NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Health Management Associates, Inc. announced today that it has received a favorable ruling from the State of Florida’s First District Court of Appeals affirming the final Certificate of Need (CON) approval from the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to build the 100-bed Collier Regional Medical Center. The hospital will be located in the East Naples/Southern Collier County area. The decision ends any further appeal process.
“This ruling is a victory for HMA and all of Collier County, particularly the East Naples/Southern Collier County area,” said Joseph V. Vumbacco, President and Chief Executive Officer of HMA. “This new hospital will offer additional access, high quality health care and a choice for both patients and physicians. We have been working during the appeal process to obtain various land use permits, and we are hopeful that construction will begin in early 2005 with completion 18 to 24 months later. HMA is committed to delivering high quality health care close to home for the residents of the East Naples/Southern Collier County area.”
The proposed 100-bed Collier Regional Medical Center will be located on a 60-acre parcel, located approximately 3.5 miles south of Interstate 75 on the East side of Collier Boulevard, Collier County, just south of the intersection of Rattlesnake Hammock Road and Collier Boulevard and north of the intersection of Lely Cultural Boulevard and Collier Boulevard. Hospital services will include a 24-hour emergency room, a 14-bed women’s center with obstetrical services, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, inpatient and outpatient surgical services, an intensive care unit, and private patient rooms.
HMA received preliminary CON approval from the State of Florida on June 13, 2002. An administrative hearing was held in March 2003 after Naples Community Hospital (NCH) objected to the State’s preliminary approval. An independent administrative law judge, Judge J. D. Parrish, ruled overwhelmingly in HMA’s favor on August 1, 2003, stating that “the existing providers in Collier County have not been able to address the unique concerns that crowded seasons, population growth, traffic, high occupancy, lack of managed care, and inadequate bed distribution cause. As with other HMA hospitals in the state, it is expected that this new hospital will have an excellent record of providing high quality care.” Judge Parrish further noted that, “ACHA (The State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration) supports and endorses the proposal without reservation.” On October 3, 2003, ACHA awarded HMA the final CON, and NCH promptly appealed to the State of Florida’s First District Court of Appeals. Oral arguments were heard on September 21, 2004, and the courts affirmed the State of Florida’s final CON order on September 24, 2004, less than three days after oral arguments.
“HMA recognized from the beginning of this process that the growth taking place in Collier County has overwhelmed the existing local health care system, and another hospital is necessary. Now the State of Florida has agreed for the third and final time,” added Vumbacco. “This new hospital will create new jobs, provide an additional tax base for the county and attract new businesses, spurring economic development for the area. Additional hospital services, including emergency room and obstetrical services, will help alleviate year-round access issues. With HMA’s Collier Regional Medical Center still in development, HMA has already been a catalyst for positive improvements for the community, with new health insurance offerings being accepted at area hospitals, and quality of care issues being brought to the forefront. Unfortunately, those who need health care the most have been forced to wait while NCH pursued costly and unnecessary litigation. For over a quarter of a century, HMA has been committed to the delivery of high quality health care services in each of the communities it serves, and we will seek to be Collier County’s health care provider of choice.”
HMA is the premier operator of non-urban general acute care hospitals in communities situated throughout the United States. HMA has generated 15 years of uninterrupted operating earnings growth and upon the completion of the previously announced transaction to acquire the 82-bed Chester County Hospital, will operate 53 hospitals in 16 states with 7,644 licensed beds.
Certain statements contained in this release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “optimistic,” and words of similar import, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, capital structure, or other financial items, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, statements of future economic performance, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact.
Statements made throughout this release are based on current estimates of future events, and the Company has no obligation to update or correct these estimates. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially as a result of these various factors.
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