 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Hospital proposal will soon be aired
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- Hernando HealthCare has made no secret of its desire to rebuild Brooksville Regional Hospital on 95 acres west of the city. The company's executives have kept other move-related details close to the vest since announcing their intentions last June, though. Executive director Tom Barb has refused to confer with Hernando County commissioners or administrative staff, even though his firm leases the hospital building and beds from the county. No specifics will be available, Barb said, until he presents ideas to the commission on Tuesday."We've got a proposal to amend the contract. That's all I want to say," he said. "Actually, they asked us to meet privately, and we decided we did not want to meet privately." That way, no one could attack Hernando HealthCare for giving more information to one person or group than another, Barb said. Presenting the plan in one place at one time also prevents premature interpretations, he added. The only thing the county got was a letter from Barb asking for an hour to present to the commission, and stating Hernando HealthCare wanted to construct a "modern, state-of-the-art" hospital to serve the "greater Brooksville area." Benefits to the county would include ownership of the new building, Barb wrote. Without anything concrete to review, County Administrator Paul McIntosh hesitated to put the item on the commission's upcoming agenda. After consideration, however, he decided that the long-awaited proposal had to come forth somehow, so he relented. "Our recommendation is that the board refer it back to the staff for analysis and a recommendation," McIntosh said. Commissioners also withheld judgment, despite concerns that relocating the hospital westward to Lykes Dublin Road between State Road 50 and Wiscon Road might hurt residents living in eastern Hernando County. Oak Hill and Spring Hill regional hospitals already serve the Spring Hill area. "It's a really tough situation," Commissioner Mary Aiken said. "I'm perfectly aware that people don't want that hospital to move any farther west than it already is. People in Ridge Manor already use a hospital in Dade City." Brooksville City Council members, fearing the fallout of losing one of its major employers, adopted a resolution in January asking the hospital to upgrade its current building or consider other sites within the city. At the same time, Aiken said, Barb has "reasonably" explained that the current hospital building on Ponce de Leon Boulevard southwest of downtown Brooksville cannot adequately handle modernization. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you I'm going to vote one way or the other," Commissioner Diane Rowden said. "I want to be open to both sides." Impact on the community, especially as it relates to service and convenience, will rate high in the consideration, Commissioner Nancy Robinson said. But setting hurdles for Hernando HealthCare to overcome to win approval cannot happen without knowing the baseline proposal, she added. "We've known they wanted to do this for quite some time -- a year," she said. "I have no problem waiting until Tuesday to get the detailed information." Neither Robinson nor Chairman Chris Kingsley expected the commission to vote immediately on the company's recommendation. "I'm planning on listening to what (Barb) has to say. Then we'll confer with staff and everyone around here, of course legal, and see what our options are," Kingsley said. "At the very worst, some areas of concern with the contract could be opened for renegotiation, too, stuff like the amount of the lease for the next 30 years." Because the county owns the certificates of need for the hospital beds, he added, "I do believe we're kind of holding the deck." Barb did not want to presuppose any commission action, and refused to say how long would be too long for the commission to make a decision. "We're obviously going to present something," he said. "We'll be asking for a decision." It has been about three years since Health Management Associates, a for-profit company based in Naples, bought Brooksville and Spring Hill regional hospitals for $78-million. The company bailed non-profit Regional Healthcare Inc. out of bankruptcy court.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Hernando Times |
