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The University of Maryland Medical System has grown and improved patient care
significantly since its transformation in 1984 from a state-run hospital to
a six-hospital, not-for-profit institution.
Those who went to the University of Maryland School of Medicine
or trained here before 1984 may remember the University of Maryland
Hospital as an aging facility faced with annual deficits, struggling to keep
up with innovations in technology and patient care.
Quite a bit has changed since those days. Today the hospital, known as the
University of Maryland Medical Center, is a modern, technologically advanced
656-bed facility with nearly 30,000 inpatient admissions each year. As an
innovative leader in patient care in a variety of specialties, it is also
the academic centerpiece of the University of Maryland Medical System, a regional
health care network that includes two community hospitals and three specialty
hospitals, as well as 20 outpatient sites for primary and specialty care.
With
more than $1.1 billion in gross patient revenue, more than 60,000 admissions
last year and almost 10,000 full and part-time employees, the University of
Maryland Medical System provides a full range of care for patients throughout
Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region and is one of the state’s largest employers.
Yet Morton I. Rapoport, ’60, president and CEO of the Medical System, calls
it a “work in progress,” with continued efforts to develop excellent clinical
programs, strengthen relationships with area hospitals and physicians, and
seek new opportunities for growth.
The Medical System was born in 1984, when the Governor and Maryland General
Assembly converted the state-run University Hospital into a private, not-for-profit
institution run by a prominent board of directors. It was only the second
teaching hospital in the nation to make such a transition. Shands Hospital
in Florida was the first.
Today, the Medical System is a national and regional referral center for trauma,
cancer care, neurocare, cardiac care and surgery, women’s and children’s health
and physical rehabilitation. It also has the world’s largest kidney transplant
program, as well as scores of other programs that address the physical and
mental health needs of thousands of people each day.
“The change in governance gave us the flexibility to be more competitive in
the marketplace,” says Dr. Rapoport, who has led the institution since its
privatization. “It enabled us to reinvest cash from operations, borrow funds
and raise money through private philanthropy. Those sources of revenue, in
addition to continued capital support from the state, have allowed us to significantly
improve our facilities, construct new, attractive buildings, obtain state-of-the-art
technology and develop high quality clinical programs.”
The transformation is not just dramatic, it has occurred over a short period
of time. For example, more than $700 million has been spent on new construction
and facilities improvements at the medical center downtown. The first major
project was a new Shock Trauma Center building which opened in 1989. That
building, designed to handle 3,500 patients each year, now has more than 7,500
patient admissions annually.
The next major new project, the 300,000 square foot Homer Gudelsky building,
opened in 1994. Known for its dramatic, sun-filled, 12-story atrium, the building
has dedicated patient floors for cancer care, neurocare, cardiac care and
organ transplant, in addition to advanced diagnostic radiology and radiation
oncology facilities.
An even larger structure, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg building, will open
in late 2002 on Lombard Street, adjacent to the Shock Trauma Center. The building
will feature new adult and pediatric emergency departments, 18 new operating
rooms designed for future innovations in technology and patient units for
cancer and other types of medical and surgical specialty care. Expanded diagnostic
imaging facilities, a new food court, along with patient resource and employee
learning centers also will be located in the 400,000 square foot Weinberg
building.
“The Weinberg building is designed to help us enhance the delivery of health
care by locating several important services closer together—such as emergency
care, diagnostic evaluation, surgery and critical care units,” says Stephen
C. Schimpff, MD, CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center. “It will
provide more space for growing programs, and give us flexibility to incorporate
changes in technology and services in the years to come.”
“With our long-time partner, the University of Maryland School of Medicine,
we’ve become one of the nation’s finest academic medical centers,” says Dr.
Schimpff. “Our collaborative efforts have produced many cutting-edge advances
in prevention, diagnosis and treatment to improve the health and well-being
of the patients we serve.”
Soon after its creation in 1984, the medical system began to extend its reach
to provide patients with a full range of services. The first specialty hospital
to join the system in 1985 was Kernan, located on 85-acres in the Woodlawn
area of Baltimore. Kernan Hospital has a long tradition of treating orthopaedic
problems in both children and adults, and was a pioneer in arthroscopic techniques,
total joint replacement and sports medicine. More than 3,000 inpatient and
outpatient surgeries are performed there each year.
