On Tuesday, the smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air as Champion Medical Center and Urgent Care opened its doors to patients for the first time. In an area largely lacking medical facilities since Katrina, the new center is part of an effort to revitalize the neighborhood.

Memories of Hurricane Katrina still linger for some residents, causing an increase in mental health issues.

New Orleans East resident Gregory Davis says he realized his community needed a health care facility after one of his 10 children had to be taken to an emergency room across town because there was no hospital nearby.

Louisiana State University is preparing to fight a legislative effort to strip it of its control of the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans and possibly disrupt plans to construct a $1.2 billion facility.

The redevelopment of the medical district in New Orleans is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs. But a local shortage of doctors, scientists and researchers since Hurricane Katrina has officials looking as far as Atlanta for help.