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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Maryland Politicians Feud Over Medical Center for Prince George’s County

(Click on the image for Tracee's report)
By Tracee Wilkins, News4:
Maryland lawmakers are in a feud over funding for a new medical center in Prince George’s County.
County elected officials called out Gov. Larry Hogan and other state politicians, saying they’re playing games with the county's health care.
“We’re going to demand quality of service in Prince George’s County in the southern region, and we’re going to demand a quality hospital,” County Executive Rushern Baker said.
“Every time we get there, the post gets moved further away,” Council member Dannielle Glaros said.
The regional medical center proposed for Largo is expected to heal the county's broken medical system. Officials are depending on cardiac surgery dollars to make money.
“We want to be in a position by the time we open that regional medical center of those marquee programs, and the one that is the example is the cardiac surgery program,” said John Ashworth of University of Maryland Medical System, the hospital’s partner.
But the state's health commission is considering approving another heart program 30 minutes away at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Prince George’s County politicians say that will cut into the number of patients their facility can attract. [Read the rest of Tracee's report here.]