Shands at UF will be forced to close its doors to some of its poorer patients.
Because the Florida Legislature's special session was adjourned before it reviewed a re-installation of $9.7 million in the hospital's budget, Shands will have to refuse medical care to non-emergency patients from outside of its primary service area who are uninsured or under-insured.
This decision will take effect within the next 30 days. Gov. Charlie Crist cut the $9.7 million from the hospital's budget back in May. As a teaching hospital, Shands accepts patients from all 67 Florida counties, but with the lack of funding it will focus on the 13 counties that fall under its primary service area.
"We are forced to limit charity care," Shands spokeswoman Kim Rose said. "Emergency patients we will stabilize, but if there are services closer to their home equivalent to ours, we will redirect them there."
"It is both devastating and perplexing to us given that the governor recommended this funding as part of his budget and approved it in his previous three plans," said Tim Goldfarb, CEO of Shands HealthCare, in a news release posted on Shands' website.
