DETROIT, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- One more obstacle has been removed with Tuesday's decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals that allows Henry Ford Health System to proceed with the building of a 300-bed hospital in West Bloomfield.
The three-judge Court unanimously affirmed a lower court's ruling that the plaintiffs do not have legal standing to prevent Henry Ford from building the new hospital.
"We are gratified and elated by the court's decision. We have been confident that the judges would rule in favor of what is in the best interest of the community. Clearly, having a world-class hospital in western Oakland County will benefit everyone," said Nancy Schlichting, president and chief executive of Henry Ford Health System.
"We frequently receive comments from patients and family members who say they can't wait for the new hospital to be built. When they are hospitalized, they want to be close to home," she said. "In a recent survey, 76 percent of all West Bloomfield residents said they support the new hospital."
The plans to build a new hospital in West Bloomfield were made possible two years ago when the state Legislature passed legislation which allowed Detroit-based health systems that meet strict criteria to move a small percentage of beds within their health system. The bill was signed into law in December 2002.
Henry Ford Health System plans to move forward with the West Bloomfield Hospital ran into a roadblock in the form of a lawsuit by five competitors. The suit sought to block the bed transfers and expansion by Henry Ford, as well as St. John Health, into western Oakland County.
In July 2004, the Ingham County Circuit Court ruled that the competitors who brought the lawsuit had no legal standing.
In the meantime, Henry Ford has submitted its site plan documents and drawings for approval by the Planning Commission of West Bloomfield Township. The review and approval process is expected to take three to six months. Pending approval of the site plan, construction could begin in 2005 with the first section of the new hospital completed in 2008.
Named Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, the new hospital will ultimately house 300 beds and combine state-of-the-art technology with a world-class medical staff.
The new hospital is a major component of Henry Ford's plans for new facilities and upgrades that also include a new, expanded emergency/trauma center at Henry Ford Hospital and opening two new medical centers in the city of Detroit.
Henry Ford Health SystemCONTACT: Zoila Brown (Print), Synthia Bryant (Radio/TV), or DavidOlejarz (Print), of Henry Ford Health System, +1-313-876-2882
Web site: http://henryfordhealth.org/