An administrative law judge said state regulators should deny Munroe Regional Medical Center's request to build a new hospital in Ocala, Fla., according to the Ocala Star-Banner.
Although the state granted preliminary approval of the plan, Judge R. Bruce McKibben said the state should deny Munroe the certificate of need required to build the proposed 66-bed hospital at the site of its TimberRidge Emergency Center, roughly 13 miles from Munroe Regional Medical Center's main campus.
Judge McKibben noted that the proposed hospital, which serves a large population of senior citizens, is supported by several community representatives and emergency medical workers, but pointed to issues such as low occupancy rate at the main campus as reason to reject the proposal.
"The significant negative impact of a new hospital on existing facilities, especially West Marion and Ocala Regional, coupled with the negative impact on every hospital's ability to find and hire sufficient medical staff, militate against the approval of a new hospital at this time," Judge McKibben said.
"The judge's recommendation means patients who need higher levels of care will have to drive farther for advanced services, and first responders will be required to continue transferring patients who may have been otherwise able to receive treatment closer to home," Jim O'Loughlin, CEO of Munroe Regional Medical Center, said in a statement. "We are hopeful that the Agency for Health Care Administration ultimately will allow us to move forward with this project when their final decision is rendered in the next few weeks."