Kernan Hospital expanded its services in 1996, with the opening of an attractive,
modern William Donald Schaefer Rehabilitation Center to offer advanced, comprehensive
therapy for patients with orthopaedic injuries, brain and spinal cord injuries,
stroke, multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders. Today, Kernan
is the state’s largest provider of rehabilitation services and the Schaefer
Rehabilitation Center is one of the largest and most sophisticated facilities
of its kind in the nation.
Kernan is also well-known for caring for injured professional and college
athletes, beginning with the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s. The University
of Maryland Sports Medicine program had its headquarters at Kernan until last
year, when a new, 18,000 square foot outpatient facility opened in Timonium,
called Texas Station. The Timonium site offers comprehensive orthopaedic and
sports medicine services as well as physical therapy for the Baltimore Ravens,
the University of Maryland Terrapins and other college and high school athletic
teams, in addition to those of us who enjoy participating in recreational
sports.
University
Specialty Hospital, formerly known as Deaton Hospital, became part of the
Medical System in 1996. The facility, located one block from Baltimore’s Inner
Harbor, provides chronic care for patients from throughout the mid-Atlantic
region with a unique array of services. The goal is to enable patients to
attain the highest possible level of independent function. Services include
a ventilator care program, a coma emergence program, a traumatic brain injury
behavioral program, and a medically complex care program, providing specialized
therapy for patients with multiple medical problems.
The University of Maryland Medical System expanded significantly with the
acquisitions of Maryland General Hospital in 1999, and North Arundel and Mt.
Washington Pediatric Hospitals in 2000.
Maryland
General is a 228-bed community hospital close to downtown Baltimore that provides
a full range of health care services to more than 110,000 patients each year.
It has seen tremendous growth in patient admissions—up by 42 percent—in the
past four years. The biggest gains were in newborn deliveries and emergency
department visits.
The hospital has a new obstetrical center with a newborn nursery and state-of-the-art
operating room. The labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum suites are furnished
with home-like décor and include a whirlpool bath and a special birthing
pool for delivery. And the hospital, which opened a new emergency department
five years ago, has experienced such a rise in patient visits to the ED that
it had to expand the facility earlier this year.
The hospital’s medical staff has also increased by 40 percent in recent years.
“Our affiliation with the University of Maryland Medical System has really
enhanced our ability to recruit excellent physicians and other staff,” says
Timothy D. Miller, FACHE, president and CEO of Maryland General Hospital.
“Being part of a large, highly respected academic health system sends the
message to the professional community that we have a solid future, and we
are positioned for continued growth.”
Miller adds that joining the medical system has given Maryland General increased
access to capital for major facility improvements and the ability to enhance
and develop its clinical programs, such as a neurological and spine initiative.
The hospital has built upon a variety of services, including vascular surgery,
otolaryngology, orthopaedics and AIDS/HIV, with the assistance of specialists
from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Dr. Jack Manzari, Maryland General’s senior vice president of medical affairs,
says, “It has been a very positive, mutually beneficial relationship.” He
credits leaders of the medical system and the school of medicine with being
sensitive to the mission of the community hospital and its doctors, while
providing increased access to specialists for those patients who need tertiary
care.
That opinion is shared by officials at North Arundel Hospital. “They have
been very respectful of the role we play at the community level,” says Glenn
F. Robbins, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer at North Arundel
Hospital, a 270-bed facility located in Glen Burnie in one of Maryland’s fastest
growing suburban communities. “Our partnership is helping us to raise the
bar of care available to our patients in their local area, giving them better
access to top specialists and the latest research advances.”
Dr. Robbins points to a variety of collaborative efforts involving the medical
system and the school of medicine to enhance programs at North Arundel. They
include the establishment of a Joslin Diabetes Center, a new vascular center
and a pediatric hospitalist service.
