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Hospital Milestone Marked

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2008

CONNERTON - The directors of Tampa's University Community Hospital on Tuesday symbolically kicked off construction of a long-term acute care facility just off U.S. 41 in this central Pasco County community.

Earth-moving is under way at the hospital's 38-acre Connerton site. Recent rain made the property largely impassable for the business-suited crowd that had gathered for the official groundbreaking.

So instead, UCH President Norm Stein and other dignitaries poked their shovels into the earth in a low-key ceremony at Connerton's Rose Cottage visitor center.

The hospital won a state permit for the 50-bed facility in 2006. The new center will cater to patients who require mechanical help breathing and other intensive care for weeks at a time.

At the time, UCH was one of four hospitals competing for state permits to operate in Pasco County. Stein said the facility's location will make it convenient for hospitals in west Pasco and elsewhere to transfer patients from their intensive-care suites to a long-term care facility.

The closest similar facility is on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, Stein said.

"Today and down the road, this is a very good central location," Stein said.

The acute-care facility should be up and running by early next year, UCH officials said.

Connerton developer Stew Gibbons said the medical facility will add another dimension to his project, which has been envisioned as a self-contained community. "It's an important milestone," Gibbons said.

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