Charity Hospital, known really as Big Charity, but officially called the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans is (was) run by the Lousiana State University system. It was the oldest continuously operated hospital in the U.S. up until last week. Yes, it's government run; but by the LSU system. It received funds from donations and from reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare. New Orleans had, until last week, ranked 5th highest in the U.S. in terms of the percentage of its population without health insurance, and New Orleans was the 4th most impoverished city in the U.S. as of last week. Charity was the hospital of last resort, as opposed to the much more expensive private Tulane Hospital.