UConn seeks approval for hospital merger

The University of Connecticut Health Center is hoping for legislative approval to merge with Hartford Hospital. Advocates of the merger believe that it would eventually end the need for repeated infusions of state funds and would give Connecticut a major academic medical center that could provide an economic boost to the region. UConn's president, Michael J. Hogan, said that the merger hinged on a request for $500 million in state bonds to build a new, larger complex at the Health Center's Farmington campus, and more than $10 million a year in additional state support.