After 45 years of studies suggesting that it would not be beneficial to renovate Charity as an acute-care hospital, the Foundation for Historical Louisiana says a new in-depth study proves it can be.

State government and hospital officials heard results of the study Wednesday morning in Baton Rouge that charity could be modernized and reopened in three years.

State officials got the first results of the $600,000 study before it was released to the hospital community and general public.  

"The building is vacant for the first time since 1939 when it was built, and we now know that it is structurally sound and can be a first-class facility. I think we have our answers now," says Sandra Stokes, the Executive Vice-Chairwoman of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana.

The Baton Rouge-based non-profit group was charged by legislation to assess the building.  The architectural firm of RMJM Hillier out of Philadelphia did the 12-week study, finding the building to be solid and structurally sound, not sinking, with a design that fits all modern codes and that could support modern-day hospital functions.

"We looked at this in a very rational kind of a facts and figures way, trying not to be emotional about the history of the building, and that we found -- by sticking to the facts --it can be a very viable modern hospital," says Steve McDaniel of RMJM Hillier Architects.

In the new design, Charity would be completely gutted, even the windows, leaving nothing but the exterior walls redesigning a patient drop off and an atrium entry. All of this the study finds would be at a much lower cost and much faster to build than the proposed new-from-scratch academic hospital down the street that could take 5 years to build.

State and LSU building and medical experts say they are open to looking at all options. But they say a new hospital's costs are comparable to redoing Charity. Their costs are higher they say because they have built in more clinical, ambulatory and parking facilities, and they say they could save money over the years sharing services and doctors with the VA Medical Center.

"This study showed that the Charity hospital facility is structurally sound so it can be used for something if it's not for health care it can be used for something else and we never intended to have the facility demolished," says Dr. Fred Cerise, LSU Vice-President of Health Affairs and  Medical Education.

"So the issue is can we actually, does the retrofit of Big Charity meet all of the long term needs of LSU and LSU Medical Center in terms of health care education and patient care? And we have to consider all of that before we make a final decision," says Jerry Jones, Director of Facility Planning and Control for the State of Louisiana. 

State hospital officials are still negotiating with F.E.M.A., saying they believe that the agency is responsible for paying for a replacement hospital.

Senator David Vitter also urged Governor Jindal today to consider reusing Charity to save money and time.