Hospitals and health care are not in Maryland?s military restructuring plan, leaving health officials uncertain about how hospitals and patients? needs will be met.
“It?s a good start, but how it flows back to hospitals remains to be seen,” said Paul Gleichauf, vice president of planning and marketing for Howard County General Hospital in Columbia.
Instead, the recent BRAC Action Plan focuses on roads, schools, environmental issues and urban planning.
The state?s plan does emphasize expanding higher education, which he and other officials say could help ease a nursing shortage, said Mike Raia, spokesman for Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who led the subcommittee for Base Realignment and Closure planning.
“Community colleges feed the staff we need in terms of nurses and techs,” Gleichauf said.
“I think [state officials] did notice staffing is a significant issue, given that they put money in for higher education.”
Yet hospital officials said they are confident they have the physical capacity to meet the demand. Many facilities had expansions planned prior to BRAC.
But the Maryland Hospital Association is looking for added reassurance.
“If a hospital … needs added capacity for BRAC, then there needs to be flexibility in the planning process so it can be built,” Fielder said.
The absence of health care from the plan wasn?t entirely met with disdain from health industry leaders.
“Hospitals have their own special revenues to finance expansion,” said Rex Cowdry, executive director of the Maryland Healthcare Commission.
By the numbers
Projected households at Maryland bases because of the Base Realignment and Closure process:
» Aberdeen Proving Ground: 14,159
» Fort Meade: 10,679
Source: Fort George G. Meade
Web site; Anne Arundel County BRAC Office; Maryland Department of Planning; Towson University study for Department of Business and Economic Development
