Officials get months to put end to hospital system’s years of struggle

Legislation sets strict deadlines for county, state agreements

Within 10 days after the bill is signed, both the county and state must each appoint a representative to negotiate the funding package. Thirty days after the governor signs the legislation, authority members must be selected. Sixty days from the signing, the funding agreement must be in place.

One 30-day extension can be set, if needed.

A spokesman for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said the governor could wait to sign the bill until the last scheduled signing date on May 22 to allow more time for officials to get plans in place.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson acknowledged it would take ‘‘a lot of work and cooperation” by county lawmakers to keep this proposal from dying.

‘‘It’s a road map,” Johnson said. ‘‘Now we need a good driver.”

Many officials expressed relief that a deal was finally under way to keep open the system, which includes three hospitals in Laurel, Bowie and Cheverly. Losses from the high number of poor and uninsured patients have threatened to close the hospital system for years. Though more than 180,000 patients seek care in the system every year, more than 25 percent have little or no insurance, causing a $12 million average shortfall every year.

Past efforts to help the hospital have failed because the county and state were unable to reach an agreement.

Officials were optimistic Monday about the latest deal.

‘‘The House continued to move forward and never failed in its commitment to this hospital,” said Prince George’s County House Delegation Chairwoman Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville. ‘‘I’m confident the state will do what it can to make sure this continues to move forward.”

The difference with the plan that passed this year was that all parties were involved in discussions from early on, said Del. Tawanna P. Gaines.

‘‘It was completely vetted,” said Gaines (D-Dist. 22) of Berwyn Heights.

Karen Campbell, spokeswoman for the County Council, said members had no comment about the bill. When asked Tuesday, several council members declined to speak about the deal’s chance of success, while others said they did not know the terms of the final agreement that passed days earlier.

‘‘I don’t know what the bill looks like, so I can’t speak to it,” said Council Chairman Samuel Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville.

The package wasn’t unanimously supported in Annapolis. Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Dist. 24) of Capitol Heights voted against the hospital bill. Exum, who was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, declined to explain his vote.

Exum’s daughter, Camille, serves on the County Council and was chair of the council when a deal with the state failed last year.

If all deadlines are met, the board would start advertising for potential bidders by August or September. The group is tasked with lining up a buyer by January for the General Assembly to approve.

Sen. David C. Harrington (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly sought an amendment Saturday to provide $6 million to Dimensions Healthcare, the hospital system’s current operator, if negotiations dragged on through the 90 days, but the amendment was rejected.

‘‘What my amendment would do was put some money on the table so workers at the hospital have some reassurance that the hospital would stay open,” Harrington said.

As it is, if the 90-day mark passed without an agreement, ‘‘there is nothing in there to keep [the hospital] open,” he added.

County officials will likely face pressure to make a deal work this year. In recent months, clergy leaders and officials for SEIU Local 1099, the union representing more than 1,000 workers at the medical centers, have staged rallies calling for the government to take action after years of squabbling.

‘‘Clearly, we’re in a better place now than we were last year,” said Ebs Burnough, spokesman for SEIU.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.