Sounds like a nasty turf war: The University of Arizona and two private health systems are wrangling over the right to build hospital in a key downtown Phoenix location. Banner Health and U of Arizona want to build a private general hospital, though Maricopa Integrated Health System had been in talks for to build a teaching hospital on the same location. Observers contend that a public teaching hospital is far more needed than a private hospital, particularly as a means of fostering biomedical research, and that Banner has sandbagged the competition with its move to add private beds. U of Arizona heads, meanwhile, say that one factor in their decision is the funding mechanism each party brings to the table, and that in this regard, Banner has an edge. Another hospital with which U of Arizona has a relationship--the University Medical Center in Tucson--hands over a substantial share of revenues from the hospital and faculty physicians to the university. Regardless, the U of Arizona said it would support Maricopa in building a new hospital in the area as long as it is not on the university campus or next to it.
To learn more about the conflict:
- read this article in The Arizona Republic