The Florida House just voted to shut down Lantana’s A.G. Holley Hospital, the nation’s last freestanding, state-run tuberculosis hospital.
The vote was 86-27, with Republicans supporting the plan and Democrats divided. While many Democrats spoke out against closing the hospital, Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, voted for it. Her district includes A.G. Holley.
A change of government saw a change in attitude with plans being made to involve the private sector
Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group submitted a joint bid that would raze the state's tuberculosis sanitorium and move it out of Lantana and replace it with a "town center"-style retail development, residential units and possibly warehouses.however the deal failed to gain support and fell through.
With the advent of HIV and with drug resistant TB increasing in Florida the need for a TB specific facility was never in doubt but how what and where was the problem
"Right now, it's like nothing is happening," said Lantana Mayor David Stewart. "We've been working on this for 10 years and it's not with a short term goal in mind. It's just the wheels are turning very slowly."It now appears that a compromise solution has been arrived at
The Florida Infectious Diseases Research and Education Center would serve as a replacement facility for the state-run A.G. Holley Hospital in Lantana, the state's only tuberculosis hospital.
The proposal calls for a $77 million, 150,000-square-foot facility, including a 45-bed hospital unit, laboratory spaces and an auditorium. The project would be financed through the sale of tax-exempt bonds.
...If the project moves forward as planned, it's unclear what would happen to the 140-acre hospital property on Lantana Road. Mike Bornstein, the Lantana town manager, said that the town ultimately would like to see some type of industry cluster in that space, which would create jobs.
