NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials say the massive new medical center being built in downtown New Orleans to replace the shuttered Charity Hospital won't open until August.
On Tuesday, LCMC Health, the company managing the University Medical Center, said a tentative Aug. 1 opening date has been set for the new complex. It had hoped to open the $1.1 billion facility by early summer.
Officials said the delay in the opening has been caused by the need to train staff.
Construction of the University Medical Center began in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The new complex will replace Charity Hospital, a 20-story Art Deco building shuttered after Katrina.
Construction is expected to be completed in April.