The financially ailing Prince George’s hospital system that may face closure by summer could cause health care chaos in the region and compromise emergency care for university students and College Park residents, health care officials said.
The system, which may shut down after a massive funding plan to save it collapsed in the last day of the Maryland legislative session early this week, treats about 180,000 patients per year and includes three hospitals in the county. Although it does not include Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, the main hospital university students use in after-hours emergencies, its closure could increase wait times at area hospitals, said health center director Sacared Bodison.
Doctor’s Community Hospital, in Lanham, and Washington Adventist are both used by students, Bodison said, and they would likely become crowded in the case of the Prince George’s system closing. She said average emergency room wait in the area is between two and three hours, and it will probably increase as hospitals absorb additional patients.
If the system were to close, so would the county’s only sexual assault center, at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. The health center refers assault victims to the location, where staff perform forensic exams and prepare evidence for trials, Bodison said.
Trauma care for students will likely remain the same, Bodison said, because students are typically flown by helicopter to a center in Baltimore.
“I think students are very fortunate that we do handle a fair amount of minor trauma when we’re open, but when we’re not, the students end up going to the hospital,” Bodison said. “They will feel the impact.”
While county leaders have said this week they are working to keep the system open, Gov. Martin O’Malley has drafted contingency plans for closure of the system over several months.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of Dimensions Healthcare System, which manages the network, has recommended the system close. The company’s board will meet Monday to decide whether the system will go bankrupt or close.
“The ball is now totally in the court of the county executive or the county council,” said state Sen. Jim Rosapepe.
John Colmers, secretary for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told The Associated Press Tuesday the hospital system could be closed by June.
Uninsured residents of the city will be left with few healthcare options if Prince George’s Hospital, the closest center to the city, closes, said District 1 Councilman David Milligan.
He said 50 percent of the Cheverly hospital’s patients are uninsured, a problem that plagues College Park’s “working poor” residents.
“They’re employed in places without good insurance or benefits,” he said. “When there’s a medical emergency or a pregnancy or something that requires medical attention, they don’t have other options.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Laura Schwartzman at schwartzmandbk@gmail.com
