Hunter
03/08/22
The State Health Facilities Council Monday gave the go-ahead for Steindler Orthopedic Clinic to build an Ambulatory Surgery Center near the Forevergreen Road exit off I-380.
The Gazette reports that just before the hearing, two parties withdrew all opposition to the project, including from a group of surgeons who threatened legal action against the Clinic.
The project site is about a mile-and-a-half east of the area where University of Iowa Health Care is building their new hospital with an estimated price tag of $395 million.
Steindler’s project is less ambitious, coming in at $19.2 million. It also is expected to be completed by November 2023, about a year-and-a-half earlier than the UIHC project.
The University wrote a letter of opposition to the Steindler project, but did not have anyone at the hearing to speak. The paper reports that Steindler’s two loudest critics — the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgical Center and the Johnson County Surgical Investors groups — did withdraw their opposition just about an hour before the hearing. An attorney representing the applicant said that issues between the parties were resolved.