Birmingham, Ala.-based Brookwood Medical Center has filed a lawsuit to stop fellow Birmingham provider St. Vincent's Health System from constructing a surgery center planned at its expansion facility, One Nineteen, according to a report from AL.com.
One Nineteen is 40,000-square-foot expansion of the hospital, which is set to include physician offices and an urgent care center, alongside the ASC. St. Vincent's held a groundbreaking for the facility Oct. 30.
While St. Vincent's obtained a certificate of need for the ASC in June 2009, Brookwood claims that the hospital didn't meet Alabama's legal requirements to get a "firm commitment or obligation," delaying construction of the ASC beyond what Alabama law allows, which would render the CON void.
Brookwood alleges the five-year delay between the CON issuance and construction of the center steps far outside the boundaries of the agreement that led to the CON being granted: "One Nineteen represented to SHPDA in its CON application that the projected start date for the project was 'upon CON approval' and projected completion date was '12 months from CON issuance," the lawsuit reads.
St. Vincent says it has met all of the necessary regulatory requirements to construct its ASC. "St. Vincent's is committed to providing the community with the right care at the right time and in the right place," said Neeysa Biddle, interim president and CEO of St. Vincent's Health System.
One Nineteen is scheduled to be complete fall 2015, according to the report.
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