UConn Loses Out On $100 Million Federal Grant

A $100 million federal hospital construction grant once believed to be earmarked for Connecticut was awarded to Ohio State University Wednesday, leaving the state $100 million short in its quest to renovate and expand the UConn Health Center's John Dempsey Hospital.

The money was considered key to a $362 million plan intended to secure the long-term future of the Farmington hospital. U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd got the grant inserted in the health reform law last year amid accusations that it was an earmark. But it proved to be anything but.

In the past, UConn officials have said they could consider philanthropy and other grants if the $100 million federal grant did not come through. If the money is not secured by June 30, 2015, the plan will terminate.

In a letter to faculty, staff and students Wednesday, Interim UConn President Philip Austin and Vice President for Health Affairs Cato Laurencin expressed their support for the project and said it would move forward as they seek the needed funding.

Losing out on the federal grant is nearly certain to lead to more wrangling over the future of Dempsey, and will present a new challenge for incoming UConn President Susan Herbst.

The 224-bed hospital is considered too small and outdated to be financially viable, and has run deficits several times in the past decade. Developing a solution has proven difficult. Other area hospitals have objected to plans to build a larger hospital on the health center's campus, and the university was unable to marshal support for a plan last year to merge with Hartford Hospital.

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