BATON ROUGE – The specialty surgical hospital many in North Baton Rouge hoped would help echo more health care into the community there is closing.

Champion Medical Center will shut down; it's parent company said the closure will occur relativity quickly. Champion has been open for almost four years and was hoping to become a state-supported emergency room when the state went looking for partners for emergency care in North Baton Rouge.

Much to the dismay of those involved in the pitch to lure emergency care to Champion, the state signed a deal with Our Lady of the Lake, prompting allegations government was not interested in the needs of the community.

Champion Medical Center is in the Howell Place development on Howell Boulevard off Harding.

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