Tulane-Lakeside Hospital and Clinic
4720 S. I-10 Service Road, Suite 300
Metairie, LA 70001
Phone: 504-988-8070
Fax: 504-988-8071

With the establishment of Tulane Medical Center in 1969 and an expanded organizational structure, Tulane's commitments to medical education, research and patient care were deepened. Tulane University Hospital and Clinic, was dedicated in 1976. This 300-bed hospital, located opposite the medical school on Tulane Avenue, consolidates a wide range of patient services in a tertiary care environment. Each year, the Tulane University Hospital serves thousands of private patients of the Tulane medical faculty from throughout Louisiana, the southeastern United States, and Central and South America.

The School of Medicine is the nucleus of Tulane Medical Center, which also includes the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the Delta Regional Primate Research Center near Covington, LA, and the U.S. - Japan Biomedical Research Laboratories, among others. Tulane Hospital is owned 80% by Columbia HCA and 20% by Tulane University.

In September of 1735, Jean Louis, a New Orleans seaman and boat builder, bequeathed his estate to establish a hospital for the poor, stating, "My debts having been paid and the above provisions having been executed, a sale shall be made of all that remains, which together with my small lot, I bequeath to serve in perpetuity to the founding of a hospital for the sick of the City of New Orleans, without anyone being able to change my purpose and to secure the things necessary to succor the sick." The sight of indigent sick persons being turned away from the hospital and having to die in the streets stimulated Jean Louis to make this bequest. This hospital, which became Charity Hospital of New Orleans (recently renamed the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans), is (along with Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City) one of the two oldest in the country.

In 1991, the state legislature passed the Louisiana Health Care Authority legislation which created an independent board for the Charity Hospital System (renamed the Louisiana Health Care System) which began to manage the hospitals on January 1, 1992. This independent board has the bonding authority to build a new hospital in New Orleans. This new management structure promises to modernize the entire system and provide an up-to-date facility with capacity to respond to the ever-changing medical care system.

The Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans is critical to the training programs offered by Tulane School of Medicine. Because of the large volume of patients at the 645-bed hospital, students participate in the care of a large number of interesting patients and learn about a wide variety of diseases. More than 350,000 patient visits are logged each year in the outpatient service. On any given day, approximately 40 clinics operate and serve between 1,200 and 1,500 patients.

In addition, over 165,000 emergency cases are seen annually in the hospital's emergency room, which is the best trauma facility in the area. According to the latest statistics, 70 percent of the physicians in Louisiana and 45 percent of the nurses in the state are educated at the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans.

In 1994/1995 Womens and Childrens services were moved to a newer facility, University Hospital, five blocks from main Charity Hospital. These newer facilities have improved patient facilities as well as resident work environment.

The school of medicine comprises four units. The Hutchinson Memorial Building, the Burthe-Cottam Memorial Building and the Libby Memorial Building are located on Tulane Avenue opposite Tulane University Hospital and Clinic. The Environmental Sciences Building is located nearby.

Included in the school complex are large classrooms (one equipped with a stethophone system) and newly-renovated laboratories. In addition to the new projects being built on the campus, a computer laboratory for students and faculty is now open and the medical center, teaching laboratories have been enlarged and modernized. Computer-assisted instruction and evaluation has also been incorporated into the revamped curriculum. These facilities augment the existing facilities which include a large auditorium, various conference and classrooms, research laboratories and administrative offices. Centrally located within the medical school are a cafeteria, student lounge, bookstore, student office and student conference room.

A new facility located across the street from the school of medicine, houses student medical clinics for fourth year clinical instruction and the Foundations in Medicine course. The latter includes simulated patient-instructors, videotaping of patient-student encounters and other innovative teaching techniques.

Tulane University Hospital and Clinic opened in 1976 to serve the private patients of the medical school faculty physicians, to support selected undergraduate and graduate medical and allied health educational programs, and to provide a site for applied research. The seven story facility, which recently added an adjacent building, is located directly across Tulane Avenue from the school of medicine, houses outpatient specialty clinics and the 300-bed acute care university hospital.

The hospital and clinic are known for tertiary care. Patients from throughout the Gulf South and Latin America are referred here to faculty specialists who are supported with stare-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment equipment and facilities. Over 160,000 clinic visits occur annually.