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State OKs Maine Med's Outpatient Surgery Center ; Mercy Hospital, Which Fears It Will Lose Patients to the Project, Reacts With Shock.

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

Maine Medical Center received state approval Monday to build a $25 million outpatient surgery center on its satellite campus in Scarborough, despite objections from competitor Mercy Hospital.

The project, with 10 operating rooms and a six-bed unit for overnight stays, will help the hospital meet the increasing demand for surgical services, according to an analysis by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

It will also promote efficiency by consolidating outpatient surgery now performed at the hospital's two Portland campuses, analysts said.

Barring any difficulty getting building permits, the hospital said it would break ground either in the fall or spring, with construction taking about 18 months.

Maine Med's smaller, in-town rival said it was floored by the state's decision.

"I think I'm both disappointed and shocked," said Tim Prince, Mercy's vice president of planning. "We truly feel that the application should not be approved."

Mercy, which has coexisted with Maine Med with little controversy, surprised the larger hospital by filing objections with the state in June. Mercy argued that Maine Med's project is unnecessary and over the top in its design, and would require poaching Mercy's patients to meet projected volumes.

Prince said Mercy needs time to properly review the state's response to its comments, and to decide what steps, if any, the hospital will take next.

Maine Med, the state's largest hospital, counters that it has to expand; operating rooms are at more than 90 percent capacity because of a 33 percent increase in surgical cases from 1996 to 2003.

The project would bump up the number of operating rooms from 26 to 31. Moving the bulk of day surgeries to Scarborough would create availability at the hospital's Bramhall campus for complex inpatient surgeries, as well as reduce the delays and cancellations experienced when emergencies disrupt the operating room schedule, the hospital said.

Space at the Brighton campus would be freed up for endoscopic exams, which involve viewing the inside of a body cavity using fiber optics. Mercy had contended that additional endoscopy suites are unnecessary.

"We are responding to the needs of people who want to have their care here," Vincent Conti, president and CEO of Maine Med, said in a statement. "And we're responding to surgeons who are acutely aware that we need more capacity."

The project was expensive enough to require state review. Proposals deemed worthy, like Maine Med's, receive a Certificate of Need from the DHHS commissioner.

Maine Med had initially requested approval to spend $27.3 million, but the state OK'd $25.2 million. Hospital spokesman Wayne Clark said the reduced amount should not affect the project.

The proposed 40,000-square-foot center would sit toward the back of the 50-acre campus, away from Route 1. The project still needs permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the town of Scarborough. A site plan review before the town Planning Board took place Monday night.

Most questions about the project are technical, related to issues such as traffic, architecture and landscaping, Scarborough Town Planner Joseph Ziepniewski said after the meeting. Hospital representatives will return in coming weeks with more details.

"As far as things go, this is fairly routine," Ziepniewski said. "People have been generally satisfied with Maine Med" as a neighbor.

Meanwhile, Maine Med has begun another construction project, a large-scale upgrade of its Bramhall campus, which will include a new birthing center. At the same time, Mercy is starting work to relocate its facilities to the banks of the Fore River.

Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:

jhuang@pressherald.com

Source: Portland Press Herald

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