Headlines
As reported by The Hartford Courant, June 4, 2009.
New Hospital Proposal Still in Limbo
By Arielle Levin Becker and Daniela Altimari
The legislative session ended Wednesday with no final action on a
proposed plan for the future of the ailing University of Connecticut
Health Center.
The ambitious proposal, introduced in February, called for merging
the financially troubled Health Center with Hartford Hospital and
building a new $475 million hospital in Farmington — with taxpayer
money — to replace John Dempsey Hospital.
UConn and Hartford Hospital officials touted the plan as a way to
bolster the region's economy, transform the health care landscape
and address persistent problems at the Health Center, which has been
running deficits, and at Dempsey Hospital, which is considered too
small and outdated to be viable.
But the plan ran into fierce opposition. St. Francis Hospital and
Medical Center and Bristol Hospital criticized the plan, saying the
state would be giving their competitors major advantages, including
a new hospital that could lure away privately insured patients and
hurt the hospitals financially. The unions representing Health
Center employees raised a host of concerns about what the merger
would mean for workers and for the Health Center.
And Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she could not support the plan because
it was too costly for the state. In addition to the expense of
building the hospital, the plan calls for the state to pay an
estimated $13 million a year in labor costs.
Still, supporters of the proposal hope it will come up again in the
special session to resolve the state budget impasse.
House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, D- Storrs, said the hospital
proposal could be a powerful engine that drives the Hartford
region's economy in coming decades. "Irrespective of all the complex
issues of hospital consolidation and ranging among hospitals, I am
hopeful we can bring people together."
Hartford Hospital spokeswoman Lee Monroe said Wednesday that the
hospital is hopeful the proposal will win support from the
legislature and the governor.