WASHINGTON – Senior leaders of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University signed an agreement today in Baton Rouge to create a partnership that would bring state-of-the-art medical care to downtown New Orleans.

"While some details remain unanswered, one answer is loud and clear.  VA is coming back to New Orleans, better than ever," said the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Nicholson was represented at the signing ceremony by VA's top doctor, Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, the department's under secretary for health.  Perlin praised the VA employees who evacuated the veterans' hospital on Perdido Street in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last August.

"Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the hospital we will build in New Orleans will be significantly better than the one we left behind," Perlin said. "We will replace an aging, outdated facility built in the 1950s with a state-of-the-art medical center to provide care for veterans well into the 21^st century."

The agreement VA signed with LSU commits the two agencies to work together on plans for new medical facilities.  Although the agreement does not obligate the two agencies to share replacement facilities, Perlin said he's interested in realizing "long-term savings for taxpayers" through a variety of sharing agreements.

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