Gunpowder Chronicle posted on October 28, 2008 7:09 PM | Rating:
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Imagine my shock this afternoon when I went out for a quick cup of coffee downtown and found the most recent version of the Campus Connection Online featuring the headline "UMMS Misled State When Requesting Funds for Failed Ambulatory Care Center". As the state's flagship public health facility, UMMS is a key part of our state's healthcare system. With it's expansion to include not just the hospital downtown, but also the former Easton Memorial, Maryland General Hospital, Kernan, Mt. Washington Pediatric, and Chester River Health System, UMMS is a major player in the state. The fact that they may have misled the legislature is disturbing at best.
The article is well-researched, and clears up some questions and rumors that have been floating around the state for almost a year -- and most importantly, since the abrupt resignation of Board Chairman John Erickson and almost a dozen other members in August.
As Maryland faces a serious re-evaluation of its approach to Emergency Medicine in general (the main Shock Trauma unit for the state is run by UMMS) and tries to provide the highest quality care during a period of increasing costs, the notion that the facilities plan was not just flawed -- but possibly misleading -- boils my blood.
Earlier this year, the Baltimore Business Journal featured an article how financing for hospital construction would be growing tight. Bond financing is the lifeblood of hospital construction, and this type of conduct by a major institution in this state will not only cause friction with the legislative committees and the Board of Public Works, but it will cast doubt on efforts of other major institutions to complete their (much needed) projects.
There are still substantial questions that surround construction at UMMS beyond the "canceled building". The preferential treatment given to certain state contractors over others -- including a lawsuit against the system by a minority contractor -- by the executives in the system is a big one.
I hope -- as a taxpayer in this state who finds a major part of his hard-earned income confiscated to fund operations like UMMS -- that the state, and especially Comptroller Peter Franchot, will take a long, hard look at the operations of UMMS and the decision-making that led to a $325 million parking garage.
UMMS was created over 25 years ago to rescue a failing hospital that was literally dying on the vine. Over those years, the hospital has developed an outstanding reputation. Let's hope that its failure to manage its facilities plan -- and deal honestly with the People of Maryland -- doesn't destroy that work.