Headlines
As published as an editorial in The Hartford Courant, November 26, 2008.
Health Center Solution
UConn Hospital's Health • Regional Partnership On The Table
A proposed merger between the University of Connecticut Health Center and Hartford Hospital may be just what the doctor ordered to stop untenable fiscal bleeding at the health center's John Dempsey Hospital.
If all goes according to plan — a big if — the hospital in Farmington would be run by Hartford Healthcare, Hartford Hospital's parent company. UConn's medical school, which is also on the health center campus in Farmington, would continue to be run by the university.
The public-private partnership and as yet unspecified affiliations with other regional hospitals would result in a new "Connecticut Health Collaborative" that would focus on public health, research and teaching.
The deal offers UConn potential relief from financial woes that have resulted in hefty annual deficits. The 224-bed Dempsey Hospital is outdated and too small to be profitable. It operates at a loss not because it is mismanaged, but because it bears responsibilities unique to its public status. UConn cares for the state's prison population, maintains a psychiatric unit and pays $12 million more in salaries and fringe benefits than the area's private hospitals.
UConn's previous proposal to build a new, expanded flagship hospital for its medical school set off protests by urban competitors who feared it would cost them business.
Under the merger plan, which will require legislative approval, Hartford Hospital would gain a presence in Farmington. It would collaborate with UConn on a plan to build a "world-class university hospital" on the Farmington campus to replace Dempsey, but without additional beds. The present building would likely be renovated for offices and research.
Difficult details have yet to be settled, such as how to reconcile public and private salaries, benefits and cultures, and who would pay to build the new facility.
Still, the fact that regional hospitals are working together to solve the Dempsey dilemma is a real plus for health care in Connecticut.