Florida officials approved a joint certificate of need application from Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare and the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., to build a $48.2 million psychiatric hospital, according to the South Florida Business Journal.
Officials submitted the application to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration in February. The agency recommended the application for approval June 2, stating the partnership would enhance access to mental health services for residents, according to the report.
In its proposal, the organizations said the University of Miami Hospital, owned and operated by the university, would delicense 104 adult psychiatric beds and allocate 80 of those beds to the new hospital. Officials did not list an exact location for the psychiatric hospital in the application, but said it would contain space for faculty and clinical offices, research, patient and family meetings, training and education and specialty psychiatric units, the report states.
Though the Agency for Health Care Administration approved the organizations' application, competing hospitals and health systems may still challenge the decision in court. During a May hearing, Hialeah, Fla.-based Southern Winds Hospital and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, among others, voiced their opposition to the agency's decision to approve the application.
The agency also rejected a competing bid from Jupiter, Fla.-based Southeast Florida Behavioral Health, a subsidiary of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, according to the report.
Acadia Healthcare and University of Miami officials said the hospital would staff 174 employees by 2022.