Kentucky court blocks Christ Hospital's construction proposal

Despite receiving approval for its $23 million outpatient facility in 2017, a court ruling will force Cincinnati-based Christ Hospital to scrap its plan to expand into northern Kentucky — at least for now, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate handed down the ruling June 20, arguing northern Kentucky already has nine outpatient surgery facilities that operate at about 50 percent capacity, showing there is not a need for more services.

"This duplication and proliferation necessarily impairs the cost efficiency of the healthcare delivery system in the planning area," Mr. Wingate wrote in his ruling, according to the Enquirer.

Christ Hospital first received a certificate of need from Kentucky regulators to build a $23 million outpatient surgery center in Fort Mitchell, Ky., in June 2017. Immediately following the approval, northern Kentucky's primary healthcare provider, Edgewood, Ky.-based St. Elizabeth Healthcare, filed a lawsuit to block the expansion. St. Elizabeth argued that the state created a special loophole for Christ Hospital's plan, giving them an unfair advantage.

Throughout the legal battle, Christ Hospital has argued that northern Kentucky needs competition in outpatient surgical offerings because St. Elizabeth operates as a monopoly in the region.

The judge's ruling disappointed Mike Keating, president and CEO of Christ Hospital. However, it is unclear if Christ Hospital officials will appeal the latest ruling.

"Today was a setback for the patients and for the residents of northern Kentucky," Mr. Keating said, according to the Enquirer. "We will continue to explore how to bring more healthcare options to the residents of northern Kentucky notwithstanding the efforts of others to limit competition."

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