Authority Appointed for Owner Search
Creating Group Is Step in Bringing Long-Term Stability to Network, Leaders Say

By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 14, 2008

A high-wattage group of state and local leaders, including Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), convened at the Prince George's Hospital Center yesterday to swear in a seven-member authority charged with finding an owner for the county's struggling hospital system.

The group characterized the creation of the authority as only one step in an arduous journey to provide the system long-term stability. But they pledged to stick with the process, citing their joint presence at the event as a sign of their commitment.

The event capped years of fractious disputes between state and local leaders over how to right the hospital system, which serves 180,000 people annually and has been losing money for years.

The group will accept bids from health-care companies interested in taking over the system, which includes Laurel Regional Hospital, Bowie Health Campus and two nursing homes. It is now owned by the county and managed by the nonprofit Dimensions Healthcare System.

"This event is an important step," O'Malley said. "We've got a lot of long days ahead of us. None of this is going to be inexpensive, and none of this is going to be easy. But nothing worth doing is ever easy."

O'Malley appointed to the authority Andrea Leahy-Fucheck, a lawyer; Karen J. Shaheed, vice president and general counsel of Bowie State University; and Joseph L. Wright, executive director of the Child Health Advocacy Institute at the Children's National Medical Center.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) jointly named Donald E. Wilson, who spent 15 years as dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Johnson and the Prince George's County Council named lawyer Stan Brown and former county officials Thomas M. Himler and Kenneth E. Glover. Glover will be the group's chairman.

Miller and Busch attended the swearing-in, as did Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), County Council Chairman Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville) and many legislators.

Before the authority can solicit bids, the county and state must solve the trickiest issue that has divided them: determining how much taxpayer money will be put on the table to lure possible owners.

Glover, a vice president at PNC Bank, said the authority will soon hold its first meeting. He said owners would inherit a committed and experienced workforce of doctors and nurses.

"It's not a bad business to get into, but some buyer will have to make that decision," he said. "Part of our job is to put the system in a position where it is attractive to a market purchaser."

Hospital workers, who gathered for the news conference, were cautiously optimistic yesterday. Debbie Wilkes, who has worked as a nurse at Prince George's Hospital Center for three decades, said the event ranked "up near the top" of similar news conferences she has attended.

She said timelines in legislation passed by the General Assembly that created the authority distinguish the process from previous efforts to save the system.

According to the bill, the state and county will give the system $12 million a year for the next two years while the authority works. They also have up to 90 days to come up with the long-term funding scheme to float to potential bidders. If they cannot agree, the county and state are both released from all obligations to continue funding the system.

"To know there are expectations and deadlines, that it can't just be dragged out, that is what makes this different," Wilkes said.