Thread: Prince George's Hospital Center

Hand-to-Mouth Health Care

A court's ruling buys time for Prince George's Hospital Center -- but not much.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007; Page A10


WHAT DOES $2 million buy for the 180,000 patients who rely each year for medical care on Dimensions Healthcare System, which runs Prince George's Hospital Center and other facilities scattered around the county? The answer is time -- but precious little of it.

On Monday, a Maryland appeals court ordered Prince George's County to pay $2 million to Dimensions, a ruling that arose from weeks of litigation. But according to the firm's internal projections, it will need subsidies of roughly that amount every month for the next year to continue providing a broad range of health-care services, including emergency treatment. And at the moment, owing to a political contest of wills and egos, there appears to be little hope that the county will continue to underwrite Dimensions' losses.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) continues to insist that $12 million in county funds set aside for Dimensions will not be delivered until the firm accepts his plan to replace four members of its board. For its part, the board is refusing to be bullied by Mr. Johnson. Communications between the county, which owns the land and buildings where Dimensions operates, and Dimensions officials are minimal. Meanwhile, the death watch continues for Prince George's Hospital Center, one of the region's most important health-care providers, as doctors and patients (especially patients with the means to pay) slowly drift away.

The financial problems at Dimensions were years in the making, and the solutions -- including an enormous infusion of cash, restructuring and new ownership -- will not come quickly. What is clear is that Prince George's County is not going to devise a long-term strategy to clean up the mess on its own, let alone by the strong-arm tactics it is pursuing. In fact, the county's goal should be to get out of the hospital business altogether, much as every other county in the state has done. Reforming the hospital system is a job best done under state, not county, oversight.

This year, in the closing days of the Maryland legislature's session, state lawmakers fashioned a bailout for the hospital system, and Mr. Johnson signed off on it. Outrageously, the deal was killed by members of the County Council, who didn't have a clue about what would come next. Council members' slapdash obstructionism has left the health care of tens of thousands of their own constituents hanging perilously. One hopes the council members have learned their lesson and will stand aside when, or if, the state steps in again to save Prince George's Hospital Center and its sister health-care facilities.

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Wonder how many illegals use this hospital!!!!!!!!!!

I am very familiar with this hospital. It, as well as countless others throughout the country, are suffering due to the magnitude of illegal alien patients who use the emergency facilities as their primary care physicians.

The illegals receive medical services with no intentions of ever paying, including childbirth, and brag about it. The state has bailed out this hospital before, to no avail. I really don't believe they will remain open this time.

We simply cannot continue to provide free medical treatment for these ungrateful parasites. Let the bleeding hearts and the illegal employers foot the bill.

BTW, this hospital has served the community since 1944.