DETROIT, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A ruling issued today by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James R. Giddings paves the way for Henry Ford Health System to build a hospital in West Bloomfield.
In a 10-page ruling, Judge Giddings ruled the competing hospitals that brought a lawsuit in 2003 had no legal standing to file the action.
"We're delighted with the ruling by Judge Giddings," says Nancy Schlichting, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System. "This clears the way for us to move forward with our plans to build a much-needed hospital in West Bloomfield."
Building a premier hospital in Oakland County has been part of Henry Ford's long-range plans since 1975 when its West Bloomfield medical center opened. The hospital will be attached to the existing medical center.
In December 2002, the state Legislature passed Public Act 619, which allowed Detroit-based health systems that met strict criteria to move a small percentage of beds from Detroit to suburban locations or relocate suburban beds within their health system.
Under the new law, Henry Ford and St. John Health were permitted to transfer beds to already existing buildings.
A lawsuit filed in 2003 by competing hospitals challenged the legislation's constitutionality.
Judge Giddings' ruling stated that "it is not uncommon in a free market economy where competition in the health care industry, as in other industries, is supposed to thrive."
"We have always believed that this lawsuit had no legal grounds, and was brought on by other hospitals that were unhappy with the idea of competition, and today's ruling confirms that," says Vinod Sahney, senior vice president, Special Projects.
"This is truly a victory for the community because it means patients will receive the highest quality of care closer to home."
Schlichting and Sahney praised the efforts of Sen. Nancy Cassis for her vision and advocacy, and other lawmakers for their work in getting the legislation passed.
West Bloomfield township clerk Sharon Law called the ruling "a big win for our community."
Henry Ford plans to move forward with the next phase of the project after discussing various aspects of the plan with its Board of Trustees. Next steps include site preparation, site plan approval by the township board and architectural drawings.
Henry Ford Health SystemCONTACT: Synthia Bryant (TV/Radio), sbryant3@hfhs.org , or David Olejarz(Print), dolejar1@hfhs.org , +1-313-876-2882, both of Henry Ford HealthSystem
Web site: http://henryfordhealth.org/
