Nemours to Consider Alternate Central Florida Locations for its Comprehensive Pediatric Facilities
Nemours Enterprise
Monday, October 09, 2006 @ 12:00 AM EDT
Nemours has announced it will consider other Central Florida locations in addition to its property at I-4 and Conroy Road for its planned children’s health care campus featuring a top-tier pediatric hospital.
“Much has changed in Orlando’s medical community since we announced our plans,” said Nemours President and CEO DavidJ. Bailey, MD, MBA. “We support and applaud the vision of Mayor Crotty and Mayor Dyer to advance Central Florida as a health care destination. We are proud to play a role in that vision. While our current property may still provide the best site for our proposed children’s hospital, so much has changed that we feel the need for some additional due diligence with regard to the location of our children’s health care campus. We are also committed to continue exploring options for collaboration with the community hospitals.”
Bailey added, “Let me be very, very clear about one thing: this in no way changes our commitment to Central Florida. We will continue to seek permission to build a children’s hospital here and no where else. We are committed to seeing a comprehensive children’s health care campus created in Orlando, period.”
As Nemours considers other locations, it will briefly suspend development activity for its previously announced new Children’s Clinic and surgery center, which were planned for its property at I-4 and Conroy Road, to allow for greater flexibility in evaluation of alternate locations.
“The value of Nemours is our integrated approach and the seamless transition that would occur between the Clinic with its surgery center and our children’s hospital. It would make no sense to have the two facilities in different locations. We need to make this decision holistically and for the long-term, not just to satisfy an immediate-term need,” said Nemours Florida Chief Administrative Officer Jeffery Green.
Green added, “A new Orlando Children’s Clinic with accompanying surgery center will be built. A new children’s hospital will be brought to this community. That is our commitment and we will honor it. This is not a question of if, but where. The location of our health care campus is a generational decision that deserves proper consideration at every step of the journey.”
Considerations
Does this impact Nemours pursuit of a Certificate of Need?
We are moving forward with our pursuit of state regulatory approval to build our proposed children’s hospital. We will move forward with our appeal of our first Certificate of Need application and file a second application in mid-October with a decision expected in mid-December.
Will Nemours consider locating at Lake Nona or on ORH’s campus?
Clearly, there is current synergy among research driven, health care organizations like Nemours locating at Lake Nona. Clearly, there are advantages to co-locating our hospital with an existing community hospital. However, those are two of many potential locations and we are keeping our options open during this site evaluation period.
Has Nemours entered into conversations with Tavistock or ORH about the location of its children’s hospital?
We have watched the emergence of Lake Nona’s medical village with interest and spoken generally with Tavistock about its plans in that area. We have continued conversations at many levels with ORH and its board of directors throughout this process and will continue to do so. Nemours has no specific plans currently under negotiation or consideration with either organization at this time.
How long will it be until Nemours announces an official location for its hospital?
While there is almost no way to put a fixed timetable to this process, we see it occurring over a matter of weeks and months and certainly not over a protracted period of time. We recognize that there are children who need our services in this community today. Our sense of urgency is acute.
modified: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 04:15 PM EST
created: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 04:15 PM EST
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.
Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.
Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.
