LITTLE ROCK (Arkansas News Bureau) — The Legislative Council put off voting Friday on a
contract to hire a firm to further study a potential partnership between
the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and St. Vincent Health
System State so members could hear public concerns about the pairing at a
meeting next month.
Sens. Joyce Elliott and David Johnson, both
Democrats from Little Rock, said they had received phone calls from
people concerned about how a partnership between the state-run hospital
and the Catholic hospital would handle women's issue, including
reproductive health.
The $720,000 contract between UAMS and
Deloitte Consulting LLP to evaluate a potential affiliation between the
two hospitals was recommended by the Legislative Council's Review
Subcommittee earlier this month.
Friday, Rep. Larry Cowling,
D-Foreman, co-chairman of the Review Subcommittee, asked that the UAMS
contract be referred back to the subcommittee for further discussion. He
said Elliott and Johnson had made the request so the public's concerns
could be addressed.

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