Board members of the Southeast Volusia Hospital District, which operates Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., have voted again to merge with Adventist Health's Florida Hospital in Orlando, according to a News-Journal report.
The board voted 6-1 to move forward with a 35-year lease agreement with Adventist.
Bert Fish previously merged with Adventist in July, but the Bert Fish Foundation, which donated the medical center to the Southeast Volusia Hospital District in 1996, filed suit in August alleging that the meetings surrounding the merger violated Florida's Sunshine Law. The Sunshine Law establishes a basic right of access to most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental agencies or authorities.
In response to the suit, the hospital board agreed to re-hold the merger meetings and re-hear presentations from other systems, including for-profit Health Management Associates and public Halifax Health, based in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Hearings on the Sunshine Law will begin Nov. 18. Attorneys representing the hospital board and Adventist are expected to argue the redo makes the violations moot, if any occurred, according to the report.
Read the News-Journal report on Bert Fish Medical Center.
Read more coverage on Bert Fish Medical Center:
- Florida's Bert Fish Medical Center Gets New Bids After Agreeing to Reaccept Merger Proposals
- Florida's Bert Fish Medical Center to Redo Merger Meetings Following Lawsuit
- Hospital Foundation Sues to Stop Efforts to Move Forward Bert Fish, Florida Hospital Merger
The board voted 6-1 to move forward with a 35-year lease agreement with Adventist.
Bert Fish previously merged with Adventist in July, but the Bert Fish Foundation, which donated the medical center to the Southeast Volusia Hospital District in 1996, filed suit in August alleging that the meetings surrounding the merger violated Florida's Sunshine Law. The Sunshine Law establishes a basic right of access to most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental agencies or authorities.
In response to the suit, the hospital board agreed to re-hold the merger meetings and re-hear presentations from other systems, including for-profit Health Management Associates and public Halifax Health, based in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Hearings on the Sunshine Law will begin Nov. 18. Attorneys representing the hospital board and Adventist are expected to argue the redo makes the violations moot, if any occurred, according to the report.
Read the News-Journal report on Bert Fish Medical Center.
Read more coverage on Bert Fish Medical Center:
- Florida's Bert Fish Medical Center Gets New Bids After Agreeing to Reaccept Merger Proposals
- Florida's Bert Fish Medical Center to Redo Merger Meetings Following Lawsuit
- Hospital Foundation Sues to Stop Efforts to Move Forward Bert Fish, Florida Hospital Merger