The University of Connecticut Health Center is poised to further expand its footprint in the state, following its recent purchase of Waterbury Hospital.
UConn Health’s board of directors is scheduled to vote Tuesday afternoon on an agreement to take over a state-run children’s psychiatric hospital in Middletown.
The board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. to consider a memorandum of understanding with the state Department of Children and Families that would transfer 50 inpatient psychiatric beds from Albert J. Solnit Children’s Center South to John Dempsey Hospital, UConn Health’s flagship facility in Farmington.
The transfer, set to occur April 15, would make the Solnit campus a John Dempsey satellite facility, with John Dempsey assuming responsibility for patient care, according to board materials prepared by UConn Health CEO Andrew Agwunobi.
Solnit South is a state-administered psychiatric facility serving Connecticut children ages 13 to 17 with severe mental illness and related behavioral and emotional problems. The 67-acre campus along the Connecticut River includes four co-ed hospital units and three female psychiatric treatment cottages.
“The Connecticut Department of Children and Families is committed to ensuring a thoughtful transition of Solnit Hospital that prioritizes continuity of care for the children and families the hospital serves,” said Interim DCF Commissioner Susan I. Hamilton. “… Our focus remains on safeguarding the well-being of youth throughout this transition.”
UConn Health’s child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program has long used Solnit South as a clinical training site.
Agwunobi said UConn Health is pleased about the acquisition.
“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to delivering exceptional, high-quality, and specialized care for Connecticut’s youth while optimizing resources across agencies,” Agwunobi said. “We are excited about the opportunity to bring our clinical expertise, academic resources and patient-centered approach to the important care Solnit Hospital provides.”
The transaction was expedited by Public Act 26-1, a controversial emergency-certified bill signed by Gov. Ned Lamont on March 3 that bypassed the normal legislative process and removed the requirement for a state-owned hospital to obtain approval before adding inpatient behavioral health beds.
Normally, this type of transaction would trigger a lengthy review process, including public hearings and scrutiny by the Office of Health Strategy.
According to UConn Health, the deal to take over Solnit is driven by a need to preserve tens of millions of dollars in federal drug-pricing funding. UConn Health had fallen below the threshold of low-income patients required to qualify for the federal 340B program, which requires manufacturers to sell steeply discounted drugs to qualifying hospitals, according to CT Mirror.
By absorbing the Solnit South patient population — many of whom are Medicaid recipients or otherwise low-income — UConn Health would bring its numbers back above the threshold before the federal reporting deadline.
CT Mirror reported that UConn Health stood to lose $60 million in federal funding if the measure did not go through. The Lamont administration has framed the move as a way to keep health care affordable for Connecticut residents.
The legislation drew criticism from Republican lawmakers who questioned why a single institution was receiving a regulatory exemption unavailable to other hospitals.
Tuesday’s board vote comes as UConn Health expands its hospital footprint.
In January, the Office of Health Strategy approved UConn Health’s $13 million acquisition of Waterbury Hospital from the bankrupt hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings. UConn Health has committed to invest $250 million into the facility over five years.