Baton Rouge --- Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is looking for citizens interested in joining regional health care consortiums to provide input as part of the ongoing effort to reform health care in Louisiana.

The regional consortiums are meant to continue the work begun in the regional summits, which Gov. Blanco called prior to the 2004 Health Care Summit in March. The groups are formalized in legislation proposed by Senator Joe McPherson and Representative Sydnie Mae Durand.

“The process of changing the way we deliver health care in Louisiana is not meant to be a decision made exclusively by the policymakers in Baton Rouge, but a decision that is made with the input of citizens from all parts of the state who work in a variety of areas that contribute to health care,” Gov. Blanco said.

The regional consortiums will be made up of an unlimited number of qualified individuals from each area of the state with an interest in both public and private health care fields and areas. The consortiums will hold regular meetings to discuss health care in their respective regions and will send reports to the Governor’s Health Care Reform Panel.

The Governor’s Office, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Hospitals, is placing newspaper ads statewide this week, advising interested citizens on how to become members of the consortium.

The Legislative Delegations from each region will select the consortium members. Citizens interested in becoming members of their region’s consortium should submit a written request to serve. Letters should be addressed in the following format, with the correct region listed:

Region I (or other) Consortium
P.O. Box 629
Baton Rouge, La.
70821

Regions in the State are as follows:

Region I (Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard)

Region II (East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Ascension)

Region III (Terrebonne, St. Mary, Assumption, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Lafourche)

Region IV (Evangeline, St. Landry, St. Martin, Iberia, Vermillion, Lafayette, Acadia)

Region V (Beauregard, Allen, Jefferson Davis, Cameron, Calcasieu)

Region VI (Vernon, Rapides, Avoyelles, Concordia, Catahoula, La Salle, Grant, Winn)

Region VII (Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Bienville, Red River, Natchitoches, Sabine, DeSoto)

Region VIII (Jackson, Lincoln, Union, Morehouse, West Carroll, East Carroll, Ouachita, Richland, Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Caldwell)

Region IX (St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, Livingston)

For questions about the health care consortiums, contact the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of the Secretary at 225-342-9500, or visit the LDH Website.

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