USF May Bypass Agency To Build Own Hospital

TAMPA - The University of South Florida wants a teaching hospital on its Tampa campus, and a local lawmaker is trying to help get it.

Unable to get a state panel to approve a proposed hospital partnership in Pasco County, USF health leaders now are focusing on building a medical center of their own.

A bill filed for the upcoming legislative session would help them bypass the state agency that last year spurned the university's attempt to open, along with BayCare Health System, a teaching hospital in Pasco County.

The university and BayCare are appealing that decision by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration, which determines the need for a hospital.

Regardless of the outcome, however, USF leaders say they need to plan their own hospital to reach the level of excellence they aspire to.

"We've gotten to the point where we've got national recognition," said Stephen Klasko, USF's vice president of health sciences. "In order for Tampa and the university to go to the next step, we need a hospital that is 100 percent aligned with USF."

The bill bypassing state regulators was filed last month by state Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole. It doesn't specifically mention USF, but the measure would exempt a state university with an accredited medical school from having to obtain a "certificate of need" from the Agency for Health Care Administration.

When asked why USF couldn't just seek approval from state regulators, Klasko said that it is unlikely every hospital would agree to USF's plan. That would make it harder to convince regulators that there's a need for a medical center at the university.

Although declining to answer questions about the proposal, Tampa General Hospital President and Chief Executive Ron Hytoff wrote in a statement, "This has created a new wrinkle in an already complicated situation that we are in the process of evaluating. Since USF is our strategic partner we do not want to rush to judgment. We are carefully assessing the details of this bill and maintaining a dialogue with the university."

Klasko said a campus teaching hospital would enhance its partnerships with area hospitals, particularly with Tampa General.

The university won't revoke residency slots from its partnering hospitals, Klasko said. Rather, USF can add and build residency programs in critical fields.

For instance, USF is rebuilding its orthopedic program after it collapsed in 1989, when 13 surgeons resigned after the school rejected their plan for an on-campus clinic. The university has hired a prominent San Diego surgeon to lead the program's resurgence, and an accrediting agency last summer gave USF the go-ahead to begin training residents.

Klasko said he needs places to train them. Although partnerships with Tampa General and others hospitals are strong, he said, there are limits to the number of residents they can place there.

The hospital he's proposing on the northwestern part of campus, near the Florida Mental Health Institute, would have room for 200 beds. The university still will seek a partnership with BayCare to build a 130-bed teaching hospital in Pasco County. Last summer, state regulators turned down their proposal, noting it would take years for the proposed facility to qualify as a teaching hospital.

Whether USF has the money to build a hospital on its Tampa campus is another matter. The university is considering millions in budget cuts as state revenue continues to decline.

The university can issue bonds and seek help from donors, Klasko said. Once built, revenue is certain.

"There is no hospital in this town that isn't making a lot of money," he said.