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Blake opened a trauma center in November 2011 that has treated nearly 3,000 patients, but the center and two others opened by hospital chain HCA operated under a legal cloud as competitors worked to force their closure.

Hospitals including Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg, Tampa General and UF Health Shands in Gainesville had argued that allowing new trauma centers in Manatee, Pasco and Marion counties would dilute services and hurt patients.

But Shands dropped its legal case last week and the other hospitals followed on Monday.

That leaves Blake the undisputed trauma care provider for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties for most severe injuries. Local trauma patients had been flown to hospitals in Tampa and St. Petersburg in the past.

Having a trauma center closer to the population centers in Sarasota and Manatee counties will allow local patients to get life-saving treatments more quickly, said Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota. Steube was vice chairman of a legislative committee that reviewed the issue this spring.

“Seconds and minutes are very important” when it comes to trauma care Steube said, adding that “having a hospital in the Sarasota-Manatee region that has the capability to handle trauma I think is a very good thing for our community.”

Opponents of the new trauma centers argue that they spread patient loads too thin and will hurt quality. Larger centers with more resources do a better job of treating patients, said Ron Bartlett, a spokesman for the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, which represents many of the established trauma centers.

“Trauma centers depend on patient volume to maintain excellence in surgeon skills, to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and to provide optimum training for the next generation of trauma specialists,” Bartlett said. “So the more trauma centers you add the more you dilute that patient volume that’s so critical, which can negatively impact patient safety and training.”

Bartlett also contested the idea that flying patients to Tampa was hurting care, saying they were still arriving within the “golden hour” that is critical in trauma cases.

The legal battle seemed to be favoring HCA recently, though. An administrative law judge revised the rule last month governing the establishment of new trauma centers. The new rule made it more difficult for the established trauma providers to win their case, Bartlett said.

“We didn’t think we could prevail at the next level,” he said.

Blake CEO Dan Friedrich said in a statement Monday that the hospital administration is “pleased to put the legal challenges we’ve faced over the last few years behind us.”

“Throughout this process, we have been so grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from our local EMS officials, key community partners, and the many former patients who all stood up for local access to lifesaving trauma care,” Friedrich added.

Before Blake opened its trauma center, many of the most severe adult trauma cases in this region were sent to Bayfront, the closest trauma unit. Burn and severe spinal cord trauma cases were sent to Tampa General Hospital.

Blake does not have a burn unit, so severe burn victims are still transported to Tampa.

Bayfront officials did not return messages Monday. A spokesman for Tampa General declined to comment.

The for-profit HCA hospital chain also has come under fire for the high cost of trauma care.

An investigative report by the Tampa Bay Times newspaper found that the company has the highest trauma fees in the state. The investigation revealed that HCA charges trauma patients $124,806 on average, about $40,000 more than other trauma centers in Florida, and has helped drive up costs at other centers. The investigation also concluded that the charges were not related to the severity of the injuries treated.

A Blake spokeswoman did not respond to a question about the hospital’s trauma fee.

This report includes information from the News Service of Florida.

EARLIER: The long battle over who will care for severely injured patients in Sarasota and Manatee counties ended Monday when a group of Tampa hospitals dropped their legal challenge to a new trauma center at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton.

Blake opened a trauma center in November 2011 and has already treated nearly 3,000 patients, but the center and two others opened by hospital chain HCA operated under a legal cloud as competitors worked to force their closure.

Hospitals such as Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg, Tampa General and UF Health Shands in Gainesville had argued that allowing new trauma centers in Manatee, Pasco and Marion counties would dilute services and hurt patients.

But Shands dropped its lawsuit last week and the other hospitals followed on Monday.

That leaves Blake the undisputed sole trauma care provider for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties.

Before Blake opened its trauma center, the most severe adult trauma cases in this region were sent to Bayfront. Burn and severe spinal cord trauma cases were sent to Tampa General Hospital.