Parties Move Haltingly Toward Deal on Hospital Sale

The sale of Greater Southeast Community Hospital, which appeared to be close to collapse several weeks ago, now could be concluded by early summer, according to its current owner and the prospective buyer.

But the transaction is moving forward with several significant issues unresolved, an indication that the District hospital's future could remain difficult for some time.

Carl D. Jones, the Prince George's County businessman who hopes to purchase the facility, rebuild it and develop its remaining property, has not lined up an entity to run the hospital after Doctors Community Healthcare leaves.

Moreover, the city has yet to specify the funds it would provide for government programs that officials want maintained or moved to Greater Southeast. In a memo last month to D.C. Health Director Gregg A. Pane, attorney John Ray set today as the deadline for agreement on those programs. Jones has not heard back from the city, Ray said yesterday. "He hasn't been able to get the executive branch to talk to him about this."

In the absence of any city commitment, Jones said CJ Healthcare Ventures will seek financing for a smaller hospital with no city programs -- his preference, the businessman has stressed.

Pane, who previously said such funding promises might be impossible, noted yesterday that certain decisions must await completion of an independent study of the city's health-care needs. "There's actually been a lot of discussion within the administration and with counsel as to what services the city will want to continue or what additional services we might want to put [at Greater Southeast], whomever the buyer might be," he said.

"I'm willing to sit down with [Jones] and discuss in more detail" the potential for a private-public partnership, Pane said. In reality, officials do not have many options for where to put health services for their correctional, detox and psychiatric units if they are not at the hospital.

Negotiations had lagged between Jones and the Arizona-based Doctors, which has owned the troubled hospital for seven years, and an exclusive agreement between the parties expired in mid-February. They signed another agreement this month, at which point Doctors Chief Executive Erich Mounce set June as the target for completing the sale. The price has not been announced.

"We're very excited about trying to fulfill our commitment to sell the hospital," Mounce said, "and to continue health care on that side of the [Anacostia] river."

Jones was encouraged by some District officials to secure George Washington University Hospital and its corporate owner, Universal Health Services, as Greater Southeast's turnaround operator. But discussions on that front have made little progress, and Universal Vice President Marc Miller said yesterday that the city -- and city financial assurances -- will have to be involved for a deal to be struck.