December 3, 1998
JOINT COMMITTEES TO VISIT TULANE PRIMATE CENTER
Members of the House Committee on Health and Welfare chaired by State Rep. Rodney Alexander and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare chaired by Senator Don Hines will meet jointly to tour the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center in Covington and the Medical Center of Louisiana-New Orleans.
"The Health and Welfare committees of both houses continue to study health care advances and newly available technologies. These outreach meetings are vital to effective decision-making which benefits all our citizens," said Rep. Alexander, D-Jonesboro.
On Tuesday, December 8, 1998 at 9:30 a.m., the committees will meet with the Gene Therapy Task Force to hear efforts to establish a gene therapy research center in the greater New Orleans area. The meeting will be held at the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center in Covington. With 4,500 monkeys, it is the country’s largest primate center. The committees will also hear about AIDS research.
On Wednesday, December 9, 1998 the committees will resume meetings beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the University Hospital Auditorium in New Orleans for a presentation on the Louisiana State University Medical Center Health Care Services Division’s annual report and other state medical center-related activities. The Health Care Services Division operates the state’s former charity hospital system. This meeting will also include a briefing on the proposed tobacco settlement agreement by Attorney General Richard P.Ieyoub.
"I am especially interested in getting the facts from our Attorney General on the proposed tobacco settlement," Senator Hines said. "We have tremendous needs in health care, medical education and health care research in Louisiana that we must find the money to address. We need a clear idea of what we can expect from the proposed settlement."
Only members of the House Committee on Health and Welfare will meet December 9, at 2:15 p.m. at the Fischer Health Clinic in Algiers for a presentation and tour.
The tour and public hearings are part of the House of Representative’s ongoing Legislative Outreach Initiative, a program conceived by Speaker of the House Hunt Downer. It is designed to initiate contact between citizens of Louisiana and lawmakers. Downer said the program "is intended to better facilitate citizen participation in the legislative process and give legislators a better understanding of the issues. Too many times legislators are forced to cast critical votes concerning areas with which they are not familiar. Also, our citizens cannot always travel to Baton Rouge to participate in the legislative process. Hopefully, this will solve both problems."
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a schedule of tours and public hearings. Any help you can provide by informing the public will be appreciated.
Tuesday, December 8
9:30 a.m. Public Meeting and Tour
Tulane Regional Primate Research Center
18703 Three Rivers Road
Covington
Wednesday, December 9
9:00 a.m. Public Meeting
University Hospital Auditorium
2021 Perdido Street
New Orleans
2:15 p.m. Public Meeting and Tour
Fischer Health Clinic
2120 Whitney Avenue
New Orleans