CRAVENS TO FIGHT PLAN CLOSING DETOX CENTER

LAFAYETTE -- A Lafayette area legislator said he'll fight to reopen a
public medical detoxification center closed Monday because of budget cuts
at University Medical Center.

State Sen. Don Cravins, D-Arnaudville, said LSU's move to cut the center,
which costs about $250,000 a year to run, was a bad decision.

"One thing's clear: they think they're closing it," Cravins said. "But the
last word has not been said."

State hospital officials said UMC faces a $4 million budget deficit this
year, and closing the detoxification center is just one of the cuts the
hospital will have to make. As a state-run facility, the hospital is
required to run a balanced budget every year.

The UMC program, called First Step, was the only other public medical
detoxification unit in the state outside of New Orleans, according to the
state Department of Health and Hospitals. The center, which at one point at
13 beds, had a waiting list of more than 100.

Medical detoxification is sometimes required when alcoholics or drug
addicts have such bad health that they require full-time doctor and nurse
supervision. Statewide, more than 600 people are waiting for medical
detoxification, Cravins said.

LSU's Health Services Division owns and operates UMC, which supplies the
medical personnel and space for the First Step program. DHH provides the
program's staff, which a DHH spokesman has said will have to be reassigned.

When looking at a $4 million deficit, cutting a $250,000 program makes
hardly a dent, Cravins said.

"It's almost insignificant in the grand scheme of things," Cravins said.

Cravins said he suspects LSU officials are using the budget deficit cuts to
position themselves to ask for more money from the Legislature.

Cravins said he hopes talks between DHH and LSU officials about finding a
way to keep the program operating are successful.

LSU-run medical facilities in other parts of the state seem well-funded,
Cravins said.

Cravins accused LSU of "treating us (the Lafayette area) as a step-child"
when it comes to funding. If it continues, Cravins said he'd push for UMC
to be dropped from the LSU system and be run on funds generated from a new
regional tax base.