Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration has approved an agreement between Nemours, Orlando Regional Healthcare and Florida Hospital that will allow Nemours to move forward with its plans to create a statewide pediatric health care system, anchored by a new children’s hospital located in Lake Nona.
Last week’s agreement will result in the dismissal of appeals by Orlando Regional Healthcare and Florida Hospital to Nemours’ three approved Certificate of Need applications for the new children’s hospital and associated NICU (neonatal intensive care units). Nemours announced its plans to establish a new children’s hospital in Orlando in July 2005.
It is anticipated that the hospital could open as soon as 2012. Florida Representative Dean Cannon and Florida Senator Daniel Webster were instrumental in bringing about the agreement between the three organizations. “We will immediately move forward with the establishment of a top-tier pediatric health care system, anchored by a children’s hospital, in Florida,” said Nemours President and CEO Dr. David Bailey.
“We have worked tirelessly toward this goal since our first application was filed 22 months ago. This is a milestone for our organization and, more importantly, a milestone for the children and families we serve. “We believe this outcome serves the best interests of children and our community. We are pleased to invest in the health of children in a number of ways, including providing programs and services not readily available.”
For example, Nemours will establish pediatric rehabilitation and behavioral programs as part of its services in Florida, Bailey said.
Terms of the approved agreement include:
• Nemours will contribute $350,000 per year for 10 years to either the Orange County Federally Qualified Health Center or the Primary Care Access Network to support pediatric primary care.
• Nemours will uphold its current business plan that does not include operating high-level tertiary care services (such as organ transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, open heart surgery and angioplasty) during the first two years of operation of the Nemours Orlando Children’s Hospital, unless AHCA determines otherwise.
• For five years from the opening of NOCH, and provided AHCA can lawfully implement such a rate, Nemours will accept a Medicaid payment rate based on the average of the reimbursement rates received by the other two stand-alone children’s hospitals in Florida (All Children’s and Miami Children’s). Nemours also agreed it will not seek, apply for or receive any additional funding from the state of Florida Medicaid Program as a result of providing a disproportionate share of Medicaid or indigent services.
• To support Orlando Regional Healthcare’s Teen Express program, Nemours will contribute $150,000 per year for five years to the Howard Phillips Center starting on Jan. 1, 2008 (subject to approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
• To support Orlando Regional Healthcare’s Hug Me Program, Nemours will contribute $105,000 per year to the Hug Me Program for two years starting on Jan. 1, 2008, or until ORH employs a pediatric infectious disease physician, whichever comes first (subject to approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
• As part of its CON conditions, Nemours committed to provide $3 million per year for medical research. If Nemours does not expend at least 90 percent of the annual funding amount in any given year, it will pay UCF’s College of Medicine the difference between $3 million and the actual expenditure, for pediatric research by UCF.
• Prior to the opening of NOCH, Nemours will apply for a Certificate of Need for a comprehensive medical pediatric rehabilitation program to include a dedicated inpatient unit and a Certificate of Need for a child and adolescent behavioral health program to include a dedicated child and adolescent psychiatric and substance abuse unit. ORH and Florida Hospital will support these CON applications, and Nemours has committed to operating each program for at least five years.
• As part of its CON conditions, Nemours must provide at least 54 percent of its patient days to patients covered by Medicaid or Medicaid HMO plans, or patients qualifying for charity care. For seven years after the opening of NOCH, Nemours will report any failure to meet that goal to ORH and Florida Hospital with a statement outlining its plan for correction.
