GARY | More than a dozen people testified Tuesday before a legislative study committee regarding the sustainability of Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus and the prospects of constructing a new hospital and teaching facility attached to the Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest.

The Health Finance Commission meeting at Indiana University Northwest heard nearly four hours of comments from doctors, health care professionals and state officials.

The commission, headed by Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, took the testimony under advisement.

The discussion and vote at the Oct. 29 meeting in Indianapolis will shape potential legislation regarding Gary's Methodist Hospitals and the possibility of a new teaching hospital in Gary, said Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, who is vice chairman of the commission and helped bring the meeting to Northwest Indiana.

Discussions about the Gary hospital's viability surfaced after there were rumors the hospital would close, Brown said, adding he has participated in talks about the hospital for more than a year.

The hospital has struggled in recent years and in 2006 lost about $23.6 million.

Claude Watts, Methodist Hospitals interim president and CEO, said the hospital "is not in a state of flux" but is going through a revitalization. He said he would be happy to engage in all discussions about the hospital's future but it "does not have the finances to build another facility."

Pat Bankston, assistant dean and director of the Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest, went on record saying IUN supports the idea of a new teaching hospital near its campus to serve all Northwest Indiana residents.

By 2010, he expects each of the regional campuses such as IUN to allow students to take their third and fourth year of training at IUN rather than having to go to Indianapolis, which is the present practice.

Mitch Roob, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration secretary, and Dr. Jeffrey Wells, director of Medicaid, Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, focused on the need for a new hospital and the value of an academic medical center model for Northwest Indiana. They also talked about the value of partnering with another health care provider.

The cost of a new facility was estimated at $200 million to $300 million.

Dr. Michael McGee, medical director of Emergency Medicine Services, presented statistics showing the number of trauma patients that come to the Gary hospital, emphasizing the need for a trauma center, which he says is critical to the hospital's future.