I was delighted to spend an exciting 36 hours in New Orleans last week – my first visit to perhaps America’s most unique city.

I was invited to the Big Easy to speak to theState / Regional Primary Care Association Annual Conference as part of a panel on “provider perspectives” and health care freeform. The key take away: safety net hospitals and community health centers must do a better job of coordinating to care for our patients. The imperative for coordination isn’t only a matter of moral consequence but is in fact necessary for us both to be successful in a reformed and more competitive health care marketplace.

I took advantage of my time in New Orleans to visit one of NAPH’s largest member systems: LSU Health Care Services Division.  The health care delivery system – like practically everything else – was deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. The mammoth storm flooded three-quarters of the city, killed nearly 2,000 people and permanently closed the largest hospital in the city – LSU’s Charity Hospital, which is still known as “Big Charity.”

Today, Charity stands an impressive, but empty edifice as policy-makers consider what is next for the art-deco structure. Everyone seems to have an opinion. While LSU had to close both of its hospitals in the city – Charity and the smaller University Hospital – with the help of FEMA funds, the system was able to get University Hospital back open in November 2006 under the name Interim LSU Public Hospital. The renovated hospital won’t win any design awards, but it is surprisingly quiet and peaceful for a busy safety net hospital, once again serving as the metropolitan area’s only Level I trauma center. As the name suggests, Interim’s role is only temporary, as LSU recently broke ground on a more than $1 billion project to build the city’s next safety net hospital, which will be dubbed University Hospital when it opens in 2015.

This impressive facility is a model of hospital design and keeps the legacy of Katrina in mind. The foundation of the new hospital will be laid five feet above flood stage – high enough that if another Katrina-size disaster were to strike, the hospital would remain dry. If a larger flood occurred, the hospital is designed for the entire ground floor to be “expendable space” – no critical resources or patient care areas. The emergency room will be located on the second floor and easily accessible by a ramp.

New Orleans is a proud city with a troubled present – the city is one of the poorest and most violent in the country – but it is well served by its dedicated safety net hospital staff. Hopefully, the city’s future will be brighter than its recent history.