The governor ended the ongoing fight to save New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, with a swipe of his veto pen.
Governor Jindal vetoed a bill that would have kept the 35 inpatient bed hospital operating.
A building on Canal Street in Mid-City will house one of two new smaller outpatient community based mental health clinics that the Department of Health and Hospitals says has become the national trend.
The other new clinic will be housed on the westbank.
For months patient families, lawmakers, and law enforcement fought to keep the hospital open. The bill the governor vetoed budgeted $14 million to keep NOAH open, a figure DHH Deputy Secretary Sybil Richard says was not enough.
New Orleans has the highest population of people with mental illness in the state. Now, those needing inpatient care will have to travel across the lake to Southeast Hospital in Mandeville for treatment.
The legislature could override the veto but Representative Abramson and Cedric richmond say it would be tough to get the votes on such a regional issue.
NOAH is set to close in 60 days.
