A deal to save the ailing Prince George’s County hospital system will have to survive state and county budget deficits as pressure for action by the county executive mounts in Annapolis.
County Executive Jack Johnson told lawmakers they’d have a finalized plan replacing Dimensions Healthcare System with another operator by the end of January. But “slowing it down is working out the numbers in light of the budget crunch,” county executive spokesman John Erzen said.
Johnson has predicted a $60 million budget shortfall in fiscal 2008 and a $100 million deficit in 2009.
Dimensions has been repeatedly criticized for mismanaging the system.
Earlier this month, the county’s delegation introduced legislation that would create a seven-member state-run authority — two members appointed by the county executive, five by the governor — that would oversee the county’s five hospitals until the system is back on its feet.
“We will follow every course we have during this legislative session to make sure the hospital will not die a certain death,” said Del. Barbara Frush, D, who leads the Prince George’s House delegation.
For years, the county and state have patched budget gaps in the hospital system with short-term bandages, but during the special session in November, the General Assembly reserved $50 million for the system only if state and local leaders could agree to a long-term solution.
Last year, a deal was nearly complete, but county councilors balked at the county’s share of the cost — $229 million over eight years to the state’s$175 million over the same period.
Former County Council Chairman David Harrington was playing a key role in the deal, but he’s left that position to take the seat of the late Sen. Gwendolyn Britt, and some Johnson critics say the change could disrupt his plans.
And if Johnson still wants the hospital system’s future to remain in his hands, “he’ll have to something done by the end of session,” Erzen said.
