Board reauthorizes freestanding HCA emergency room master plan; asks staff to study patient transport responsibilities

The Hernando County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to reestablish a master plan that allows a freestanding emergency room associated with HCA on Spring Hill Drive to move forward under its prior entitlements.

Derek Walters of Catalyst Design Group, representing Hilltop 408 LLC, described the filing as a reestablishment of a previously approved plan for an 11,500-square-foot freestanding emergency room on a 1.75-acre parcel near the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and Dearing Avenue. The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval 5-0 and staff also recommended reapproval without modification.

Commissioners asked county counsel and administrators to research an operational issue raised by several elected officials: whether hospital systems that operate freestanding emergency rooms should be required to arrange private transport between their urgent-care/ER sites and their full-service hospitals rather than rely on county emergency medical services for inter-facility transfer. Commissioner Laca said the county's EMS system had previously experienced excessive "wall time" at hospitals and that private facilities should not require county EMS to provide prolonged transfer duties.

County counsel said the request is not a land-use condition that can be imposed under the current review process and would likely require changes to county policy or appendix requirements; staff agreed to research options and report back. The board approved the reestablishment of the master plan 4-0. Petitioner representatives said they would comply with required landscaping and buffer standards in the code and that shared access agreements exist to address circulation and emergency access.