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Push to bring local food back to Louisiana schools; How Steward Health owners profited as care declined

Kindergarteners fill their lunch trays at Northwestern Elementary, part of Zachary Community Schools outside Baton Rouge
Aubri Juhasz
/
WWNO
Kindergarteners fill their lunch trays at Northwestern Elementary, part of Zachary Community Schools outside Baton Rouge

Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring back a federal program that helped schools buy food from local farms. It’s one of the cuts the Trump administration made to the Department of Agriculture. Education reporter Aubri Juhasz explains how one school district used the money and how cuts are impacting their current relationships with local farms.

A recent investigation into Steward Health Care, which ran a hospital in West Monroe, La., found that the hospital chain’s owners spent years squeezing profits out of the business, leading to a decline in the quality of care. The investigation found over 400 lawsuits involving more than 80 deaths and issues with labor and delivery. All while owners spent millions – on a yacht, an apartment in Spain, and a prep school – instead of spending money on important hospital equipment and employee salaries.

Reporter Hannah Levintova investigated the now bankrupt for-profit hospital. She joins us now to discuss her findings published in Mother Jones. 

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Karen Henderson is an award-winning journalist whose stories have aired nationally on NPR.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.