Plans for a sports medicine complex at Western Kentucky University have been scrapped, at least for now.
After issuing a request for proposals in September, WKU has determined that no proposal met all the requirements of the RFP. Therefore, and the university was unable to award a contract and is closing the current RFP process.
WKU agreed to bid the project after Western Kentucky Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical Associates filed a formal protest against the way the university created the 99 year, $22 million deal with the Bowling Green Medical Center. WKONA's protest claimed the deal was done in secret, without a competitive process.
"The animosity in our medical community in Bowling Green just becomes so toxic, and the hatred is very disturbing to me," WKU President Gary Ransdell told WKU Public Radio.
WKU issued an RFP for a medical provider to construct the complex, lease the campus health clinic, and provide orthopaedic services to student athletes. With the bidding process closed, the university plans to pursue other options to build a sports medicine facility through private support or other means.
Dr. Ransdell says he is determined to see the project move forward in the final months of his tenure. He retires in June 2017.
In the meantime, the Medical Center will continue to provide orthopaedic services to athletes for the remainder of the 2016-17 academic year. Graves-Gilbert Clinic will continue to operate the on-campus clinic through December 16. WKU is exploring options for leasing the clinic space at a fair market value rate. Graves-Gilbert took over clinic operations two years ago in a profit-sharing agreement with the university.
