Tenet’s New Orleans Plan

Tenet Healthcare Corp. said Monday that it would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new healthcare system in New Orleans.

“We were a major healthcare provider here before the hurricane. We still are after the hurricane,” Chief Operating Officer Reynold J. Jennings said from New Orleans, referring to Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.

Tenet had been the largest private hospital company in the region. But its Memorial Medical Center and Lindy Boggs Medical Center remain closed indefinitely, while its three suburban New Orleans hospitals -- NorthShore Regional Medical Center in Slidell, Kenner Regional Medical Center and Meadowcrest Hospital in Gretna -- are gradually returning to service.

Tenet plans to reopen four medical offices at Memorial and two at Lindy Boggs in three to four months, which will let doctors resume their practices, and reopen a cardiac surgery institute at Memorial in six months.

Jennings said the prospects of reopening the 347-bed Memorial “don’t look good” because flooding in the lower two floors caused extensive damage. He said that the 188-bed Lindy Boggs suffered less structural damage and that reopening it could depend on insurance settlements.

The company also plans to link its three suburban hospitals with the New Orleans hospitals to create a health network known as NOLA Regional Health Network.

The announcement sent Tenet stock down 59 cents to $8.53 on Monday.