In recent weeks, Saint Joseph was subpoenaed by Associated Health Care and requested a public hearing on its CON application. In turn, Saint Joseph subpoenaed Associated Health Care and requested a public hearing on its CON application.
The public hearing took place on June 16 in Frankfort.
Patricia Mason, vice president for strategy and business development at Saint Joseph, said Associated Health Care's biggest concern was the size of the proposed Saint Joseph facility.
Frank Beirne, vice president of Associated Health Care Systems, said the size of the proposed Saint Joseph facility isn't in line with other ambulatory care facilities in the state.
"It gives the appearance that the project is a hospital being built under the guise of a ambulatory care center," he said.
He added that the largest ambulatory care center ever approved in Kentucky was a $24 million facility in Bullitt County.
By comparison, he said Associated Health Care's proposal is for a 16,100-square foot facility with a price tag of around $7 million. The Saint Joseph facility is proposed as a 100,000-plus square foot facility with a $40 million-plus price tag.
However, Woods told the group the CON is simply for an ambulatory care center.
Mason said a separate CON was filed to add physical and occupational therapy services to the ambulatory care center.
Associated Health Care Systems approached the city and county leaders in late February and filed a CON for a hospital.
According to Jeff Barnett, deputy general council for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, both organizations have completed a CON for an ambulatory care facility.
In fact, Associated Heath Care Systems has also completed a CON for an acute care hospital, but added the deadline for hospital applications are not due until Sept. 27. Saint Joseph officials say it too will complete a CON for an acute care hospital by the deadline.
Barnett explained that CONs are on a cycle, with separate deadlines for ambulatory care-type facilities and hospitals.
He added final decisions for hospital CONs will be Feb. 14, 2007.
Barnett said a decision on CONs for both Saint Joseph and Associated Health Care would be made on Thursday.
Saint Joseph's plan is modeled after the Wisconsin-based Aurora Health Care. In early May, officials from Saint Joseph and Jessamine County flew to Oshkosh, Wisc. and toured the state-of-the-art Aurora facility.
The Saint Joseph plan is simple; construct a state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility, built to hospital standards and codes. The design is one that it can be expanded to a hospital in the future if the need is there and it receives approval from the CON office.
If everything falls into place, the Saint Joseph facility would be located on KY 169 and US 27, the property owned by Lewis Day.
Mason said if things go as planned, the design and development phase would take 8 to 10 months. She added the facility could be completed sometime in 2008.
Associated Health Care said it intends to build its facility next to the Memorial Sports Complex off of US 27 on property owned by Dallas Murphy.
