 S. Peters St.) on September 19th at 8PM for a huge benefit concert featuring the Low Rider Band, DJ Captain Charles, Tony Hall, Raymond Weber, John Gros, Ian Neville, and additional special guests.

September 19th, 2009 is a significant day and not just because we're throwing an awesome concert. It is the fourth anniversary of the shuttering of Charity Hospital without the legislative approval required by law. The decision to close Charity Hospital at that time remains a huge setback for our city. Contrary to the claims of state officials, Charity Hospital was not destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In fact, teams of doctors, nurses, and military personnel worked around the clock to scrub the hospital clean so that it was ready to receive patients on the day it was shut down.

Click here for photos of the hospital's condition on the day of its closure.

The concert on September 19th will not only help us sustain our grassroots and financial momentum, but will provide another opportunity to fill out more postcards to our City Council reiterating our long-standing requests: An independent side-by-side cost benefit analysis of the two competing hospital proposals, the official hearings before the City Planning Commission and City Council required by law, and the inclusion of an evaluation of the hospital proposals within the ongoing master planning process.

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW

 

Read on for our press release with more details about the show.

Tell all your friends! It's the only place to be next Saturday in New Orleans!

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