Construction is underway at North Arundel for a new building to house Anne
Arundel County’s first multi-
disciplinary cancer center, which will be affiliated with the Greenebaum Cancer
Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center and give patients the
opportunity to see several different specialists in one place. The cancer
center will open in early 2003. North Arundel is also working to develop a
comprehensive women’s health center.
“Since joining the medical system two years ago, we have experienced exceptional
growth. Our admissions, which were already strong, grew more than 10 percent
last year. We are one of the fastest growing community hospitals in Maryland,”
says James R. Walker, FACHE, president and CEO of North Arundel. Walker adds
that with the new facilities and services, North Arundel’s future is very
bright, offering tremendous opportunities for both community physicians and
University of Maryland specialists, in addition to giving area residents access
to top experts and the latest technology close to home.
Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, located in Northwest Baltimore, joined
the medical system as part of North Arundel Health System in 2000. It provides
state-of-the-art care for infants and children with the most complex medical
needs. Rehabilitation and specialty medical services are available through
comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and day-treatment programs. The hospital
has 56 pediatric specialty beds and 46 rehabilitation beds.
The hospital has a highly specialized feeding program that helps children
who have difficulty swallowing, refuse to eat, or do not eat enough. Another
unique service, the pediatric chronic illness program, treats children with
diabetes, Down syndrome, drug withdrawal, sickle cell anemia, HIV, feeding
disorders, seizures, and other medical conditions.
There is also a pulmonary rehabilitation program at Mt. Washington for children
with chronic lung disease, asthma, and other breathing conditions, including
those with ventilator needs. The hospital’s Physical Rehabilitation Program
helps children recover from brain and spinal cord injuries, burns, and other
debilitating conditions and offers unique specialty services for neurological
disorders. It has the distinction of providing rehabilitation services to
more children after hemispherectomy surgery to treat Rasmussen’s Encephalitis
than any other facility in the world, enabling those patients to regain speech,
mobility, and independence.
In
2000, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital opened the Jack and Mae Rosenberg
Center for Pediatric Respiratory Medicine. It is among the few outpatient
centers in the mid-Atlantic region to offer treatment, research, and education
for children with asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
In spite of all of the growth and achievements of the University of Maryland
Medical System in recent years, its leaders say they must overcome major challenges
ahead to maintain their track record of success. These include rising costs
due to the shortage of nurses and other health professionals, the need to
invest in expensive new technology, higher costs for drugs and rising insurance
premiums, combined with very limited rate increases.
Representatives of all six hospitals have been working to develop a system-wide
information technology strategic plan to improve business and clinical practices.
A new billing system is being implemented to collect payments in a more efficient
and timely way. Also, a system-wide procurement system for supplies, drugs
and purchased services is expected to create savings.
An important part of the medical system’s capital funding strategy is a $100
million fund-raising campaign, which has already raised about $40 million
in gifts and pledges. The medical system’s financial stability and sound management
have been recognized with the achievement of an “A” bond rating for 2002 from
Standard & Poor’s—an excellent credit rating for a hospital system.
The medical system’s growth and success since 1984 have gone hand in hand
with tremendous progress made by the school of medicine over the years. The
school continues to attract outstanding faculty to join the medical center
staff. They have been able to develop innovative strategies for patient care
and translate the latest research findings into improved treatments to give
hope to people with the most serious and complex health problems.
Many physicians who helped to pioneer programs at the old University Hospital
many decades ago are quite impressed with the changes that have transformed
it into the architecturally beautiful, high-tech place it is today.
“It is so big, so encompassing, nobody in my class would recognize the place
today,” says Morton Kramer, ’55 who did a residency in neurology at the hospital.
“We could not have foreseen all of the changes. It is very different now,”
adds the Medical Alumni Association president.
Dr. Rapoport says he believes the progress will continue and that the medical
system has a bright future. “I am very proud of our dedicated team, superior
clinical programs and our regional network of academic, community and specialty
hospitals. We continue to work to build strong relationships with our physicians,
patients, government, corporate and community leaders. Looking to the future,
we are optimistic that our mission of providing the highest quality health
care can continue, with further growth and profitability in the years to come.”