New Prince George’s Hospital to Enhance Current Health Care System
CHEVERLY, Md. — The Maryland Health Care Commission voted unanimously on Oct. 20 to approve plans for the Prince George’s Regional Medical Center to replace Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. This is the final step in the lengthy regulatory process that began more than three years ago.
In May, Commissioner Robert E. Moffit told project leaders to reduce the number of beds and square footage as well as bring down the price by at least $100 million before the commission could approve the project, reported The Washington Post. The latest proposal that was approved accommodated the request by reducing the proposed cost to $543 million. It also decreased the number of operating rooms, the average square feet per patient bed, the total bays in the emergency department and the overall bed count, from 216 to 205, according to Washington Business Journal.
The teaching hospital, led by the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), is part of a larger redevelopment plan to help revitalize nearby businesses and enhance health care options for local residents. The county’s current health care system is struggling, with residents having some of the highest rates of chronic disease in the state, according to The Washington Post. Moffit noted at the October announcement that the project’s main challenge will be finding ways to bring back patients who abandoned county facilities in search of better-ranked hospitals.
A partnership between UMMS and Dimensions Healthcare System, the hospital network that currently operates Prince George’s Hospital Center, proposed the project. Following the approval, the partners outlined a plan for UMMS to take over sole corporate ownership of Dimensions and take on responsibility of the project, reported Washington Business Journal.
More than $400 million in public funds will support the construction and hospital operations, reported The Washington Post. A groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for next spring or early summer, with the project completion date to be 2020.