Title
Eastside Urgent Care Initiative (B)
Explanation
This item seeks City Commission review and direction on next steps regarding the Eastside Urgent Care Initiative. On September 20, 2021, at a joint County/City meeting, UF Health/Shands staff gave a presentation regarding a proposed urgent care clinic to be developed on property under their control on Hawthorne Road, proximate to GTEC and the Cornerstone redevelopment project. The approximately 10,000 square foot urgent care center facility will provide a variety of medical services including on-site lab, x-ray, and minor medical procedures and will serve individuals of all ages, who are with or without insurance coverage or advance appointments. The clinic will operate 7 days a week and will offer extended hours.
To facilitate this initiative, the County and City are providing a $4.5 million grant (50% commitment from each party) to support the land preparation, building construction and outfitting of the Center. The grant award is memorialized in a separate triparty agreement between the City of Gainesville, Alachua County, and Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc., for the City and the County.
Under the Agreement, funds must be encumbered and Shands must commence construction by December 31, 2024. It is anticipated that the urgent care center will be completed within 18 months after Shands commences construction. After Shands has completed construction and has begun operating the urgent care center, Shands must under the Agreement maintain continuous operations of the urgent care center for a period of 20 years. If at any time during the Agreement Shands ceases to operate the urgent care center, it must reimburse the City and the County certain prorated amounts of the funding provided.
The facility and the associated property present several exciting opportunities to collocate supportive services and ancillary development to compliment the clinic. To that end, staff from the City and Shands have been in discussions over the past 3 months to coordinate a schematic design for the placement of an RTS mobility hub/transfer station and a Community Resource Paramedicine (CRP) facility on the southern portion of the property while still reserving space for other supportive medical services. Additionally, a significant portion of the property’s Hawthorne Road frontage is programmed for a future grocery retailer and associated parking. A revised conceptual site plan is included in the backup.
Next steps:
• Department of Sustainable Development has begun the process to initiate the appropriate land use/zoning change for the subject property that would accommodate the proposed uses
• Pre-planning for infrastructure and property disposition is continuing between UF Health and City staff regarding co-location of an RTS Eastside Transfer Station (recently funded through an FTA grant) and the GFR Community Paramedic Program on the southern portion of the subject property
• Staff is pursuing potential acquisition of the intervening private property located east of GTEC and west of the UF Shands property (Parcel: 11338-000-000)
Request for Information (RFI) Eastside Urgent Care Facility
To gauge interest in this proposal from other healthcare providers the City of Gainesville released a Request for Information (RFI) on December 2, 2021. The City received three (3) responses from:
SIMED Health, LLC
Solutions Consulting
University of Florida College of Dentistry
An analysis of the proposals is contained in the back-up and the solicitation guidance was that all responses received in accordance with the invitation would be presented to the City Commission for their consideration. Furthermore, the RFI indicated that the City Commission would consider the responses and may choose one or more concepts for a more formal solicitation.
Fiscal Note
The City is contributing $2,250,000 for the East Side Urgent Care Center from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the revenue loss category. Funding has also been appropriated in the FY 2022 General Government Financial and Operating Plan. Funding for the Eastside RTS Transfer Station has been provided via a recently announced FTA grant and GFR Community Paramedic Program building footprint funding is pending.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) hear a brief presentation; 2) approve the Urgent Care Center Agreement and authorize the Mayor to execute, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality; 3) direct staff to initiate a land use/zoning change on the subject property that will accomplish the land development objectives of the project; 4) direct staff to continue work with UF Health staff on co-location of the Eastside RTS Transfer Station and GFR Community Paramedic Program on the subject property; and 5) direct staff on next steps regarding the responses to the Request for Information (RFI) responses.