Governor M. Jodi Rell
announced plans March 9 to establish the UConn Health
Network, a partnership with area hospitals aimed at creating
jobs and and improving access to quality health care in the
state.
A key feature of the
Network would be a Bioscience Enterprise Zone, which would
offer tax breaks to private companies that create jobs and
work with UConn Health Network partners.
Another feature would be a
Regional Simulation Center at Hartford Hospital, intended to
train up to 2,000 medical practitioners each year in
simulated care settings.
The UConn Health Network
plan needs the approval of the Health Center Board of
Directors and the University of Connecticut’s Board of
Trustees. It will then be presented to the state legislature.
The centerpiece of the
partnership is a new patient care tower and renovations to
John Dempsey Hospital at the UConn Health Center in
Farmington. The Network would also involve the cooperation
of other area hospitals, including Hartford Hospital, St.
Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and Connecticut
Children’s Medical Center.
The plan calls for
increased classroom and lab space for more medical and
dental students aimed at alleviating an expected shortage of
doctors and dentists in the state.
The plan is estimated to
cost $352 million. Funding would come from various sources
including $100 million in federal funds; $25 million for
design and planning from UConn 21st Century funding; and
$227 million in state bonding.
It appears that U.S.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has secured $100 million in
federal funds as part of the recently enacted health care
reform legislation. More
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