Sarasota Memorial's application was a back-up plan for Venice hospital project
State regulators on Friday denied two requests for permission to build new hospitals in Sarasota County.
One — a second application by Sarasota Memorial Hospital to build a 60-acre medical campus on its Laurel Road property in Venice — was filed in order to keep momentum while its first application, approved a year ago, is tied up in litigation.
The other was by Universal Health Services, which owns Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, for a 120-bed hospital in North Port.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration combined the two applications into one statement of denial.
A court decision is expected in early 2018 on competing bids by Sarasota Memorial and Venice Regional Bayfront Health to build new medical campuses just one exit apart on Interstate 75 in Venice. Until that case is settled, the agency said in its statement, it considers Sarasota Memorial's original application approved and will not approve the second one.
This decision was expected by Sarasota Memorial's executive team, which explained to the state that its 2017 application was "submitted in the event that its previous application is ultimately denied or protracted litigation continues." CEO David Verinder has vowed to maintain momentum on building a "sister facility" in Venice to ease demand and congestion at its Sarasota campus. In November, Sarasota Memorial's board moved to hire an architect and builder for the Venice site, signaling that its investment in a southern expansion will continue.
The two longtime health care providers’ battle for the South County patient base goes back to at least October 2012, when Sarasota Memorial first moved to operate an urgent care center on the U.S. 41 Bypass.
The attempt to build an acute-care hospital in North Port arose out of frustration that Sarasota Memorial, which maintains an emergency care center there, opted to build its next hospital in Venice instead of locating farther south. Sarasota Memorial's board has stated that the population base — and, importantly, the supply of medical providers — do not yet justify the expense of a hospital in North Port. But Universal Health disagreed, pledging to spend $12 million over four years on construction and physician recruitment.
In denying the North Port bid, the agency stated that it "can make no determination of need for a new hospital in North Port, Florida, based on the data and analysis presented by the applicant. The applicant’s forecast model did not definitively show the need for a 120-bed acute care hospital."
The statement added that until the claims of Sarasota Memorial and Venice Regional to build new hospitals are settled, there is no way to gauge what additional health care needs in South County will be.
The Universal Health executive shepherding the North Port project was not immediately available for comment. At Sarasota Memorial, Verinder announced the latest development to hospital staffers.
"We submitted a second, updated application to the state several weeks ago as an extra insurance measure while we await the outcome of the challenges over our 2016 application," his letter said. "Despite today’s denial, we still anticipate receiving final approval of our 2016 application in early 2018, and look forward to developing a state-of-the-art hospital on Laurel Road that will provide top-quality care to the community and help decompress our main campus."