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to hospital
is lessening
By RO ., B" -
The Coloradoan
Signs of neighborhood opposition to a
proposed 80-bed psychiatric hospital in
south Fort Collins appear to be fading.
An organizer of a petition movement
to block the hospital said she and other
petition leaders won't try to stop the
hospital developers from gaining final
approval from city officials.
Monday night the Fort Collins. Plan-
ning and Zoning Commission granted
preliminary approval to Heafthcare I
International of Austin. Texas, to build a
$7.8 million psychiatric hospital in the
Oak Ridge West business park on
Lemay Avenue south of Harmony Road.
Healthcare International still needs I
final permission from the planning
board before it can build the facility,
which would be called Collinwbod. A
final hearing may be held this fall.
Gini Conahan, who helped to gather
petition signatures against the hospital
said she will keep watch on the stand-
ards of the hospital.
"We're hoping the planning and zon-
ing commission is going to be looking at
ways to safeguard the type of patients at
the facility," Conahan said.
Conahan, a resident of Golden Nfead-
ows, a subdivison northeast of the hospi-
tal site, said she won't carry on the fight
against. Healthcare International. How•
ever, she remains cautious about the
location.
The hospital would be about a half
mile from Werner Elementary School,.
scheduled to open this fall.
"I don't think it'sin the best interest
of the children for. it ( the hospital) to be
within a half mile from the school,"
Conahan said.
In a letter that accompanied the peti-
tion, the petition leaders said they were
concerned about patients who might
walk away from the hospital.
"By Healthcare International's own
admission, there were 12-15 'elope-
ments' in one year at their Colorado
Springs facility which is similar to the
one proposed here," the letter said.
'<The hospital would be an unlocked.
open campus whose patients are
'ambulatory.' "
Healthcare International claimed it
will not accept patients who are sui-
cidal. Conahan said she wants to make
that restriction permanent.
"If and when that building is sold to
another corporation, we want some
restrictions upon what type of patients a
new corporation might put in there."
Conahan said.
Other people who signed the petition.
however, seem less concerned about the
hospital.
Scott Qualey said he withdrew his
opposition after signing the petition. In a
letter to the city planning department.
Qua ley said he and others who signed
the petition "may have signed this peti.
Lion without adequate Information about
the project.
Another neighbor wrote she and her
family lived directly across Lemay Ave-
nue from the hospital site, however, she
was not opposed to the project.
The planning board asked Healthcare
International to make only minor
adjustments in its proposal before the
final hearing; occurs.