State Senator John Fonfara
May 1, 2008
Fonfara Supports UConn Health Center Bill That Will Not Harm Hospitals in Hartford
Senator John Fonfara (D-Hartford) said hospitals in Hartford will not be adversely impacted by the bill approved by the Senate that deals with future plans for the John Dempsey Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center. The legislation adopts the recommendations of a comprehensive study to determine the role of the health center and other regional hospitals in meeting the health care demands of the region. It calls for hospitals in the Hartford area to work together to help develop a new medical training facility.
The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) was asked to conduct a study after the University of Connecticut made a request for a $495 million to build a new 352 beds at the Dempsey Hospital. A number of facilities including Hartford Hospital and St. Francis raised concerns about the proposal.
The bill approved by the Senate endorses the report conducted by CASE that concluded there is not a need for additional licensed hospital beds and recommended that the John Dempsey Hospital and the regional hospitals develop a mutually agreed upon vision and guiding principles to go forward with establishing affiliation agreements between the health center and the regional hospitals as partners.
In phase two, the health center and the regional hospitals would articulate affiliation agreements that detail the working relationships between the health center and the regional hospitals as partners to support excellence in medical education in the state.
"I'm encouraged by the CASE study and the efforts to find a solution to this where we bring parties together as opposed to working at odds with each other," said Senator Fonfara. "My greatest concern is that ultimately that we not see a negative impact on the Hartford Hospital and St. Francis Hospital. I continue to be a strong supporter of the University of Connecticut and I see the need to for helping the medical center, but I do not want to harm the hospitals in Hartford."
"These two hospitals are tremendous employment engines in Hartford at a time when we see exodus from the city in other areas, they continue to provide jobs to thousands of people in region. They also help to stabilize our neighborhoods," said Senator Fonfara. "We need to ensure that this effort does not result in a negative impact on those institutions."
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