The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees state universities, unanimously approved Orlando-based University of Central Florida and the Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America's joint proposal to build a 100-bed hospital adjacent to the medical school Thursday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
University officials initially presented their plans for the medical school to the board Jan. 25. State officials had expressed concern with some of the language used in the proposal, stating it did not explicitly say the 100-bed facility would serve as a teaching hospital.
Local nonprofit hospitals, including Orlando Health and Florida Hospital in Orlando, also expressed concern over the project.
In addition to the board of governors' approval, the project must also be approved by the state in the form of a certificate of need, which university officials have yet to formally receive due to a pending appeal by Florida Hospital. Deborah German, MD, vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of UCF College of Medicine, said a judge has been assigned to the case, but officials hope the matter will be resolved quickly so that construction can begin, according to the report.
The organizations began discussions about a potential hospital partnership in June 2016, according to the report.