The UF Health Shands Hospital withdrew its objections to Ocala Regional Medical Center’s trauma center on Monday, the Ocala Star Banner reports.
The teaching hospital had asked the Division of Administrative Hearings to close the trauma center since 2012, saying the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) acted outside its authority when it allowed the trauma center to open in the first place.
Prior to the opening of Ocala Regional Medical Center’s trauma center, severely injured patients were transported to Shands for treatment, the Star Banner reports. At the time, Shands predicted that they would lose one-third of their 2,500 annual patients to Ocala Regional.
The decision to drop the case came after Shands and other established trauma centers lost a legal challenge objection to the DOH’s new guidelines on the number and placement of trauma centers in the state, the Star Banner reports.
Other Florida hospitals that have trauma centers also went to court to fight the DOH’s decision. They have not yet dropped their cases, according to the Star Banner.
