The University of Connecticut and Hartford Hospital are joining forces to ask state lawmakers to approve plans for a new $475 million hospital in Farmington.
The proposed facility would replace the financially troubled John Dempsey Hospital on the UConn Health Center campus. Plans call for about 250 beds and the newest technology at the new hospital, which would be slightly larger than Dempsey.
The General Assembly's 2009 session opens Jan. 7. Some lawmakers are skeptical of the proposal, saying it's a big project at a time when the state faces a projected $6 billion budget deficit over the next two years.
Lawmakers have approved more than $50 million in recent years to bail out the Health Center. Several area hospitals oppose any plans for a new, competing hospital.
