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==Background==
For years, Baptist Health Care has sought to move its service away from its main facility, [[Baptist Hospital]], which is located near Pensacola's urban core and provides indigent care for a large number of low-income patients. On several occasionsThe hospital averages about 50 percent occupancy at any given time, the organization <ref name="newhospital">"Baptist plans new hospital." ''Pensacola News Journal'', January 15, 2004.</ref> and Baptist has sought to move transfer some of its allowed acute medical care beds from Baptist Hospital to other branches in more affluent neighborhoods. However, but such a transfer is only allowed after following the state's Certificate of Need process. Baptist officials have consistently argued that the process is anticompetitive and overly regulatory.
In [[2000]], a state legislative amendment that would have benefitted Baptist Health Care with a specific Certificate of Need exemption was submitted (and quickly withdrawn) under State Representative [[Durell Peaden]]'s name, though he denied any knowledge of it and claimed "[a] lot of amendments get filed with my name on them … people think if they put my name on them, they'll pass."<ref name="hard2believe">"Editorial: Hard to believe amendment story." ''Pensacola News Journal'', May 17, 2000.</ref> Baptist admitted that their lobbyist authored the amendment, but would not identify the sponsor. State Representative [[Jerry Maygarden]] was suspected of submitting it, as he was a senior Baptist executive and an outspoken critic of the Certificate of Need process; he insisted, however, "that was not my amendment and that was not my language."<ref name="hard2believe"/>
The bill passed quickly, and Maygarden's amendment survived Governor [[Wikipedia:Jeb Bush|Jeb Bush]]'s line-item vetoes. After a coalition of Baptist's competitors filed suit, the law was declared unconstitutional by Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Davey, who wrote in his ruling, "[t]he statute does not pertain to a matter of statewide importance, nor can the statute reasonably be construed to be a demonstration project."<ref>"Baptist Hospital beds won't be moving around." ''Pensacola News Journal'', December 20, 2001.</ref>
In [[2004]], Baptist announced plans to build a $60 million hospital adjacent to its [[Baptist Medical Park - Nine Mile]] facility, which would house 96 beds transferred from the main Baptist Hospital campus. The transfer would have been the result of a coalition with 12 other Florida hospitals who wanted legislative approval to transfer already licensed hospital beds to other facilities without the requisite Certificate of Need.<ref name="newhospital"/> The plans were again opposed by the other area health care providers — especially [[West Florida Healthcare]], whose [[West Florida Hospital]] averaged only 33 percent occupancy and would have been less than a mile from the new hospital.<ref>"Hospitals at odds." ''Pensacola News Journal'', February 8, 2004.</ref>
==2008 plans==
Had the purchase been completed, the current West Florida Hospital on [[Davis Highway]] would have become the new [[Baptist Hospital]], supplementing the presence of [[Baptist Medical Park - Nine Mile]] in north Pensacola. The campus would have featured an expanded [[Baptist Cancer Center]] in affiliation with the Moffitt Cancer Institute; [[Baptist Neurosciences Center]] complemented by a rehab hospital for neurologic and orthopaedic conditions; [[Baptist Heart & Vascular Center of Excellence]]; and an expanded Emergency Department. The new Baptist Hospital would have also offered a new parking garage and new physician office buildings. Additionally, Baptist Health Care would have assumed the current [[West Florida Hospital Primary Care Practices]] (nine neighborhood medical centers), creating the largest primary care network in the region.
Because of the merger collapse, Baptist lost an estimated $8 million in forfeited earnest money.<ref>"Cost of merger collapse: $8 million." ''Pensacola News Journal'', January 4, 2008.</ref>
==External links & references==
