Rell UConn plan generates support

A new plan to replace the antiquated hospital at the University of Connecticut medical center in Farmington with a new facility that would be the centerpiece of a network of Hartford-area hospitals, announced Tuesday by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, is being received with qualified support from Democratic leaders and the state hospital association.

"Some of this I'm very pleased about, particularly that it's a very collaborative proposal and would strengthen health care in the entire Hartford region," said state Rep. Betsy Ritter, D-Waterford, co-chairwoman of the Public Health Committee. "The devil's in the details, and there are a lot of details. There will be a lot of questions and a lot of discussion."

Ritter said she is looking forward to a presentation of the plan at a Public Health Committee hearing Thursday. The Appropriations Committee is also scheduled for a presentation that day. Legislative support will be needed for $227 million in state bond funding that Rell wants to have reallocated to the UConn project.

State Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said in a statement that he looks forward to analyzing the details of the proposal and appreciates its potential to create up to 5,000 new health care jobs. Rell's plan includes a cancer center and other centers for specialized care and training for health care professionals.

The total cost of Rell's proposal would be $352 million, about $100 million less than a different plan presented last year that did not succeed. In addition to the $227 million in state bond funds, the project would be funded with $100 million in federal funds that are part of the Senate health care reform bill pending in Congress. The $100 million would be part of a larger investment in university medical centers nationwide introduced by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

The remaining $25 million would come from existing UConn capital improvement funds.

Rell proposed a $352 million project to build a new facility to replace John Dempsey Hospital and establish the UConn Health Network. It would include the largest medical institutions in the Hartford region - Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Bristol Hospital, the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain and Waterbury Hospital, among others, said Donna Tommelleo, spokeswoman for Rell.

The Connecticut Hospital Association, which represents the state's three dozen nonprofit hospitals, is supportive of the collaboration but has one concern, said Leslie Gianelli, spokeswoman for the association. "We want to make sure the governor and the legislature remember all the hospitals in the state and their need to be financially stable," she said.

Under Rell's plan, the existing hospital would be replaced by a 230-bed patient tower and renovated hospital center with more classrooms and lab space for medical and dental students. Replacing the existing hospital is seen by UConn officials as key to attracting students and keeping the state staffed with doctors and dentists.

UConn President Michael Hogan said the proposal would put the health center on "firm footing" for the future.

Components of the plan include:

• Cancer center with National Institutes of Health affiliation at the Farmington campus.

• Primary Care Institute at St. Francis that would offer training in chronic disease management and primary care education and treatment.

• Simulation Center at Hartford Hospital that would offer training on new equipment and technology.

• Transfer of neonatal intensive care unit from UConn to Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

• Health Disparities Institute in Hartford to work with minority communities.

• Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences at UConn campus for clinical trials of new medications.

• Bioscience enterprise zone that would offer tax breaks to companies that work with UConn Health Network partners.