CASE recommends new hospital, partnership

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) issued its report to the state legislature March 18 on the Health Center’s clinical facility needs.

To support excellence in academic medicine, CASE suggested that a new hospital be constructed on the Health Center’s campus.

It could be built and operated by the University alone, or in partnership with one or more regional hospitals. CASE recommended the latter as its preferred option.

The report was prepared at the direction of the General Assembly, in response to UConn’s proposal to replace the aging John Dempsey Hospital with a new, 352-bed hospital.

The CASE report concluded that John Dempsey Hospital is outdated and too small, and the cost to revitalize the current facility as a hospital cannot be justified.

The report also acknowledged that the existing hospital cannot accommodate private inpatient rooms, which is the current standard of care, without reducing the total bed count and increasing inefficiencies.

Reacting to the release of the study, University President Michael J. Hogan said, “The report supports our ongoing efforts to engage the area hospitals in conversations to define common ground and shared interests. We are greatly advantaged by having Drs. Rowe and Burrow, with their vast knowledge and experience in medical education, research, and clinical care, participate directly in these discussions.

“We envision our next steps as an effort to formalize the discussions that have happened to date,” he added.

“Area hospitals will have the opportunity to come forward and suggest ways in which a new, state-of-the-art hospital can be constructed and financed on our Farmington campus.

“The report makes me feel like I have an army behind me,” he added.

According to the report, formalizing and strengthening relationships with clinical care partners, coupled with construction of new clinical facilities on the Health Center campus, “provides the Health Center with the opportunity to strengthen undergraduate and graduate medical education, grow research opportunities, and continue to provide high-level clinical care.”

The report details the Health Center’s significant contribution to the region’s economy and underscores its untapped economic potential for the region and state: “Growing the UConn Health Center is, simply stated, a smart investment.”

Hogan was pleased that the report recognized the unique contributions of an academic health center, and the opportunity for the UConn Health Center to become a leading academic and research center.