Dimensions Healthcare System

By Marisa Navarro
Special to the Gazette

Task Force Advises State, County Aid For Hospital

Elected officials and health-care providers expressed mixed emotions about a government-appointed task force report that urged continued state and county aid to the financially strapped Prince George's Hospital Center.

A draft of the 43-page proposal issued this month urged Prince George's County officials to contribute $3 million in aid for fiscal year 2003 and for each of the next three years. The state already has provided $2 million for 2003. The report also stated the government assistance is a short-term solution.

"At one point, the hospital has to be self-sustained," said Dr. George C. Malouf, task force chairman and ophthalmologist at Prince George's Hospital Center.

However, after a Dec. 18 community meeting, Malouf said the task force would consider extending government aid from three to 10 years.

State Sen. Gloria G. Lawlah (D-Dist. 26) of Hillcrest Heights said she supports continued financial assistance to help the hospital break even.

She also wants money to go to expanding services to compete with neighboring health-care providers such as Howard University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center.

Lawlah, however, questioned the county's commitment to the hospital.

"The county and state need to work together on this," she said. "Unfortunately, as we come into this year--you know the 2003 fiscal year started in July 2002--we're almost halfway through the fiscal year and the money from the county has not come up.

"The state has supported to match that money," she added. "What is happening in the county? We don't know what's going on."

The task force's report also urged county assistance.

"The state has continued its commitment with another $2 million in fiscal 2003," the report stated. "To draw down these state funds, the hospital system must receive a matching commitment of $3 million from Prince George's County."

Newly elected County Executive Jack Johnson decided to hold off on judgement until all the facts are in.

"Until we examine the financial aspects of any option, I cannot commit the resources of this county," he said in a press release. "However, I will not allow service to suffer at the hospital that so many of our residents rely on."

Michael Herman, Johnson's chief of staff, said the county executive would reach a decision in a few weeks.

Dr. Eleanor Walker, chairwoman of the Health Action Forum, offered another alternative during the community meeting. She suggested that the task force look at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla.

In 1991, voters approved a one-half cent sales tax increase to aid the hospital. Money from the sales tax accounts for 15 percent of its budget, according to the hospital's Web site.

The task force said it doesn't want the hospital to be dependent on the state and county governments for financial support.

The report also recommended that the county sell the land to the nonprofit organization that runs the hospital, Cheverly-based Dimensions Healthcare System.

With the property as additional capital, Dimensions would be appealing for a merger with a private company.

Dimensions is sifting through merger offers but hasn't accepted any proposals yet, the report stated.

The problems Prince George's Hospital Center face aren't unique. Since the 1990s, the health-care industry has been struggling.

Maryland-area hospitals have gone through hard times due to a work-force shortage, an increase in drug prices and a fixed-rate billing system, according to Cal Pierson, president of Elkridge-based Maryland Hospital Association.

Pierson, who urged for long-term government subsidies, said Prince George's budget woes are dire because it services the area's poor.

The task force agreed. According to its report, 51 percent of patients are uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid, a government-sponsored health insurance program.

Until 1994, the state provided a $2.5 million subsidy for indigent care. As a result, the hospital has run a $45.8 million deficit in the last three years.

Although burdened with financial problems, politicians, doctors and patients agree that the hospital must remain open.

"The care is excellent," said Darnell Jones, who delivered her five children at Prince George's Hospital Center.

"I'm a Medicaid patient, and [doctors and staff] treat me as if I had Blue Cross or Kaiser, or any of the bigger insurance companies."

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