LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport

LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) is a public university focused on health sciences education and located in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and is composed of three schools: the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Allied Health Professions.^[2] The School of Medicine offers the Doctor of Medicine degree, while both the Schools of Graduate Studies and Allied Health offer Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, and Doctorate degrees.^[3] The School of Medicine also offers 17 residency and 34 fellowship training programs through the Office of Graduate Medical Education.^[4]

LSU Health Shreveport

Type	Public university
Established	1966
Parent institution	LSU System
Academic affiliation	Space-grant
Chancellor	David Guzick
Academic staff	600+
Students	1101 (624 MD students)[1]
Location	Shreveport , Louisiana , United States 32.481014°N 93.761894°W / 32.481014; -93.761894
Campus	Urban
Website	www.lsuhs.edu

History

Close-up view of LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport, which occupies the expanded facilities of the formerly-named Confederate Memorial Medical Center

Established in 1966 as the Louisiana State University School of Medicine at Shreveport, Edgar Hull – who in 1931 had worked to establish the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans – served as the first dean until his retirement in 1973.^[5] G. E. Ghali was named Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport in October 2016. Ghali left LSU Health Shreveport in June 2021. David Lewis, also dean of the School of Medicine, stepped in as interim chancellor. In January 2023, David Guzick took over as chancellor.^[6]

Since 2016, the LSU medical school in Shreveport has grappled with financial troubles. LSU President F. King Alexander said that the troubles date to 2013, when the private Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana assumed control of the teaching hospital as part of then-Governor Bobby Jindal's plan to privatize the state charity hospital system. Alexander said that the foundation has not paid hospital bills in full and provides insufficient funding to sustain the medical school.^[7]

In October 2018, LSU Health Shreveport formed a 50/50, public/private partnership with Ochsner Health. This new entity, Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport is a branch of Ochsner Health System and serves the people of North Louisiana, a patient population of approximately 2 million.^[8]

Academics

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023^[9]

Race and ethnicity	Total
White	65%
Black	25%
Asian	5%
Hispanic	5%
Economic diversity
Low-income[a]	16%
Affluent[b]	84%

LSU Health Shreveport's three professional schools (School of Medicine, Allied Health Professions, and School of Graduate Studies) offer multiple degree paths.

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine offers the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree, and some students elect to join the rigorous combined MD–PhD program.^[10]

Most students complete clinical rotations at one of the Ochsner LSU Health sites including the main Academic Medical Center, St. Mary's Medical Center for Women and Children, Louisiana Behavioral Hospital, and Monroe Medical Center.

School of Allied Health Professions

Allied Health has the widest arrangement of academic degrees, with undergraduate and graduate programs. It also offers three residency programs.

School of Graduate Studies

The school of graduate studies offers master's degrees and PhDs and takes part in a combined MD-PhD program with the School of Medicine.^[11] The SOGS offers doctorate degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Pathology and Translational Pathobiology. The Cellular Biology and Anatomy department also offers master's degrees.^[12]

Notable alumni

• Jason Williams, radiologist and oncologist^[13]

Notes

1. The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.
2. The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.