Maryland Could Lose Key Hospital System
By BRIAN WITTE
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The closing of the financially troubled Prince George’s Hospital System “appears unavoidable” after negotiations with county officials collapsed in a last-minute effort to get legislation passed before the end of the General Assembly, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration announced.
State and local officials met Monday in Annapolis to discuss details of the plan, which would have created a state-county partnership. Lawmakers wanted assurances from local officials that they were committed to their end of the plan, but county officials wouldn’t agree on all the details.
“Now, an orderly closure appears unavoidable,” the O’Malley administration said in a statement.
The current system includes the Prince George’s Hospital Center and three other facilities, which are owned by the county and run by a nonprofit company. Together, they serve about 180,000 patients a year, many of them poor and uninsured. The hospital system also operates Maryland’s second-busiest trauma center.
Jack Johnson, Prince George’s county executive, said the sticking point was with members of the Prince George’s County Council, who couldn’t agree on the proposed eight-year plan, because they didn’t want to commit to a plan lasting longer than their terms in office.
“They thought that the new administration should have the ability to start over,” Johnson said.
Gov. Martin O’Malley put $20 million in a supplemental budget that could have been used as a down payment for the plan. Without passing legislation, however, the money was set aside to conduct an orderly closure.
O’Malley has argued the hospital is badly needed, not just for the patients it sees regularly, but also in the event of a pandemic flu or a bioterrorism event. The hospital is in Cheverly, not far from the nation’s capital.
The hospital is now run by Dimensions Healthcare System, a nonprofit formed in 1982 which also runs Laurel Regional Hospital, the Bowie Health Center and the Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital and Nursing Center. The other facilities also face closure.