JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- UF & Shands Jacksonville will begin construction of a new medical complex in Duval County despite a decision today approving an appeal filed by Memorial Hospital.
"While we are disappointed in the court's ruling," said Dr. David S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of the UF & Shands Health System. "We strongly believe that a new health care facility in North Jacksonville is important for the communities of northern Duval County and south Georgia, offering a needed resource closer to where area residents work and live." In December 2011, the Agency for Health Care Administration approved Shands Jacksonville's application to build the state-of-the-art, 100-bed inpatient facility just off Duval Road near Interstate 95.
"The community in and around the proposed medical complex has grown tremendously over the past decade and, without a doubt, there is a great need for new inpatient and outpatient facilities. UF & Shands Jacksonville North would provide both," said Jim Burkhart, president and CEO of Shands Jacksonville Medical Center. "The Agency for Health Care Administration took this into consideration, along with HCA/Memorial Hospital's opposition, when it approved our certificate of need."
"We still believe that north Jacksonville deserves a state-of-the-art inpatient facility, and we are confident that the future of North Jacksonville will prove us right," Guzick added. "In the meantime, we will move forward with plans to develop our outpatient medical complex on the UF&Shands Jacksonville North campus."
Construction is set to begin in spring 2013 and should be completed within a year.
