Long initiated the expansion of the state’s two Charity Hospitals to create a network of public hospitals accessible to the poor. Capacity at New Orleans’ Charity Hospital was more than doubled, reducing the death rate by 30 percent. He also founded the LSU Medical School, a modern training institution adjacent to New Orleans’ Charity Hospital.
Huey Long modernized Louisiana's hospitals, with new treatment rooms and sterilizing equipment. ~ Courtesy of <i>Every Man a King</i> by Huey Long; reprinted by permission.
Long modernized and expanded the state’s institutions for its neglected disabled and mentally ill patients, abolishing the practice of chaining patients to their chairs in plow stocks and providing modern therapy and dental care. His administration also built institutions for mentally disabled children and epileptics. He reformed the prison system by providing inmates dental and medical care.
Through the Board of Health, Long tripled funding for public healthcare. The state’s free health clinics grew from 10 in 1926 to 31 in 1933, providing free immunizations to 67 percent of the rural population.
By expanding the state’s network of roads and bridges, Long made it possible for citizens – especially the rural poor – to seek professional healthcare and hospitalization.
A little girl in 1938 fans her sick mother, who works in a box factory. Huey Long greatly expanded access by the rural poor to professional healthcare. ~ Courtesy of LSU Libraries Special Collections.