New Owner Vows Healthier Hospital

That effort is not expected to stave off the national Joint Commission, which is threatening Greater Southeast with its second loss of accreditation in four years. Without extensive improvements, the hospital has little chance of regaining full status or of surviving.

Specialty intends to increase the number of short-term acute-care beds to 150 and restore several hundred beds for adolescent and adult psychiatric treatment and patients who need long-term care.

Despite the city's chief financial officer's concerns over the company's financial viability, the D.C. Council voted to provide Specialty with $30 million for renovations and equipment in addition to $49 million in loans for working capital, the hospital's debts and acquisition costs.

Catania stressed the importance of the financing partnership, saying, "We've worked very hard to protect the city's interest and preserve the future of the hospital."

The company came to Washington in 2005 when it bought the MedLINK Hospital and Nursing Center on Capitol Hill. The next year, it bought Hadley Memorial Hospital in Southeast. It renamed both facilities and continues to run them as long-term-care facilities.

Specialty's arrival at Greater Southeast was heralded by Pedro Alfonso, chairman of the facility's board of trustees. "I think it will make all the difference," he said. "The new owners . . . hopefully will understand the local aspects of running the hospital and be more hands-on."

At Washington Hospital Center, which has borne the brunt of Greater Southeast's protracted decline, president James Caldas also voiced optimism. "It clearly is an extremely positive step for maintaining a hospital east of the river," he said.

But, he added, it's only a first step: To rebuild the medical staff and win back the community, Specialty must show it has made a long-term commitment, he said.

Only then can there be stability, Caldas said, "and a renaissance at Greater Southeast."