Hospital Shutdown Scenario Stirs Fears

This juggling act will become increasingly precarious as emergency rooms grow more crowded. Most hospitals in the metropolitan region are operating at or near capacity.

"We just recently peaked out on the flu respiratory season," Bass said. "We didn't have a lot of surge capacity."

When a hospital can't accept any more patients, it declares a yellow alert. The Prince George's hospitals that may close are often on yellow alert: Prince George's Hospital Center declared 24 yellow alerts last month; Laurel Regional had 22 alerts; and Bowie declared nine.

Suburban, which had one yellow alert for an hour last month, may be more able to handle the influx, but other hospitals that would pick up the slack are already stressed. Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham and Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park each had 20 yellow alerts last month.

At other nearby hospitals, "instead of a two- to four-hour wait, there would be a six- to 10- to 12-hour wait," said George Bone, a member of the Dimensions board of directors.

Many low-income patients who arrive at the Prince George's Hospital Center rely on the county's public transportation, Ecker said. They may find it difficult to take buses to hospitals much farther away and call for ambulances instead, extending response times for emergency service departments. Ambulances also would often have to travel much further, causing paramedics to take longer for every call, said James Keary, a spokesman for the county government.

Prince George's Hospital Center also hosts the county's only sexual assault center, where specially trained staff perform forensic exams on victims of assault in the county, preparing evidence for trials. State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said closure of the unit, where 250 such exams are performed annually, would require a new center to be established. Such a scenario, he said, could "jeopardize rape prosecutions" during the transition.

For workers, the system's closure could mean losing jobs held for decades. Some could find jobs elsewhere amid a worker shortage in the field, but they could need additional training and might have to work far from home. Many have concerns about their retirement benefits.

"I'm in a state of shock, to be honest," said David Goldman, a doctor who has been part of the system for 38 years. "It affects so many lives. The citizens of this county are going to die because they don't have a place to go."

Staff writer Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.