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As the ribbon was cut on the long-awaited University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Prince George鈥檚 County on Tuesday, jubilant lawmakers hailed the state-of-the-art facility鈥檚 opening as a public health victory.
鈥淢ore than a million people in Prince George鈥檚 County and Southern Maryland are finally going to get the health care that they deserve 鈥� which they so desperately need and that they have [needed] for so long,鈥� Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) said at the Tuesday ceremony.
Hogan, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), members of the Prince George鈥檚 County House and Senate delegations and the country council, Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown (D), Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System, and Nathaniel Richardson Jr., president and CEO of the new, Largo-based medical center, heralded its opening as a pivotal moment after a decades-long effort to transform health care quality and delivery for the region.
The 11-story hospital, set to officially open Saturday, has one floor allocated solely to heart and vascular care, a maternity center and inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services. It replaces the more than 70-year-old Prince George鈥檚 Hospital Center in Cheverly.
The new 205-bed hospital was estimated to cost $543 million; Jones, in comments before the ribbon cutting, said the project came in under budget.
Alsobrooks said patients would be moved from Cheverly to the new facility at Largo Town Center over the weekend.
Brown, who had been a steward of the project since its inception, was touched by its completion.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how emotional today is, so I鈥檓 gonna stay on script so that I don鈥檛 get a little teary-eyed here,鈥� he said during the ribbon-cutting.
In an interview before the ceremony began, Brown, who had advocated for the project as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Martin O鈥橫alley (D) said that he was prepared to be overwhelmed by the feeling of accomplishment.
Brown said that the project faced many challenges over the past 14 years, including reluctance on the part of former Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) to relinquish county ownership of its hospital and an initial struggle to find an organization willing to take it over.
鈥淟ook, at first glance, it wasn鈥檛 attractive and [the University of Maryland Medical System] was not really enthusiastic about that. But with Martin O鈥橫alley鈥檚 persistence and the power of the bully pulpit as governor, he said 鈥榃e need you guys to take a close look at it,鈥欌�� said Brown. 鈥淎nd when they opened up the hood and they kicked the tires they realized, 鈥楬ey there鈥檚 a real opportunity here to improve the quality of care in Prince George鈥檚 County,鈥� and the University of Maryland Medical System found a real opportunity.鈥�
But Brown also made it clear during Tuesday鈥檚 ceremony that his commitment to standing up this facility was personal.
He told ceremony attendees that he and his wife moved to Prince George鈥檚 County 30 years ago, and that she became pregnant soon after.
鈥淏ecause [we were] so proud of having moved to Prince George鈥檚 County 鈥� we said we want every single one of our children to be born in Prince George鈥檚 County,鈥� he recalled telling their obstetrician. 鈥淎nd this doctor said: 鈥業f I鈥檓 going to deliver that baby, it鈥檚 not going to be in Prince George鈥檚 County.鈥欌��
鈥淚 know that my wife and I will never have to make that decision again as to where to have our babies,鈥� Brown continued jokingly, 鈥渂ut today is the beginning of the end so that no families in Prince George鈥檚 County will ever be denied the quality care that they choose to have right here in Prince George鈥檚 County.鈥�
During the ceremony, Hogan, a self-described 鈥渁 life-long Marylander鈥� whose father, Lawrence J. Hogan Sr., served not only in Congress but also as Prince George鈥檚 County executive, said that 鈥渁ddressing this need has been a personal and important mission鈥� for him.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to have been a supporter of this project from day one,鈥� Hogan said.
Brown, however, said Hogan did very little to move the project forward, adding that 鈥渁ll of the difficult work was negotiated under the O鈥橫alley-Brown administration.鈥�
鈥淲e got the rate-setting commission to agree to a rate increase to cover a third of the cost, we got the state of Maryland to commit to a third of the cost and 鈥� we got Prince George鈥檚 County to, essentially, do the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that was all the hard work that was done to put this in motion.鈥�
Brown said that there 鈥渨as some doubt in the early days of the Hogan administration鈥� about whether he would fulfill the state鈥檚 financial obligation, noting that the late Senate President Emeritus Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) introduced a bill 鈥渢o force him to spend the money.鈥�
Miller successfully sponsored legislation in 2016 to require both the state and Prince George鈥檚 County to set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from their respective capital budgets from fiscal year 2017 through 2021 for the new facility.
鈥淸Hogan] neither helped nor really hindered the project, but this was set in motion and destined to be completed well before he took office,鈥� Brown said.
Several lawmakers gave a hat tip to Miller on Tuesday for making the new facility a priority during his tenure.
Ferguson harkened back to his first legislative session in 2011, when he, a 鈥渨ide-eyed, bright, bushy-tailed, ready-to-go鈥� freshman lawmaker showed up at a Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss legislative priories.
鈥淎nd our former Senate President at the time, President Emeritus Mike Miller said, 鈥榃e鈥檝e got one thing to do, one thing to do: We got to get this鈥� 鈥� Ferguson paused for comedic relief, implying his predecessor used impolite language 鈥� 鈥渉ospital in Prince George鈥檚 County done with.鈥欌��
Ultimately, lawmakers saw Tuesday鈥檚 ribbon-cutting as a 鈥渨in鈥� for Prince George鈥檚 County residents.
鈥淭here are few things that public officials do during the course of their career where they can look back and say, 鈥楾hat was a big win for the people who I serve,鈥欌�� Brown said during his interview. 鈥淲e all have wins on behalf of the people we serve, but you only get a handful of big wins.鈥�
鈥淭his is a big win.鈥�
