The $59-million first phase would include a 70,000-sf medical office building and a 105,000-sf outpatient center that would proceed this spring, according to North Memorial.

The bill would lift the state's current moratorium on building new hospitals to allow North Memorial to set up a new 80-bed facility in the western part of the Twin Cities metro. The beds would be transferred from North Memorial's existing hospital in Robbinsdale. The House bill would allow the Robbinsdale-based healthcare organization to add 180 new beds in 2010 provided the healthcare organization meets certain requirements.

Dave Renner, the Minnesota Medical Association director of state and federal legislation, says that the state has a moratorium on building new hospitals or adding hospital beds to prevent a glut. As such, the Legislature must take action for any new facility to open or an existing hospital to expand.

State Health Department officials recently concluded that the City of Maple Grove, on the western edge of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, needs a new hospital--a decision expected to intensify competition among three healthcare companies who want to build it.

Besides North Memorial, the other proposals are from Fairview Health Services and a group called the Maple Grove Tri-Care Partnership, which consists of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Park Nicollet Health Services, and Children's Hospitals and Clinics.

Instant Insights /

Bid for New Hospital Passes House Committee

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