BJC competitor loses bid for Columbia hospital

BJC HealthCare succeeded Monday in blocking a competitor's bid to build a 10-bed hospital in Columbia, Mo. University of Missouri Health Care and its partner Nueterra, a health care management firm based in Leawood, Kan., sought state approval to build a mainly surgical hospital near Highway 63 and Discovery Parkway. On Monday, Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee rejected the project by a vote of 5-2. The project would have been located about five miles from Boone Hospital Center, BJC's 397-bed hospital in Columbia. Boone Hospital Center President Jim Sinek and other employees testified against the project Monday.