Business
Tenet says it will rebuild, create network in New Orleans
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 14, 2005
Tenet Healthcare Corp. said it will likely spend "hundreds of millions of dollars" as it restores and enhances services in New Orleans following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The Dallas-based hospital chain announced on Oct. 24 that it was committed to staying in the market and would create a new network anchored in the central part of the city to "help meet the needs of the area's returning and expanding population."
Tenet said it was the largest private provider of hospital services in the region before the hurricane, with more than 1,000 inpatient beds and 2,000 affiliated physicians.
Two of its hospitals -- Memorial Medical Center and Lindy Boggs Medical Center -- were badly damaged by the storm and have been closed indefinitely. Three others are gradually resuming services.
The company's strategy for recovery includes repairing medical office buildings and a surgery institute, reopening diagnostic imaging services at several sites and restoring patient services at the Memorial and Lindy Boggs campuses, which may be rebuilt from scratch or repaired.
Tenet said it anticipates that a "significant portion" of the costs will be covered by insurance.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/11/14/bibf1114.htm.
