State backs St. Joseph's plan for Riverview hospital

St. Joseph's Hospital on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Tampa Florida  [Kathleen Flynn, Times

RIVERVIEW -- St. Joseph's Hospital has won another victory in its quest to build a 90-bed hospital in Riverview.

The state Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, has reversed its earlier decision against St. Joseph's Hospital and sided with an administrative judge to grant it permission to build the hospital in the coveted growth region of South Hillsborough.

The agency released a final order Friday agreeing with the judge's decision in May that St. Joe's proposed hospital on Big Bend Road would improve access to emergency care and obstetrics services and reduce travel times for patients.

The judge's recommended order was disputed by competing hospitals, most notably HCA's South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, which had filed its own plans for a hospital on Big Bend Road. South Bay had proposed moving its Sun City Center hospital to the Riverview location, while maintaining an emergency room and diagnostic services at its current site -- a proposal strongly opposed by local residents in the retirement community.

South Bay Hospital now has 30 days to file a judicial appeal. South Bay spokeswoman Melissa Morgan said officials disagreed with the decision but had not yet determined whether they plan to appeal.

-- Saundra Amrhein, Times staff writer

St. Joseph's Hospital on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Tampa Florida  [Kathleen Flynn, Times]