State backtracks on hospital site

An official now says the site can be changed with little impact.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published July 19, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Responding to a flurry of questions from residents, state officials cleared up their position on the controversial proposed location of a Wesley Chapel hospital.

A specific location was not critical to their evaluation of the hospital proposal, officials now say.

On June 15, University Community Health and Adventist Health System won a state permit to jointly build a hospital in central Pasco.

But its proposed location on Tupper Road and State Road 54 - a notoriously traffic-clogged neighborhood - provoked an outcry when hospital planners sought a land use change from the county.

On July 10, the county's Local Planning Agency unanimously rejected the proposed Tupper Road location, partly because Adventist owns an alternative site 3 miles to the south at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and State Road 56.

At the LPA meeting and in the aftermath of its decision, one state official said, "A site was critical to our ability to assess need and access."

But this week, the state agency said that, well, it's not.

"The approval was not conditioned on the specific site, but rather the general location," said Fernando Senra, spokesman for the state Agency for Health Care Administration. "Therefore, from the agency's perspective, the exact site could be moved with little impact."

The proposed Tupper Road location helped the agency evaluate the health care traffic in the area, but UCH won't need to reapply to the agency if it moves within the state's planning subdistrict covering east and central Pasco, Senra said.

In an e-mail to residents, the agency's chief of health facility regulation, Jeff Gregg, explained further: "The exact location was not the strongest reason for approval and a change in the exact location would not have affected the agency's decision."

Residents still have a petition campaign in their neighborhood, and they say they plan to keep a close watch on the issue.

"I don't know if people realize that it isn't about not wanting a hospital, but about the best location for such a facility," said resident Jennifer Richard.

UCH is now weighing its options, taking into account residents' concerns and the LPA's decision, UCH spokeswoman Phoebe Ochman said.

State officials say the hospital's location may become an issue if AHCA's June decision is challenged before the state Division of Administrative Hearings. Such challenges, usually from industry competitors, are fairly routine, they say.

On Aug. 21, the Pasco County Commission will vote on the LPA's recommendation to reject the Tupper Road location.

Adventist's site on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard sits in the as-Wiregrass Ranch location, which was approved Tuesday.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 22:37:37]