More News

A state panel charged with finding buyers for the troubled Prince George's County hospital system said this week that it would like to seek other options to bail out the financially ailing facilities. The announcement was made the same day the panel was supposed to reveal the names of prospective buyers for the hospitals.

Members of the Prince George's County Hospital Authority, a group of state and local officials responsible for coordinating the sale of the hospital system, said the economy and other factors make them hesitant to present a deal for selling the county-owned hospitals in Laurel, Cheverly and Bowie.

The hospital bids appear to require financing that is not available in the struggling economy, according to authority reports.

"As it approaches the time for making recommendations to stakeholders, however, it is becoming increasingly likely that the authority's final determination will have to deal with an economic situation that stakeholders could not have anticipated," according to a staff report given to The Gazette.

The report goes on to say that financing that might have been available will be "more difficult to secure" in the current economy.

The authority, formed last year after county and state lawmakers agreed to have the independent group handle the sale, originally was scheduled to present a deal to the state legislature in March, but applied for a one-year extension so it could evaluate the system and attract interest.

Now the group is considering asking the Prince George's County government and state legislature for another extension so it can evaluate other steps, including a new state offer to have the University of Maryland Medical System take over or build facilities as public teaching hospitals, members said.

"I think we have options," authority Chairman Kenneth Glover said at a meeting Monday. "There's an opportunity to work on this."

Authority reports mention the possibility of working with interested bidders to provide better health care and even "constructing a new hospital system" rather than just selling the centers.

Authority members were supposed to reveal Monday the names of prospective buyers who have made offers for the hospitals. Bidders' information has not been publicly revealed, and negotiations have been going on for more than a year.

For years, the county medical centers have been in danger of closing because about 25 percent of the system's patients are uninsured, creating an average $12 million loss each year. The company that manages the hospitals, Dimensions Healthcare System, has relied on state and county aid to remain open.

At the same time, the hospitals are in high demand. The Prince George's Medical Center in Cheverly is the second-busiest trauma center in the state, and health officials say that its closing would be catastrophic to the region's emergency and health needs.