After months of opposition from surrounding hospitals, a Florida administrative law judge officially ruled a Recommended Order to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration to approve the certificate of need for an academic hospital in the University Park Plaza.
If AHCA approves the certificate of need, the new hospital will replace Plantation General Hospital.
Brandon Hensler, executive director of University Relations at NSU, said AHCA has 60 days to issue a final decision as to whether the hospital will be built.
NSU President and CEO George Hanbury II said that undergraduate and graduate students from multiple disciplines, including the healthcare sciences, psychology and business, will have an opportunity to get experience with their programs at the new facility and that the construction of the hospital is a milestone for NSU to become recognized as a premium, not-for-profit university.
“As time goes by, NSU will evolve like universities such as Tufts or Boston University and will reach a destination teaching-research university distinction,” he said. “That won’t be next week, next year or even by 2020, but you have to start somewhere. I commend HCA for sticking with us and persevering. This will be transformational for the university and all of our students.”
Unlike Plantation General, which only focused on traditional health services, the new hospital would also focus on technology and treatment, as well as research, clinical trials, and education for NSU students.
Hanbury said it will take approximately one year to obtain the necessary construction permits, followed by two years of construction.
“We feel the final hurdle [to getting the hospital] was the administrative judge’s ruling,” Hanbury said. “By 2020, we’ll see a new hospital open on our campus.”
In the 77-page Recommended Order, Judge W. David Watkins wrote that part of the reasoning for his decision was that Plantation General Hospital is outdated, according to Tampa Bay Business Journal.
“The modern amenities of PGH’s new hospital will significantly enhance the availability and quality of services when compared to its current facility,” he wrote. “PGH will be able to offer more specialty services within it current service lines, and the relationship with NSU will attract quality healthcare providers to the area.”
If approved, HCA will invest over $400 million in the hospital, which will be built around the Westside Regional Medical Center’s free-standing emergency room in the University Park Plaza and serve as the center of the NSU Academical Village.
According to a press release issued by NSU, 200 of the 264 licensed beds from Plantation General, an HCA East Florida hospital, will be relocated to the new facility, and, while the new hospital is under construction, Plantation General will continue to offer its services. After the new hospital is completed, Plantation General will solely offer emergency care at its current location.
In the press release, Hanbury said the relocation of the hospital will provide easy access and far-reaching benefits for the community.
“Our faculty members and students are already making breakthroughs in cell therapy, pharmaceuticals and the hi-tech/biotech areas,” he said. “Bringing this healthcare hub to our campus will provide the resource that leads to clinical trials to benefit our community and all of humankind.”
Businesses and services at the University Park Plaza will be temporarily relocated during construction, and only some will remain in their original locations as part of the Academical Village. The village, a $500 million project, will transform the plaza into a 30-acre high-tech research and office area, featuring the hospital and emergency room, as well as a hotel and conference center.
The plan for the hospital was announced in October 2013, but the hospital faced opposition from Memorial Healthcare System and Cleveland Clinic Hospital, which have facilities in Pembroke Pines and Weston, respectively, delaying construction. The mayor of Plantation has also made statements against the relocation, saying that the move will be disadvantageous to Plantation’s General patients, as 30 percent of them reside in the area surrounding the hospital, according to earlier reports by The Current.
Michael Joseph, president of HCA East Florida, said in the press release that this would be the first academic hospital of its kind in Broward County, and its construction will help fulfill HCA’s mission of providing high-quality healthcare to its communities.
“HCA East Florida is proud of our award-winning facilities, and we look forward to working with NSU,” he said. “The partnership will elevate the level of services we can provide by integrating a research and academic component into our scope of care to patients and provide much-needed healthcare services to the town of Davie and beyond.”
According to the press release, the hospital would be privately owned by HCA East Florida, and no public funds will be allocated to the construction process, so tuition and fees will not increase to help pay for the construction. The hospital will also accept those who are under NSU’s health insurance.
For more information, visit nova.edu/president/initiatives.html.
